By Craig Degel
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Pop quiz: Your baseball team is 20-30-1 and its final six games are against two teams that are 5-1 against your squad this season. Would you be worried about your team's motivation?
Not if you're Arizona coach Jerry Kindall.
"I think our players will be up for it," Kindall said. "They're looking forward to it."
"It" is the Wildcats second time around with No. 22 Stanford. Arizona will be at Palo Alto, Calif., for a three-game Pacific 10 Conference Southern Division series that begins today at 2:30 p.m. The Saturday and Sunday games will begin at 1 p.m. with all games being brodcast live on KNST AM 790.
The Wildcats are just 5-19 in the Six-Pac while the Cardinal (25-18 overall) is second in the conference at 15-9 Ä just one game behind the Wildcats' next opponent, Southern Cal.
Right-hander Zach Pringle will take the mound today for the Wildcats. He is 2-3 with a 5.40 ERA. The Cardinal will counter with Dan Reid (3-4, 4.69 ERA).
On Saturday, right-hander Kirt Kishita will oppose Stanford's freshman ace Kyle Peterson. Peterson is 8-1 with a 3.08 ERA and beat the Wildcats in Tucson back earlier this month.
"He's a very good pitcher and he's got very good stuff," Kindall said.
As for the task of hitting a pitcher with good pitches, Kindall said the hitters won't need to adjust to anything special.
"We don't try to tailor our hitting," Kindall said. "If we're facing a curveball pitcher and we have fastball hitters, then we hope he'll jump on the first good fastball."
In Sunday's series finale, right-hander Matt Hendren (1-4, 7.58 ERA) will face Stanford's Mike Robbins (3-2, 3.50 ERA).
Despite the problems the Wildcats have had keeping their bullpen healthy, this weekend marks the first time in recent weeks that Arizona was able to announce all three of its starters prior to travel day.
"Each of those three guys deserve to start again," Kindall said. "We penciled them in right away."
However, the Wildcats will be without the services of relievers Shawn Barrington (stiff arm), and Pat McMillin, who hurt his arm while warming up Wednesday night. Neither pitcher will make the trip.
After completing the California trip, the UA will take finals week off and then close out its 1995 schedule with a three-game series against No. 8 Southern Cal at Sancet Field May 13-15.