Notes as a .pdf file
Coming Attractions: The Cats are off to Oxford, Miss., to take part in Ole Miss’ spring tournament March 2-4. The Cats will take on #25 Southern Mississippi, Mississippi and St. Francis in the three-game tournament. The Cats will face Southern Miss on Friday at 2:30 CST. The Cats and Golden Eagles will meet for the first time in their respective histories. Arizona will then take on host school Ole Miss on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. CST. Mississippi and Arizona have met only once prior to this weekend, a 1956 match up that went in favor of the Wildcats. St. Francis, from Brooklyn, N.Y., will see its first action of the season at the tournament. The Wildcats and Terriers have met three previous times with Arizona posting a 3-0 record.
Pitching Probables
Friday - RHP Chad Rogers (2-0, 2.38) vs. RHP Marc Kaiser (4-1, 5.01)
Saturday - LHP Mike Gray (1-0, 2.25) vs. RHP Sean Rierson (1-2, 4.09)
Sunday - TBA vs. TBA
Game Time Change: Arizona’s game against Ole Miss on Saturday has been switched from the original 1 p.m. CST start to 11:30 a.m. CST. The time change is due to a Rebel home basketball game.
Internet Radio: Both the Southern Miss and the Ole Miss games can be heard over the Internet this weekend. Southern Miss will broadcast the game live on the Internet on Friday and Arizona fans can tune in by going to their Ole Miss website . Ole Miss will also provide live stats during the weekend at its website.
Arizona on the Tellie: The Pac-10 and Fox Sports Net have announced the spring 2001 television schedule for the conference season. The Wildcats will make an appearance on Saturday, April 28 when they travel to Tempe to take on rival and fifth-ranked Arizona State. Game time has been switched from 7 p.m. to 1 p.m. to accommodate television.
Fox Sports Net Pac-10 Television Schedule
March 24 - Washington State at California - 2 p.m.
April 21 - Stanford at USC - 1 p.m.
April 28 - Arizona at Arizona State - 1 p.m.
May 12 - Oregon State at UCLA - 1 p.m.
Arizona’s Last Game: The Wildcats rallied from a two-run deficit to score three runs in the bottom of the seventh to take the three game series from Utah 2-1. Although the Utes out-hit the Cats 10-8 in the game, Arizona won its eighth game in the last nine tries. Seniors Ernie Durazo and Erik Torres led the Cats with two hits apiece and freshman Anthony Sulser kept the Ute bats in check over the final three innings to earn the win in relief.
Round Trip Airfare: Outfielder Shelley Duncan tied an Arizona school record with his three home runs in consecutive at-bats against Utah last Friday. Three other Wildcats have accomplished the feat in school history. Dennis Haines was first in 1972, followed by Arizona Hall of Famer Ron Hassey in 1974 and finally Duncan’s teammate Erik Torres last season. He finished the game 4-for-4 with four runs and five RBI. Duncan’s three at-bats - three home runs ties him with Ron Hassey for the most consecutive four baggers in a row.
Can’t Keep ‘Em Down: The Wildcats have trailed in five of their last six games. In three games against Texas A&M the Aggies jumped out to 4-3, 2-1, and 3-0 leads and the Utes held an early 4-3 advantage in game one and 4-2 advantage in game three. The Wildcats responded to these leads by out scoring the Aggies 7-2 in game one, 11-3 in game two and 16-2 in game three and the came back on the Utes 5-3 and 3-0, respectively. Interestingly the only game the Wildcats got the early jump on their opponent, a 4-0 advantage in game two against Utah, they lost.
Streakin: Senior Ernie Durazo is in the midst of a 24-game hit streak (three games in 2000 and 21 this season), tying him with Dave Stegman for third on the all-time list. Durazo has 37 hits in 98 at bats for a .378 average during the streak. The No. 3 hitter in Arizona’s lineup has also driven in 30 runs and scored 23 times himself. Former Wildcat Jack Daugherty holds the all-time longest hitting streak in school history at 28 games in the 1981 and 1982 seasons.
Arizona’s Longest Hitting Streaks
Player Year(s) Games
1. Jack Daugherty 1981-82 28
2. Marty Hurd 1957-58 25
3. Dave Stegman 1974-75 24
Ernie Durazo 2000-01 24
4. Todd Trafton 1985 23
Willie Morales 1992 23
5. Jim Morley 1978 22
6. Diego Rico 1997 21
Gary Alexander 1987 21
Streak Notes: Among the two-season hit streaks, Durazo is the only player to extend the majority of his hitting streak further into the next season (three in 2000 - 21 in 2001). Daugherty had at least one hit in the final 23 games of ‘81 and first five of ‘82. Hurd had a hit in the final 23 games of ‘57 and first two of ‘58 and Stegman hit in the last 18 games of ‘74 and the first six of ‘75.
Dependable Durazo: To say that senior Ernie Durazo has been anything less than consistent this season would be an outright lie. The first baseman leads Arizona in hits (34), average (.400), RBI (30), OBP (.490), doubles (8) and triples (2). His current 24-game hitting streak (which includes three games into last season) is a career best and the longest for any Wildcat player since Diego Rico collected at least one hit in 21 straight games in 1997.
Now Batting... Brian Anderson?: Freshman Brian Anderson accomplished a rare feat against Texas A&M (2/18) when he led off an inning four consecutive times. The No. 7 hitter in the Arizona batting order, Anderson got his first opportunity to bat in the third inning in which he would single and score a run. His hit that inning would start a string of three straight innings of Arizona sending nine hitters to the plate. In the fourth Anderson reached on an error and would later score. In the fifth he would triple to leadoff the inning and would again score and finally in the sixth he would single again and again come around to score. For those of you keeping track, credit Anderson with three hits and four runs scored in four consecutive innings as a leadoff hitter.
To Lead Things Off: Leadoff hitter Brad Hassey followed in Anderson’s footsteps against the Utes. While he didn’t do it in consecutive innings, the shortstop led off in five of Arizona’s eight at-bats last Friday, finishing the game 2-for-5. Since assuming the lead off role in the third game of the Long Beach State series he has hit .341 (14-for-41) with a team-high 14 runs scored and 10 RBI. His .471 on-base percentage is second behind Ernie Durazo during that span.
For Starters: Arizona’s three freshmen starters enjoyed much success in the New Mexico series. Marc Kaiser, Sean Rierson and Chris Goodman combined to pitch 20 of the 27 innings (6.7 innings per start), strike out 24 Lobo hitters (1.2 per inning) and, along with relievers Daryl DeSalvo, Anthony Sulser and Joe Little, hold UNM scoreless over 19 innings (the longest streak since 1999 when Arizona pitchers held St.Mary’s and Hawaii-Hilo scoreless for 25 innings). Rierson and Sulser combined for Arizona’s first shutout in over two years with a dominating five hit performance in UA’s 8-0 win on Friday. The Wildcats posted a team ERA of 1.67 while limiting the Lobos to a .224 team batting average in the three victories.
Anderson’s All Right: Freshman Brian Anderson broke into the starting lineup with a bang - 4-for-5, two doubles, an RBI and three runs - and then followed it up with - a 4-for-5, two RBI and two run performance. For the season the freshman center fielder is 22-for-61 for a .361 batting average, three stolen bases, six RBI and 18 runs scored.
He’s Got Clout: With two round trippers against Long Beach (2/4) outfielder Shelley Duncan became the all-time home run leader in Arizona history. Duncan tied the record with a two-run blast to left in the first inning. The record would be the Tucson native’s alone six innings later when he muscled a 1-0 pitch over the center field wall for a three run dinger. Duncan also set a personal best with seven RBI in the game. The junior swatted a freshman record 20 home runs in 1999 and tallied 11 in 32 games last season. Kenny Corley, who played for Arizona from 1995-98, was the all-time leader with 36 prior to Duncan. Corley’s brother, Klent, is a redshirt freshman right-hander for the Wildcats this season and is Duncan’s roommate.
Doin’ It With Two: The Wildcats have scored 165 runs in 21 games this season, an average of 7.9 runs per game. Impressively, half, 82 runs and 50% to be exact, have come with two outs in an inning. The Wildcats have failed to score with two outs in a game only once thus far (1/20 at Hawaii-Hilo) and have scored as many as ten in a single game (1/26 vs. BYU). The Wildcats have scored all their runs in a game with two outs three times (1/19 at Hawaii-Hilo, 1/31 vs. St. Mary’s, 2/2 vs. Long Beach State).
Tops With Two Out: Senior Ernie Durazo, junior Shelley Duncan and sophomore Matt Abram lead the way for the Cats with two down in an inning. Durazo and Duncan, who lead the team with 30 and 27 RBI overall, have knocked runners home 18 and 15 times, respectively, with two out, including Durazo’s three run homer against Long Beach (2/2) and Duncan’s three run shot a day later. Abram is close behind with 12 RBI. Durazo sports a nifty .447 batting average with two gone while Abram checks in at .378 and Duncan at .394.
Not Since...: Ernie Durazo and Shelley Duncan’s back-to-back home runs against Long Beach on Feb. 2 were the first consecutive jobs for the Wildcats since Erik Torres and Kenny Huff did it last season (4/22) against Washington State.
Breaking Out: Hitting .222 (8-for-36) through the first nine games, Shelley Duncan was struggling to start the season. In three games against No. 22 Long Beach State he found his swing to the tune of a .500 average (6-for-12), a .467 OBP, four home runs, 10 RBI and four runs scored. His 18 total bases led to a 1.500 slugging percentage. Duncan is currently hitting .325 with a team-high 10 home runs and 26 RBI.
Best Of: Baseball America has announced its “Best Tools” in the Pac-10 for 2001. Shelley Duncan is listed as having the best raw power in the conference. He is also projected as the Pac-10’s most draftable position player. Freshman Marc Kaiser is noted as one of the top three high school players to bypass the pros and enroll in school. The publication has also ranked Duncan as the 19th best college prospect for the 2001 draft, teammate Kenny Huff is listed at no. 97.
Preseason Honors: Junior outfielder Shelley Duncan has been named to two preseason All-America teams in 2001. A second-team All-American by Baseball America and a third-team Collegiate Baseball honoree, it is the second consecutive year that he has been named All-America by both publications. Duncan hit .332 in 32 games last season while tying for the team lead in home runs with 11.
In Dedication to Kelsey: The Wildcats have dedicated the 2001 season to their teammate Kelsey Osburn. Osburn, an infielder for Arizona the past two seasons, passed away on July 17, 2000 after being struck by a ball during batting practice in a summer league game in New York. The Wildcats have his number, 41, stitched into the back of their caps and retired his jersey in a ceremony at Sancet Field on Jan. 27. The Osburn family has established a scholarship fund in Kelsey’s honor for future Wildcat athletes. Please contact the UA Development Office at (520) 621-8081 for more details about the scholarship fund.
Retired Jerseys: Kelsey Osburn joins a select group on the left field wall of Frank Sancet Field. Arizona has retired only four jerseys in its history; former head coach Jerry Kindall, former assistant coach Jim Wing, All-American Terry Francona and Osburn’s.
Head Coach Jerry Stitt: Now in his fifth season as the skipper of Arizona baseball, head coach Jerry Stitt has compiled a 137-110 record in his first four-plus seasons. In 1999 he took the Wildcats to the postseason for the first time since 1993. Only the fourth coach to lead Arizona since 1922, Stitt also played three seasons for the Wildcats from 1966-68. He joined the Arizona staff in 1978 as an assistant coach. In 1992 he was named associate head coach before being promoted to the head spot on July 3, 1996.
