A few days ago the season was considered over and the UA baseball team was left for dead. Now, suddenly, Arizona is very much alive in the wide open Pacific 10 Conference.

All it takes to burst through is a tiny crack.

“”We stubbed our toe for a little bit in the middle of the season, but now we’re starting to pick it up,”” said junior catch Dwight Childs. “”Look at Fresno State last season: They stubbed their toe in the middle of the season but then they got hot and ran with it.””

Using last year’s surprise national championship team as motivation is not something Arizona thought it would have to do when the season began, but it is applicable now.

The Bulldogs barely squeaked into the tournament after an up-and-down regular season, but they got hot at the right time and ended up winning the championship. A title is still a ways away for the Wildcats, but they seem to be heading in the right direction.

After taking two out of three from Stanford and then following that up with a sweep of California, Arizona is 5-1 in its last six conference games, and it was the pitching that finally delivered over the weekend.

“”(California) is one of the best hitting teams we’ll ever face,”” said head coach Andy Lopez. “”They have at least three guys who will get drafted pretty high, so the fact that we pitched pretty well against them is a good thing.””

The pitching will have to come through again this week, as the Wildcats head to California to take on No. 6 Cal-State Fullerton. That might be a tall task, though, as the Titans (32-12, 12-6 Big West Conference) have won nine of its last 10.

“”It doesn’t matter who we play, we have to just play the game,”” Lopez said.

Added sophomore pitcher Daniel Workman: “”I think we’re going to be all right. We have guys in positions to help us keep winning. We need to keep rolling, and we need to stay hot.””