KEVIN KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat Arizona junior Lovieanne Jung slides into third base as a Cal State Fullerton player throws home in the Wildcats' 9-1 victory on Saturday in Tempe. Arizona lost its first two games of the season in the Fiesta Bowl Tournament this weekend.

Softball loses first two games of season to unranked teams

PHOENIX - For the UA softball team to lose one game to an unranked team is unusual, but for the softball team to lose two games to two unranked teams in the same weekend is nearly unheard of.

Arizona (7-2 overall) found itself fighting for its life this past weekend at the 17-team Coca-Cola Fiesta Bowl Softball Tournament at the Rose Mofford Sports Complex in Phoenix.

Arizona dropped two of its six games in the three-day tournament for its first two losses of the season.

Yesterday, the Wildcats found themselves in trouble against unranked Wisconsin.

The Badgers loaded the bases in the bottom of the first inning off two walks by Arizona sophomore pitcher Jenny Gladding (2-2).

Gladding got herself out of the jam by striking out sophomore designated player Nicki Starry. Wisconsin would finally break through in the fifth inning when freshman catcher Boo Gillette hit a towering home run that fought a 15 mph crosswind to curve just inside the left foul pole.

Two batters later, sophomore first baseman Meghann Reiss hit a towering shot to center field that scored freshman shortstop Kristin Zacher, giving Wisconsin all the offense they would need.

Badger junior pitcher Andrea Kirchbirg shut down the sluggish Arizona bats, fanning 10 batters and allowing just four hits.

Arizona head coach Mike Candrea said his team needs to improve quickly.

"We just didn't play well (against Wisconsin)," he said. "Obviously, at this level we're not good enough to walk on the field and not be prepared to compete. Hopefully this will be a wake-up call. If not, it's going to be a long season."

In Sunday's first game, Arizona pulled out its toughest victory of the weekend in a 1-0 victory against No. 24 Massachusetts in eight innings.

Because of the limited field space and number of games in the tournament, international rules were used for extra innings, meaning the final out of the previous inning began the next inning on second base.

Arizona sophomore shortstop Lovie Jung was that runner and moved to third on a bunt single by freshman left fielder Courtney Fossatti.

Two batters later, sophomore first baseman Leneah Manuma singled to right, giving Arizona the win.

Jennie Finch (5-0) capped off a stellar weekend with a career-high 15 strikeouts against the Minutemen, giving her 39 for the weekend and helping her win her 45th straight game.

"I was just trying to go right at (UMass) and throw my game," said a reserved Finch after Sunday's loss to Wisconsin.

Saturday, Arizona found itself outplayed by yet another unranked team in Mississippi State.

Bulldog senior pitcher Kasey Whitehead kept the Wildcats guessing with a wicked knuckle ball that helped her to a 7-1 victory.

Gladding gave up two home runs and walked six batters en route to giving up a career-high seven runs.

The normally steady Wildcat defense found itself off the mark too, committing three errors in one inning.

After the game, Mississippi State head coach Kathy Arendsen was ecstatic with her team's performance.

"(Beating Arizona) is the biggest win we've had in our program," Arendsen said.

In Saturday's first game, Arizona jumped on No. 10 Cal State Fullerton lighting up Titan pitchers for nine runs on its way to a 9-1 victory.

Seven of those runs crossed the plate thanks to Arizona sophomore first baseman Leneah Manuma, who hit two opposite-field home runs including a grand slam in the bottom of the first inning.

Friday, the Wildcats saw their toughest opposing pitcher in Texas freshman Cat Osterman.

The left-hander struck out 12 and allowed one hit through six innings until Gladding hit her third homer of the day for a walk-off 3-0 victory in the bottom of the seventh inning.

After the play, Texas appealed, saying Arizona had failed to re-enter Gladding into the game.

The Longhorns were correct in their appeal, but since they had already left the field of play, the home run was allowed and the game belonged to the Wildcats.

In the weekend's first game, Arizona handed No. 17 Southwest Texas State a 10-1 loss in a game that featured two home runs by Gladding.

Arizona returns to Hillenbrand Stadium this weekend for the Pepsi Arizona Softball Classic. The Wildcats will play five games including two against Top 25 teams.