With Easter on the way, the Wildcats get a special treat, a weekend series with No. 3-ranked USC. Since Easter is on Sunday, the series starts tonight at 7 at Sancet Field and runs through Saturday.

The series marks the beginning of the second half of Pacific 10 Conference Southern Division play. In the first fifteen games of Six-Pac play, the Wildcats (20-19 overall) have a record of 4-11 which puts them in last place.

The two teams met in March with the Trojans winning two of the three games at Dedeaux Field in Los Angeles. The Wildcats were outscored in the series 32-14. Arizona leads the overall series 80-78.

The Trojans (25-8 overall) are leading the Six-Pac with an 11-4 record. They are considered one of the best teams in the country with All-American center fielder Jacque Jones and left-handed pitching ace Randy Flores. Jones is considered the second-best outfielder in the country behind Central Florida's Adam Johnson. Flores is considered one the top five pitchers in the country.

"They are a good team," Arizona head coach Jerry Kindall said. "They deserve the ranking they have."

Despite being swept in three games last weekend by Stanford, the Wildcats remain confident.

"We really played well against Stanford. The team really battled hard," Kindall said. "We feel like we can play toe-to-toe with USC."

Tonight's starting pitcher for the Wildcats will be junior right-hander Tyler Haddix (4-3). Haddix started Friday's game against Stanford and allowed eight runs in four innings of work. The Arizona starters for Saturday and Sunday are Shawn Barrington (1-4) and Darrell Hussman (2-0).