Baseball ranked preseason No. 1 by baseball publication

The Arizona baseball team won’t start practicing until February. In the meantime, the team can bask in the glory of a preseason No. 1 national ranking.

Collegiate Baseball released its preseason rankings last month and the Wildcats received the top spot – the first time the team has ever been ranked that high.

The Wildcats lost only two starters – outfielder Bill Rhinehart and pitcher Brad Mills – from last year’s NCAA regional team that went 42-17 overall.

The pitching staff had the lowest ERA in 30 years, finished second in the country in strikeouts per nine innings as well as the second-highest strikeout total in school history.

Among the returning players are pitcher Preston Guilmet, who won the Pacific 10 Conference Pitcher of the Year last season, and first baseman C.J. Ziegler, who hit .355 with 13 home runs and 63 RBI. Both were named Preseason All-Americans.

The Wildcats will start practice Feb. 1 and will open the season in Athens, Ga. on Feb. 22 against Georgia.

Softball gets new assistant coach

After pitching coach Nancy Evans left the Arizona softball team unexpectedly last month, the Wildcats have gone through a series of coaching changes.

Dave Feinberg, previously a volunteer assistant, will succeed Evans as pitching coach. Taking the place of Feinberg will be Gale Bundrick, who has been the pitching coach at Canyon Del Oro High School the last 22 years.

Bundrick, a former UA linebacker, has also coached softball pitchers privately in Tucson.

Assistant coach Larry Ray will still serve as head coach in 2008, while Mike Candrea coaches the U.S. Olympic team.

Candrea brought former Wildcats Jennie Finch, Caitlin Lowe, Alicia Hollowell and Lovie Jung to San Diego last Tuesday to start training at the Olympic Training Center.