KEVIN KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat Arizona sophomore Leneah Manuma clubs one of her team-leading 17 home runs earlier this season at Hillenbrand Stadium.

he six NCAA championship banners and raucous crowds within Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium are staples of excellence that define the Arizona softball program.

Thanks to sophomore Leneah Manuma, the past two years have also been categorized by home-run blasts that are usually reserved for parks with corporate sponsorship.

In just her sophomore season at Arizona, Manuma already owns an NCAA championship ring, and when all is said and done, the designated player/first baseman will likely have her name on more records than Hank Williams, Jr.

After earning All-American honors while belting 19 home runs during her freshman season - one shy of classmate Mackenzie Vandergeest's team record - the UA fan favorite has powered a young Wildcats offense through the first half of this season.

With blast after blast either clearing or severely denting the Ina E. Gittings building beyond Hillenbrand's right-field fence, Manuma has put on a very impressive power display in just one-and-a-half seasons in Arizona.

What senior ace Jennie Finch has been in the circle this season, Manuma has been at the plate.

Last Saturday, the Hawaiian native - who is the niece of San Francisco 49ers great Jesse Sapolu - clobbered her team-leading 17th home run of the season during the Pacific 10 Conference-opening weekend at Arizona State. The left-handed slugger also leads UA with 58 RBI - just three shy of last year's total - while hitting at a gaudy .398 clip.

With nearly the entire Pac-10 schedule still ahead for Arizona, Manuma might challenge some of former Wildcats star Laura Espinoza's hitting records from 1995 when she clouted 37 home runs and 128 RBI.

But for the San Diego high school product, her superstar status on arguably the nation's most elite softball program has come as part of one very big learning experience.

"You never really know what (Division) I is all about, and to play at Arizona and be in the Pac-10 - the greatest conference in the country - I knew I was in for a lot," Manuma said of her anticipation of playing at UA.

"But I was excited (to come to Arizona), I thought it was a challenge that would make me a better player, she said. "And I certainly feel like I've learned a lot, but I have so much more to learn."

According to head coach Mike Candrea, his clean-up hitter has already made tremendous strides from what was a very successful freshman campaign.

"Leneah has been much more consistent this year," Candrea said. "She has better idea and plans when she walks to plate, as well as a little more trust which allows her to make better adjustments."

Those adjustments have translated to nightmares for opposing pitchers.

Already seventh on UA's all-time home run list, Manuma has compiled 13 multiple-RBI games this season, developing into the run-producing machine that Candrea anticipated when he recruited her three years ago.

"Espinoza was very powerful, but, yeah, Leneah's power is right there with (anyone in UA history)." Candrea said. "I had visions of her doing exactly what she is doing - hitting the ball out of sight."

Manuma has done exactly that, while at the same time quietly possessing a very sure-handed glove at first base. After turning in a .994 fielding percentage in her freshman season, Manuma has committed just one error in 37 games this season.

And perhaps her head coach will never be more thankful of her decision to play at Arizona than this weekend when the Wildcats host No. 1 UCLA - the school Manuma passed over for UA.

"It pretty much came down to playing here or at UCLA," Manuma recalled of her high school days. "UCLA is always in the forefront of your mind being a California kid and softball player."

Much to the dismay of her cousin - who plays third base for the Bruins - it was the Candrea's storied program that caused Manuma to make the jump to the desert.

"I was really impressed with coach Candrea; he's really a man of integrity," Manuma said. "The way he runs a program - with a lot of respect and a lot of class - I wanted to play for someone like that and I thought I could learn a lot from him."

Unfortunately for Manuma, one thing she has not been able to learn is how to avoid getting plunked by the continual onslaught of inside pitches that she faces. The All-American has definitely paid a price for owning what may be the most powerful swing in collegiate softball.

After being hit by 13 pitches as a freshman, that total has already reached 12 this season - the brunt of which has come on her right arm as pitchers continue to try to limit her extension by jamming her inside.

"It's kind of (frustrating) because it hurts a little bit," Manuma said with a smile. "Other than that, it's just another baserunner, and I'm very confident in our one-through-nine hitters, so if I get on, it's just another run for us. That's the way I try to look at it. Bruises heal."

As for the egos of the pitchers that will continue to fall victim to Manuma's monumental blasts, we can only hope they're as easy to mend.