By
Brett Erickson
Arizona Daily Wildcat
3-game road trip could produce early favorite to capture Pac-10 title
Just two games into its conference season, the No. 2 Arizona softball team has a golden opportunity this weekend to emerge as the team to beat in the always-competitive Pacific 10 Conference.
To do so, the Wildcats will have to endure their toughest road trip of the season and face two other programs that know a thing or two about winning conference titles - No. 14 Washington and No. 1 UCLA. Since 1988, either UCLA (six), UA (five) and UW (two) have been crowned Pac-10 champion in every season.
"Obviously there's a little more at stake because of the teams we're playing," UA head coach Mike Candrea said. "It's a big weekend in the Pac-10 for someone to take control."
When the Wildcats (38-2 overall, 2-0 Pac-10) take the field at 2 p.m. today against the Huskies (24-12, 2-1) in Seattle, they'll likely be going against one of the top pitchers in the nation, freshman Tia Bollinger. Of the Huskies' 24 wins this season, Bollinger has 22 of them.
It's no surprise then that Candrea expects pitching to determine the outcome of this afternoon's game, as well as tomorrow's and Sunday's tilts against the top-ranked Bruins.
Unlike the Huskies, Arizona uses three pitchers in its regular rotation. Junior Jennie Finch (13-0, 0.43 ERA), senior Becky Lemke (13-1, 0.94) and freshman Jenny Gladding (12-1, 0.38) have all been remarkable for Candrea in the pitching circle.
Washington was slow out of the gates this season, dropping four of its first nine games. All four losses were to ranked teams, including No. 6 Louisiana State, No. 11 Notre Dame and No. 19 South Carolina.
In their first three conference games last weekend in the Bay Area, the Huskies upset No. 3 California and No. 5 Stanford before suffering a 4-1 setback to the Cardinal.
"The one thing about Washington is they will continue to get better as the season goes on," Candrea said. "We're walking in there knowing that we're going to be in for a battle."
After today's game, Arizona heads to Los Angeles for a two-game set against the Bruins (39-1, 2-1). UCLA lost its Pac-10 opener March 30 to Stanford, but rebounded to sweep Cal.
The Bruins are led by Stacey Nuveman, their gold medal winning catcher from the 2000 U.S. Olympic Softball Team. Nuveman, who sat out last season because of the Olympics, is hitting .444 with 11 home runs and 45 RBIs.
She was named the National Player of the Year in 1999 after hitting 31 home runs and driving in 91 runs
"She's such a force to reckon with at the plate, and it's just wonderful to have her back in the blue and gold," UCLA head coach Sue Enquist said.
UCLA faces No. 9 Arizona State (27-9, 2-1) today.
Arizona counters UCLA's offense, which also includes sophomore Tairia Mims (.418, 11 home runs, 51 RBIs), a Tucson Salpointe High graduate, with power of its own.
Senior Toni Mascarenas (16), and freshmen Leneah Manuma (14) and Mackenzie Vandergeest (13) lead the long-ball attack for the Wildcats, who have 87 home runs on the season. The NCAA record is 100, set by the 1995 UA squad.
After this weekend's games, the Wildcats know they could be in one of three positions in the Pac-10. Looking up, sideways, or over their shoulders as they emerge as the team to beat.
"This is to see where we're at," senior rightfielder Erika Hanson said. "We've done well so far, and this is a test."
