TUCSON, Ariz. -- Confidence has been a wonderful thing for Juan Aguilera this season.
 
The right-handed senior pitcher out of Sierra Vista has emerged as a reliable, go-to man on the staff. Aguilera is currently sporting a 0.49 ERA on the season, having allowed only one earned run in 18 1/3 innings. His confidence traces back to the end of last season, when he tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings to end the year.
 
"Since that last month of last year, confidence has been a big thing for me," said Aguilera, who has given up one run over his last 24 innings, dating back to last year . "Just believing in my ability. I believe confidence is the main thing for me because I'm believing that I can get any hitter out right now."
 
Aguilera has certainly been reaping the rewards of his confidence, as he has now posted back to back outings of at least five innings and no runs allowed. He threw 11 shutout innings last week against New Mexico State and Washington State, striking out 12. On the season, Aguilera is 3-0 with his 0.49 ERA in 18 1/3 innings. He's given up 12 hits and one earned run, while striking out 18 and walking six. He's holding opponents to just a .188 batting average and has given up just two extra-base hits. 
 
"Every time I get called to go on the mound, I just have a mentality of keeping our team in the game," he said. "Whatever situation I'm put in, if we're up or down, I just keep attacking hitters and not putting runners on base for free."
 
The soft-spoken senior is in the middle of his second season in Tucson. Aguilera played two seasons at Cochise College in Douglas before transferring to become a Wildcat. With three and a half seasons of college ball under his belt, Aguilera says he has begun to take on more of a leadership role than he is used to.
 
"I guess this year, I try to help out the new guys a little bit more," Aguilera said. "Especially the freshmen; I've talked to them a lot about going out there with confidence. I guess I could say I've been more of a leader than I usually am."
 
Arizona head coach Jay Johnson has noticed the transformation in Aguilera's play.
 
"Juan is off to a great start this year" said Johnson. "He has improved in every phase of his development. The conditioning of his arm and body have both developed since last year as well as all three of his pitches. He is pitching with a lot of confidence and it has been a big lift for our team."
 
Aguilera appreciates what Johnson has done for him. The pitcher insisted that his coach played a large role in his improvement.
 
"He makes sure that we're getting better, and that we're getting the best out of ourselves," Aguilera said.
 
The Wildcats find themselves at 13-10 on the season, and Aguilera knows that it won't be easy from here on out.
 
"It's going to be a dogfight every time we go out there," he said. "We just need to keep competing and not give up on each other, and go out there and just play our game."
 
Aguilera will look to continue his strong play during the Wildcats upcoming three-game series against Nicholls this Thursday through Saturday.