After three consecutive Pacific 10 Conference series defeats, the Arizona baseball team will take a much-needed break from conference play today as the Wildcats take on New Mexico at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, N.M.
Freshman right-hander Cory Burns (0-1, 8.10 ERA) will toe the mound for the Wildcats (15-16, 3-6). The last time the rookie took the hill was April 2, when he gave up a lone home run at California to end a 13-inning game.
The Lobos (23-12, 6-3 Mountain West Conference) are riding a three-game win streak after sweeping Air Force last weekend at home putting up more than 20 runs in each of the three wins, while the Wildcats have lost two straight as UCLA took two out of three games at Sancet Stadium.
Swing…and a miss
?The Wildcats are hitting .274 as a team after nine games in conference play while allowing their opponents to hit .302.
?Last season, the Wildcats as a team hit .328 while holding their opponents to a .262 clip.
?The Wildcats also had an average of 7.86 runners left on base per game last season, compared to stranding 9.44 in conference play this season.
Arizona came out on the losing end of three straight series at the hands of California, Oregon State and the Bruins.
“”It’s a good thing we have another game (tonight) to help us forget about this weekend,”” said junior shortstop Jason Donald.
The Lobos took two out of three from Arizona in Tucson in February, including a sloppy 19-16 Lobo loss to close out the series in which Arizona left 14 runners on base.
After that, Arizona head coach Andy Lopez said he had a lot more questions than he had answers about his young ball club. It’s safe to say that with the inconsistencies in Arizona’s performances, little has changed since then.
The Wildcats are hoping to create some momentum today that will carry over into this weekend, when they return to conference play to host Stanford.
“”Momentum is usually who’s starting on the mound,”” said Arizona head coach Andy Lopez. “”At least, that’s what I’ve found to be true.””
Senior second baseman Brad Boyer said that the midweek game could be just what the doctor ordered to cure Arizona’s recent ailments.
“”You want to play as many games as possible,”” he said. “”For us right now, it’s not the practice (we need), it’s the exposure on the field for a lot of the young guys and just to get us out of this little funk right now.””
Arizona is without two of its most dependable pitchers in sophomore lefty Eric Berger (sore elbow) and junior closer Mark Melancon (stomach virus). Berger is scheduled to throw today at home under the supervision of the trainers. Lopez said he was unsure if Melancon would travel with the team today, and he is listed as day to day.
