CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA outfielder Allyson Von Liechtenstein prepares for a slap hit off California pitcher Kelly Anderson during the Wildcats' 1-0 win over the defending champion Golden Bears on April 13 at home. UA takes on Cal, in Berkeley, Calif., for the first time since that meeting.

Pair of Player of Year finalists lead UA into season's final road trip

A pair of newly announced player of the year finalists will lead the Wildcats into the Bay Area for a three-game series this weekend against ninth-ranked California ÷ the defending national champion ÷ and No. 16 Stanford.

Freshman pitcher Alicia Hollowell and senior shortstop Lovie Jung were both named among 10 finalists for the 2003 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year on Wednesday.

With their regular season coming to a close, the Wildcats, led by their two Player of the Year hopefuls, hit the road one last time for a three-game series in Nor Cal.

The road has been kind to Arizona (45-4, 14-1), losing just one game away from UA's friendly confines back on Feb. 9 in the Fiesta Bowl Tournament against Texas.

"We need to be aggressive early on and take the crowd out of the game," UA head coach Mike Candrea said. "You've got to learn to play on the road."

The Wildcats begin their final road trip with a re-match of last year's 2002 College World Series title game, where the Golden Bears defeated them, 6-0.

Arizona turned the tables on Cal by sweeping the champs 7-5 and 1-0 at home earlier this season.

The Cardinal is the only team that has beaten Pac-10 leading Arizona during conference play this season.

Stanford handed UA its only conference blemish in a 4-3 decision back on March 11 in Tucson.

Although the road can be crueler than the comforts of UA's Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium ÷ where the Wildcats hold an all time home record of 329-21 ÷ junior catcher Mackenzie Vandergeest isn't concerned.

"We're staying focused and playing our game," she said. "We're going to need to keep our intensity up. I'm not worried (playing) on the road, we'll be fine."

Vandergeest demonstrated that by ending a four game road trip against ASU and the Oregon schools by batting a .375 clip and knocking two home runs, six hits and eight RBIs.

The junior catcher became the game's hero in two of those wins; first by sending a double to center field to put the Wildcats ahead of the Sun Devils, 4-2. Then, Vandergeest blasted a two-run home run in the 11th inning to top Oregon State, 6-4.

Today's first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. against Cal; Arizona takes on Stanford tomorrow at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

Notes

Arizona returns home for a final two-game home series against UCLA and Washington beginning May 9. The Wildcats will be retiring former pitcher Jennie Finch's jersey; the UA volunteer assistant coach will throw out the first pitch prior to the UCLA game ·

Along with Hollowell and Jung, the Pacific-10 Conference received half the player of the year nominations. Three UCLA players made the cut as well. The top 10 finalists are: Lauren Bay (Oklahoma State), Lindsay Chouinard (DePaul), Keira Goerl (UCLA), Jessica van der Linden (Florida State), Iyhia McMichael (Mississippi State), Tairia Mims (UCLA), Cat Osterman (Texas), Natasha Watley (UCLA), Hollowell and Jung. The list will be narrowed down to three finalists and announced on May 13. The Player of the Year will be honored during the opening ceremonies of the NCAA College World Series on May 21.