THE SERIES:
No. 19 Arizona opens a stretch of eight games in nine days with a three-game series against San Francisco. The Cats opened the season by taking two of three from Saint Mary's. Junior third baseman Erik Torres has a career-best nine-game hitting streak, while sophomore right fielder Shelley Duncan has driven in a run in 10 straight games, both streaks dating to 1999.

WILDCAT NOTES:
First baseman Ernie Durazo has accepted 281 consecutive chances without committing an error ... Dating back to last season, Arizona has committed no more than one error in 19 of its last 20 games ... Third baseman Erik Torres is on a career-high nine game hitting streak, dating back to last season ... Right fielder Shelley Duncan has driven in a run in 10 straight contests ... Arizona relievers posted a 1.50 ERA (2 ER/12.0 innings) in UA's three-game series with Saint Mary's (1/21-23) ... The Cats are 4-0 in season-openers under Stitt and have averaged 14.75 runs per game in those contests. Arizona has won seven consecutive opening games overall ... The Jan. 23 Arizona-Saint Mary's game will be the Cats' 1,200th at Sancet Field ... Arizona is 134-5 (.964) dating back to 1993 in games it led after eight innings and 228-9 (.962) going back to 1990.

DUNCAN TIES MARK:
Sophomore right fielder Shelley Duncan homered in his first two at-bats of the Cats' season opener vs. Saint Mary's (1/21), becoming just the third player in Wildcat history to post four multi-homer games in his career.

Dennis Haines had a pair of multiple home run games in both 1972 and '74. In 1993, George Arias had four two-homer games. In two season-openers against the Gaels, Duncan has collected four home runs and 10 RBI.

STITT'S 100TH:
Arizona's 5-2 victory over Saint Mary's (1/23) marked the 100th of head coach Jerry Stitt's career. In just his fourth season, Stitt joins J.F. "Pop" McKale, Frank Sancet and Jerry Kindall as the only Arizona coaches to reach the century mark in victories.

PRESEASON HONORS:
Three Wildcats have earned a total of five preseason All-America honors.

Sophomore right-hander Ben Diggins was named a first-team All-American by Baseball America. Sophomore right fielder Shelley Duncan earned second-team honors from BA and third-team recognition from Collegiate Baseball. Both Collegiate Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association named junior shortstop Keoni DeRenne a second-team preseason All-American.

BEST TOOLS:
Baseball America has announced its list of "Best Tools" in the Pac-10, and three Wildcats were recognized. Junior Keoni DeRenne was named the league's top defensive shortstop. Senior center fielder Troy Gingrich was named the Pac-10's fastest base runner. And sophomore right-hander Ben Diggins has the best fastball in the conference, according to BA.

TEAM USA '99:
Junior Keoni DeRenne and sophomores Ben Diggins and Shelley Duncan were all part of the 1999 USA Baseball national squad that posted a 24-15 overall mark.

DeRenne was the team's starting shortstop and hit .376 with a remarkable .506 on-base percentage. He drew 32 walks while striking out just 12 times. Diggins served as the team's closer, posting a 2.05 earned-run average in a team-high 16 appearances. He allowed just 10 base hits in 22.0 innings under Arizona pitching coach Bill Kinneberg, who filled the same capacity for Team USA. Duncan saw limited action before joining the Jayhawk League.

KNST-RADIO:
KNST, AM-790, will carry 30 regular season games this season, including each Pac-10 contest, plus all postseason action. The station has served as UA's flagship station for 19 years. Sports director Brian Jeffries and Ryan Radtke will handle the play-by-play duties.

Former KNST announcer Eric Thomae will not be at this week's games as he is on a book tour promoting his latest effort, Bo Knows the Heisman: The Chuck Long Story. Thomae's fictional account of a University of Iowa quarterback and his attempt to win something called "The Heisman Trophy," another product of Thomae's creative mind, is a brilliant American parable. Though the story is a little far-fetched (the reader must accept the unlikely premise of a competitive Iowa football team), it is blessed with Thomae's Faulkner-esque verbosity and with a happy ending in which the superior athlete and intellect, a young man named Vincent "Bo" Jackson from a wonderful southern academic institution (Auburn University) defeats the evil Long for the coveted honor. In the epilogue, Thomae speaks of Jackson going on to a brilliant professional career, earning millions of dollars, while Long fades into obscurity.

DRAFTED CATS:
Fourteen current Arizona players have been chosen a total of 17 times in the Major League Baseball Draft. Mike Meyer, Trevor Mote and Rob Shabansky have been selected twice. Here's a complete list of players drafted:

Player              Year    Club          Round
Rob Shabansky       1995    Royals        68th
Tony Milo           1996    Mets           7th
Sam Shelton         1996    Dodgers       68th
Mike Meyer          1996    Dodgers       69th
Kevin Huff          1996    Dodgers       71st
Peter Fredericks    1997    Astros        10th
Ryan O'Donnell      1997    Padres        32nd
Trevor Mote         1997    Twins         32nd
Ben Diggins         1998    Cardinals     1st*
Trevor Mote         1998    Royals        30th
Rob Shabansky       1998    Red Sox       39th
Ernie Durazo        1998    Mariners      46th
Kenny Huff          1998    Blue Jays     47th
Mike Meyer          1999    Giants        14th
Matt Abram          1999    Diamondbacks  10th
Ken Riley           1999    Marlins       31st
Klent Corley        1999    Angels        48th
*---Sandwich Pick

SANCET FIELD:
Frank Sancet Field is in its 34th season as the home park of Arizona baseball. The Cats have an 842-355-3 (.703) all-time mark at Sancet Field. UA has had just three losing records at Sancet. Arizona was 20-11 at home last year. Sunday's game with Saint Mary's was the Cats' 1,200 at Sancet. The spacious park is 360 feet down the foul lines, 380 to the power alleys and 400 to center field. A 12-foot fence comes in to left and right center before giving way to a six-foot fence across the center field area. New chair-back seats were installed last season behind home plate.

HEAD COACH JERRY STITT:
In just three seasons as head coach, Jerry Stitt has put Arizona baseball on the verge of returning to the national elite. After three straight last-place finishes in the Pac-10 South, Stitt has led the Cats to back-to-back-to-back winning seasons and a return to postseason play thanks to improved pitching and defense and, under his direct tutelage, the continued success of Wildcat hitters.

Arizona qualified for an NCAA regional last year for the first time since 1993. The year before, the Cats ranked among the nation's leaders in doubles, triples, homers, runs scored and slugging percentage while reaching as high as No. 2 in one national poll.

Stitt has posted an 100-73 (.578) mark in his three seasons at the helm of the Cats, earning his 100th career victory vs. Saint Mary's on Jan. 23. He follows J.F. "Pop" McKale, Frank Sancet and Jerry Kindall as the only head coaches since 1922 and is only the 14th coach in the 93-year history of Arizona baseball.

Stitt was an All-American at UA in 1968 as a senior and was drafted in the 32nd round by the Cleveland Indians. He played three years in the Tribe organization before moving to coaching.He joined the Cats' coaching staff in 1978 and had been its associate head coach since 1992.

DIGGINS ELIGIBLE FOR DRAFT:
Sophomore right-hander Ben Diggins is eligible for the major league baseball draft following this season due to an exception in MLB's rules. Ordinarily, players at four-year colleges are not eligible for the draft until following their junior year. However, an exception to the rule allows players who turn 21 within 45 days of the draft to be eligible. Diggins turns 21 on June 13, less than two weeks after the draft.

RED-SHIRTS/INJURIES:
Senior right-hander Dave Abbott will red-shirt the season following Tommy John surgery last April 20. He plans to return for the 2001 campaign.

Junior right-hander Sam Shelton will miss the season as well.

Junior right-hander Ben Vigeland will red-shirt the year.

Senior left-hander Rob Shabansky is recovering from Tommy John surgery last Feb. 18 and is expected to return to the mound by mid-February. He is already back at the plate, appearing as a pinch-hitter vs. Saint Mary's (1/23), his first at-bat since May 3, 1998.

ALUMNI GAME:
The 2000 Bank One All-Pro Alumni Game is scheduled for Feb. 6 at Sancet Field. More than a dozen major league players and coaches will be among the professional roster of alumni that will face the current Arizona squad in a seven-inning exhibition. The 1 p.m. game will be preceded by a home run contest and an autograph session.

Bank One continued its support of Arizona athletics by becoming the title sponsor of the All-Pro Alumni Game in 1996. Proceeds from the game go to the Arizona baseball program and is the program's most important fundraising event of the year. The Alumni lead the all-time series, 10-3-2. Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Curt Schilling will serve as the guest manager for the Alumni team this season.

Reserved tickets are available for $7, while all other seats are $5.

ZASA SHINES:
Sophomore public address announcer Jimmy Zasa returns for his third season as "The Voice of the Wildcats." A favorite of fans and players alike, Zasa is best known for his familiar call "Home Run Sheeelleeey Dunnncannn." Zasa's enthusiasm and exuberance always brings out the excitement in Wildcat fans everywhere. Bear Down!

EARLY SIGNEES:
Collegiate Baseball preseason All-Americans Moises Duran and Jake Whitesides lead a deep and talented group of 13 high school and junior college players who have inked letters of intent during the early signing period to attend Arizona and play baseball beginning in the fall of 2000. Eleven high school seniors and two junior college sophomores comprise the group, which includes nine pitchers.

"This is as strong a recruiting class as we have had," Jerry Stitt, who is entering his fourth year as Arizona's head coach, said. "It rivals the first class we signed in 1997, which was ranked fourth in the nation.

"Our first need in the near future is pitching, and we met that need with a great group of young arms. Brian Anderson is the top pitching prospect in Tucson. Plus, the addition of Moises Duran, Stephen Hunt, Ryan Richardson and Jake Whitesides solidify positions that were in need of filling.

"Duran is beyond question the best player in Tucson. He has tremendous bat speed. Whitesides is one of the best prospects to sign with this program in a long time. He's a tremendous high school player, and he'll make a tremendous college player. This is a great class."

Richardson is the younger brother of former Wildcat pitcher Jim Richardson (1988-89). Right-hander Sean Rierson was a member of the Chapparal HS that finished the year ranked 20th in Collegiate Baseball's national poll last season and was listed among that publication's list of high school underclassmen to watch.

ARIZONA VS. SAN FRANCISCO:
Arizona is 2-0 vs. San Francisco, though the schools have not met since 1977. The Cats defeated USF, 7-2, in 1951, and 12-0, 23 years ago at the Spartan Classic in San Jose, Calif.

PAST GAMES vs. SAN FRANCISCO
Date      W/L  Score   WP              LP         Save
3/30/51   W    7-2     Corrigan        Townsend   None
3/31/77   W    12-0    Murillo Huffman None    

PITCHING PROBABLES vs. SAN FRANCISCO
Friday (3 p.m.)
LHP Ian Perio (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Ben Diggins (1-0, 1.80)
Saturday (1 p.m.)
RHP John Herbert (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Mike Crawford (0-1, 5.40)
Sunday (1 p.m.)
TBA vs. LHP Brian Pemble (0-0, 0.00)

Probable Wildcat Lineup
    No.  Pos.  Player                Class   Ht.     Wt.  Hometown
1.  2    CF    Troy Gingrich (L)     Sr.     5-10    180  Apache Jct., Ariz.
2.  25   2B    Trevor Mote (B)       Jr.     6-1     185  Prescott, Ariz.
3.  11   SS    Keoni DeRenne (B)     Jr.     5-7     146  Honolulu, Hawaii
4.  18   RF    Shelley Duncan        So.     6-5     210  Tucson, Ariz.
5.  22   LF    Kenny Huff (L)        So.     6-0     197  Phoenix, Ariz.
6.  17   3B    Erik Torres           Jr.     5-10    168  Tucson, Ariz.
7.  44   1B    Ernie Durazo (L)      Jr.     5-9     195  Tucson, Ariz.
8.  33   DH    Ryan O'Donnell (L)    Jr.     6-0     180  Casa Grande, Ariz.
9.  26   C     Chris Cunningham (L)  So.     6-1     190  Diamond Bar, Calif.