KEVIN KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat Sophomore first baseman Leneah Manuma swings at a pitch in yesterday's doubleheader sweep of Central Arizona at Hillenbrand Stadium. Manuma hit two home runs in the pair of games.

Wildcats slide past Vaqueros, 8-3

Quit isn't a word in the vocabulary of Central Arizona's softball team.

Less than an hour after being no-hit, the Vaqueros had the Wildcats on the ropes and looked like they were on their way to doing the unthinkable: beating UA at home.

Fortunately for the Wildcats, their bats came alive and helped them to an 8-3 victory after an 8-0 dismantling of CAC in the day's opening game.

On the back end of the doubleheader, Arizona found itself in unfamiliar territory.

After the Wildcats went down in order in the bottom half of the first inning, sophomore pitcher Jenny Gladding gave up a double to CAC shortstop Lettie Gonzalez.

Vaquero third baseman Ana Vega followed that up with a line-drive homer that just cleared the fence in left field.

The Vaqueros offense wasn't done there, as catcher Kaydi Forgia followed suit and pulled a line-drive homer of her own to right field.

In a key move, UA assistant coach Nancy Evans went out to the mound after the two home runs to calm down the shaken pitcher.

"I told (Jenny) to relax and not think about the past. She can only - from that pitch on - do what she can do to not let them score anymore," Evans said.

Her advice worked, as Gladding didn't allow another hit over the next six innings.

While Gladding was settling into her groove, the UA offense took a little bit longer to get going.

In the third inning, senior left fielder Meaghan Finnerty and freshman right fielder Allyson Von Liechtenstein put together back-to-back singles. Freshman third basemen Carrie Hagen hit a sacrifice fly to left scoring Finnerty.

On the next pitch, freshman second baseman Rebekah Quiroz hit a slapper through the third baseman's legs, scoring Von Liechtenstein.

Central Arizona pitcher Andrea Nyhus held Arizona's bats in check until the sixth inning when the Wildcats exploded for six runs.

Sophomore first baseman Leneah Manuma put UA over the top with a bullet that found its way over the center-field wall.

"I was looking to hit the ball hard and just put the ball in play," Manuma said. "We were having a little bit of trouble getting the ball on the ground, and I was just trying to drive the ball. Fortunately, I got a pitch I was looking for and I stayed right through it."

The home run was Manuma's second of the day. She also hit a towering shot to center in the first game.

Arizona head coach Mike Candrea said he saw a lot of positives in his team's play including Gladding's early game struggles.

"I thought it was good for (Gladding) today to weather a little bit of a storm and come back and make some adjustments," Candrea said. "I feel good (about the team). It's one thing to play exhibition games, and it's another thing to play them for real. I think Alabama will come in and give us as good of a test as we've ever had early on."

In the opener, senior pitcher Jenny Finch was at her usual form, striking out 11 and walking one batter en route to her third no-hitter in as many starts.

Overall, Finch said she is pleased with the way she has started her season.

"I feel good. I came out and I did what I wanted to do," Finch said. "Having (pitched) three games before we officially opened up was nice."

In the bottom of the sixth inning, freshman right fielder Candace Abrams came up with the bases loaded and doubled to the gap in left-center, scoring pinch runners Quiroz and Carrie Hagen to give the Wildcats an 8-0 win via the mercy rule.

Arizona opens up regular season play with a three-game series this weekend against No. 13 Alabama.

Seven of the Pacific 10 Conference's eight women's softball teams were ranked in the Top 25 of the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association women's college softball poll released last week.

Arizona earned 20 of 27 first-place votes to beat out No. 2 UCLA for the top spot.

Stanford was listed at No. 3 followed by California at No. 5, Arizona State at No.8 and Washington at No.9.

Oregon State rounded out the Pac-10 members coming in at No. 18.

Oregon was the lone team in the conference not ranked. USC and Washington State do not have programs.

Arizona is scheduled to play 14 of the other 24 ranked schools during the regular season.