By
Brett Erickson
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Andrade hits 3 HRS, delivers game-ending hit to complete sweep of Fresno St.M
Senior Allison Andrade capped off a career outing last night by singling home the winning run in the ninth inning to complete a two-game sweep of Fresno State.
Andrade's single to center field brought home freshman Kim Balkan and allowed the second-ranked Wildcats (43-4, 5-2 in Pacific 10 Conference) to take the nightcap from the No. 14 Bulldogs (31-17, 6-3 WAC), 8-7.
Arizona won the first game 9-1 in five innings.
On the night, Andrade went 5-for-6 with three home runs and four RBI between the two games. Even with the long balls - two of which came in the second game - it was her game-ending single that was the difference for Arizona, which rallied back from a 7-4 deficit in the sixth inning.
"I want to be the one at the plate getting the hit for my team, but of course winning the ballgame was the big thing," said Andrade, who now has 11 homers on the season.
The Wildcats fell behind early as the Bulldogs put six runs on the board in the first two innings. Fresno State's Lindsay Fossatti delivered a two-out grand slam in the top of the second inning off UA starter Jenny Gladding.
Andrade's second home run of the night cut the lead to 6-1 in the bottom of the second inning. Arizona added two more runs in the third on a run-scoring single by junior Jennie Finch and a sacrifice fly by freshman Mackenzie Vandergeest.
After the Bulldogs added their seventh and final run in the fourth, UA freshman Leneah Manuma led off the fifth inning with a long homer to right to again trim the lead to three, 7-4.
Trailing by the same score in the sixth, Andrade hit her third home run of the night to lead off the inning. Senior Lindsey Collins followed with a pinch-hit line drive that cleared the center field fence to bring Arizona within one run.
Senior Lauren Bauer followed with a double, and scored when the Wildcats' next hitter, senior Nicole Giordano, singled to center.
Bauer, who usually is a slap hitter from her lead-off position in the batting order, was swinging away last night. She ended the night going 6-for-8 with two home runs, four RBIs and four runs scored.
"I was glad I just had the opportunity to swing away," said Bauer, who leads the Pac-10 in hitting with a .453 mark.
The wins extended Arizona's home winning streak to 34 games, 11 short of the all-time UA record.
Candrea was more impressed with his team's tenacity to come-from behind than the winning streak.
"These kids realize that they're never out of a ballgame," he said.
In the first game, the Wildcats didn't take nearly as much time putting the Bulldogs away.
Bauer led off the game with a double that just missed clearing the left-center field wall. She scored two batters later on a sacrifice fly by senior Toni Mascarenas.
After Fresno State tallied its lone run in the top of the second inning, Andrade put Arizona back on top with a solo homer in the bottom of the frame. The Wildcats added two more in the third on a homer by Bauer and a run-scoring single by Manuma.
Bauer's three-run home run in the fourth inning put the Wildcats up 7-1, and Finch ended the game in the fifth with a two-run shot.
As she did last weekend against Arizona State, Finch (18-0) earned the win in both contests, starting the first game and tossing three innings of shutout relief in the nightcap.
In eight total innings, Finch gave up four hits while striking out 10 batters and not allowing an earned run. She lowered her league-best ERA to 0.32.
Arizona's eight home runs gives them 99 for the season, which is one shy of the NCAA record set by the 1995 UA team.
The Wildcats get a chance to tie or break the record tomorrow night at 7 against No. 3 Stanford.
