ROUGH YEAR FOR EX-QUARTZ HILL STAR : ARIZONA PITCHER CHALLENGED BY SHIFT TO COLLEGE.

Byline: Kirby Lee Special to the Daily News

It has been a memorable freshman baseball season at the University of Arizona for Darrell Hussman, but not quite the kind the former Quartz Hill High standout had anticipated.

Hussman has battled back from a string of misfortune, injury and illness to earn a place in the starting rotation for the Wildcats despite missing more than a month of the season because of mononucleosis.

On Saturday, Hussman (2-2) made his first collegiate start in the Southland in a 19-13 victory over UCLA at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

The triumph ended an eight-game losing streak for Arizona (20-24), currently in sixth place in the Pacific 10 Conference Southern Division standings at 4-14. Hussman pitched three innings, striking out two and allowing four earned runs against the Bruins, but did not earn a decision.

``It was exciting to make the trip and see friends, but I was glad just to get another start no matter where it was,'' Hussman said.

And who could blame him? For Hussman, things started to go awry almost from the day he set foot on the Arizona campus in August.

On his second day at school, Hussman severely sprained his right ankle while playing in a midnight game of pick-up basketball outside his dormitory. The ankle was placed in a cast for three weeks and required weeks of extensive therapy.

``I felt like packing it up and going home right then,'' Hussman said.

The ankle injury turned out to be only the start of Hussman's problems. Shortly after he resumed throwing in November, Hussman was sidelined by tendinitis in his bicep.

Hussman returned in early January but experienced extreme fatigue and could not complete workouts. He lost 15 pounds off his 6-foot-4, 185-pound frame before coaches sent Hussman for blood tests where doctors diagnosed him with mononucleosis.

Hussman, whose spleen enlarged to four times its normal size, was confined to complete bed rest for the next six weeks.

Hussman is not sure how he contracted the illness.

``It could have been anything. Mononucleosis breaks down your system and tears you apart. I just kept getting weaker and weaker.''

He missed the first 20 games of the season before he was given medical clearance to play at the end of February. He made his first appearance on the mound against the University of California at Santa Barbara where the lanky right-hander pitched 4-2/3 innings to pick up the victory.

He improved to 2-0 with a win against Grand Canyon on March 12 but has lost his last two decisions against USC and in relief against Berkeley. On the season, Hussman has eight strikeouts in seven games, compiling a 6.11 earned-run average in 28 innings.

``He has good fundamentals and size,'' Arizona coach Jerry Kindall said. ``We saw a real nice prospect. He has a good curveball and an effective fastball but he has had more than his fair share of problems.''

Hussman, whose fastball been clocked at 90 mph, has bulked up to 195 pounds but said he has not reached the form of his senior season at Quartz Hill where he was 9-1 with a 1.14 ERA.

A 31st-round draft selection by the Detroit Tigers, Hussman was also recruited by the University of Miami, UCLA, USC and Gonzaga and selected to the All-Southern Section Division III and Daily News All-Star teams.

``When I was throwing in high school, I could throw a fastball in the 80s and 90s and not worry about them hitting it,'' Hussman said. ``In college, I learned real quick that you can't throw anything near the strike zone or they will swing and hit as far as possible over the fence. You have to be a pitcher, not just a thrower. Speed is the thing you worry about least.''

What Hussman is worried about most now is his grades. He is on academic probation after receiving a 1.66 grade-point average in the fall semester. His studies also suffered at the start of the spring semester because of mononucleosis.

He has been asked to play for the Matsu Minors in the Alaskan Summer League but must attend summer school unless he raises his grades this spring.

``Everyone says your first year of college is the hardest,'' Hussman said. `I didn't know anyone in (Arizona). You have to deal with your own problems. Your family is eight hours away and you can't sit there and go to your friends and cry on their shoulder. I've had more ups than downs but I think this whole year has made me more mature.''

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Photo: Darrell Hussman, freshman pitcher at the Universityof Arizona, has been plagued this season with injuries.

Kirby Lee/Special to the Daily News