DEREKH FROUDE/Arizona Daily Wildcat Freshman Alicia Hollowell prepares earlier this week for No. 2 UA's trip to Phoenix.

A bat, ball and field.

That is just about all the No. 2 Arizona softball team has in common with in-state rival Arizona State, host of this weekend's Fiesta Bowl Tournament in Phoenix.

Forget that the Wildcats will be competing close to Sun Devil territory. For UA, this weekend's tournament has nothing to do with ASU.

"We can't sit back and expect to get better," UA head coach Mike Candrea said. "We need to continue to keep playing and build consistency."

Road games can be tough, especially if your team is relying on inexperienced pitchers on the mound like Arizona will be this weekend. But the battle-tested Wildcats passed their first road test with flying colors with a series of wins at the USF Louisville Slugger Tournament last weekend

"We started out strong on the road and that's always a good sign," Candrea said. "We're trying to improve and this weekend is another opportunity to take a test and see where we're at."

Behind the pitching of freshman Alicia Hollowell, the Wildcats notched five victories in their first five regular season games.

"Alicia is awesome and I think everyone was shocked," freshman outfielder Autumn Champion said. "She's young and people weren't expecting her to come out like that."

In 21 innings, the UA freshman allowed just five hits and struck out 33 batters. Starting 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA, Hollowell threw two shutouts and allowed just one hit against Auburn.

This weekend may not be as easy for the Wildcats, however.

With competition like No. 24 Texas A&M and South Western Texas State on Friday, Iowa State and Wisconsin on Saturday, and Mississippi State on Sunday, Arizona anticipates stiffer competition than the five teams it ran over last weekend.

Senior shortstop Lovieanne Jung said the team isn't taking its competition lightly.

"There's always something we can work on," Jung said. "The only part of our team that's young is in the circle."

She and junior catcher Mackenzie Vandergeest proved just that by each hitting balls over the outfield wall in UA's 6-0 win over Sam Houston State.

Vandergeest hit a grand slam to go along with a homerun by Jung. Jung also hit one out in the Wildcats' 2-0 win over Florida Atlantic.

Tougher competition awaits Arizona in its rival's city this weekend, and after passing its first road test of the season, Champion is confident in the team's ability to pass its second exam.

"We're ready and I'm excited to see how we come together as a team," Champion said. "Last weekend everyone contributed and we're ready for it again."