MATT HEISTAND/Arizona Daily Wildcat Freshman outfielder Crystal Farley catches a deep pop fly up against the wall last night in the Arizona softball teamâs win over Arizona State at Hillenbrand Stadium.

You can usually expect the unexpected when an in-state rival comes to town, and last night was no different as Arizona outlasted No. 5 Arizona State, 5-3, in a back-and-forth battle before a sold-out Hillenbrand Stadium crowd.

With the win, the No. 2 Wildcats (45-7 overall, 12-3 Pac-10) kept pace with No. 1 UCLA atop the Pacific 10 Conference standings with identical 12-3 records.

Despite committing three errors that led to two unearned runs against starter Jennie Finch (27-2), Arizona showed its resiliency throughout the contest, culminating with a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh by freshman third baseman Jackie Coburn.

ăWe were very shaky tonight defensively,ă head coach Mike Candrea said. ăIt was very fortunate that we came out with a victory against a very good team because you just canât give people that many opportunities.ä

Sophomore catcher Mackenzie Vandergeest led the Arizona offense with a 3-for-3 night and two RBIs. Finch allowed six hits and three runs ÷ one earned ÷ while striking out three en route to her 27th victory of the season.

ăIt was huge for us, sweeping our in-state rivalry,ä Finch said. ăWe had a packed house tonight, so it was great. It wasnât the way I quite wanted it to be, but a win is a win and I canât take anything away from them.ä

Arizona wasted no time in the first inning, getting to ASU starter Erica Beach to the tune of two runs.

After junior Lovie Jung walked and freshman Courtney Fossatti singled, Beach plunked sophomore Leneah Manuma to load the bases. Vandergeest then stepped to the plate and promptly lined Beachâs first offering to the left center field wall for a two-run double.

That drive chased Beach in favor of Kirsten Voak ÷ the first of eight switches in the circle between the two ÷ and she struck out the next two Wildcats to prevent further damage.

With senior pitcher Jennie Finch in control early, ASU cut the lead in half in the fourth as the Wildcats defense mixed in a spectacular play with a remarkable miscue. Freshman center fielder Crystal Farley started the inning with a tremendous running catch against the fence, managing to hold onto the ball in her outstretched glove as she collided face-first with the wall.

Yet, two batters later, second baseman Lisha Ribellia was unable to hold onto a feed from shortstop Lovie Jung deep in the hole, placing runners on first and second.

After an infield single loaded the bases, Jennifer Fomer sliced a run-scoring single to left field. Freshman Jackie Coburn put an end to the rally one batter later with an unassisted double play on a lined shot to third.

After the Wildcats stranded a bases loaded with no outs opportunity in the bottom of the fourth, ASU tied the contest in the following inning on Kara Brunâs school-record ninth home run of the season. The Wildcats have six players with at least 10 home runs this season.

Arizona answered in the bottom half of the inning, sandwiching two walks around a Vandergeest single to load the bases. With two outs, Farley battled to a 3-2 count before forcing in the go-ahead run with a full-count walk.

Trailing by a run entering the top of the seventh, ASU shocked the Hillenbrand faithful in attendance by pushing across the game-tying run with two outs. With runners on first and second, ASU catcher Adriana Garcia singled to the hole at second and ÷ after making a diving backhanded stop ÷ Ribellia couldnât get a handle on the ball, allowing Nichole Thompson to score from second.

But the tie was short-lived for the Sun Devils (38-14, 8-7), as Arizona went right back to work in the bottom half of the frame.

Vandergeest led things off with a bloop single to left off of the shortstopâs glove, bringing Coburn to the plate.

Hitless with strikeouts in two of her previous three at-bats, Coburn took ball one after squaring for a sacrifice bunt. With the infield drawn in at the corners, Coburn took a full hack at the second pitch she saw and drilled it over the right-field fence for the game-winning two-run blast.

ăI was just trying to move the ball,ä Coburn said of her first career walk-off shot. ă(Coach) gave me the bunt the first pitch to move the runners and then the second pitch I think they thought I was gonna bunt again, but we took it off and let me hit. It was over the plate and I just hit it hard hoping something would come out of it.ä

Said Candrea of taking off the bunt sign, ăIt was definitely not by the books, it was just a gut feeling and I thought weâd show bunt and give it one shot.

ăThe big thing I told them (is that) you won a big game in a big atmosphere, so take that and use it to your advantage.ä

Arizona returns to action Friday when they host No. 6 California, before beginning a two-game set with No. 7 Stanford over the weekend.