Sept. 30, 2010

TUCSON, Ariz. - With the month of October quickly approaching, professional baseball is nearing its biggest stage as the regular season winds down and the postseason begins next week. At the collegiate level, the Arizona baseball team is merely beginning its long journey to what it hopes will be a long and successful postseason run next summer.

As one of the youngest teams in the nation last season, the Wildcats reached regional play in 2010 for the sixth time in eight years. With all but a few players returning from the club, Arizona is poised to challenge for a Pac-10 title and aspires for a return to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., which it last reached in 2004.

Over the past several weeks, returning players and a group of about a dozen newcomers have participated in skills hours, which allow small groups of players to receive limited instruction on the field by coaches. In just over a week, fall practices will begin, which allow for full team workouts, including intraquad scrimmages.

The fall season will be critical to the development of the team as it gears up for the 2011 season. Coaches will be looking to build depth across the board while raising the expectations of all the players in the program.

The 2011 season will officially open in February, with the Wildcats slated to host North Dakota State Feb. 18-20 to open the year in Tucson.