After 16 games - some against top 10 opponents - "undefeated" is still a word in the UA softball team's vocabulary.
The Wildcats won all their games in their third straight tournament, most recently in the Palm Springs Classic this weekend, outscoring their five opponents by a combined score of 41-3.
Senior Wendy Allen was Ms. Everything for the Wildcats. She pitched Arizona to a win Friday and went 10 for 16 with seven runs and 12 RBIs in the Wildcats' 5-0 weekend.
"We played every game the same," said interim associate head coach Larry Ray. "We swung the bats well and had good pitching and good defense."
The Wildcats opened the tournament Friday with a 10-0 rout of Penn State in six innings. The Nittany Lions hung with the UA for four innings, giving up just one run. But the Wildcats scored four in the fifth inning and added five in the sixth to end the game.
Allen struck out nine and walked one in her two-hitter. She also went 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs.
In Arizona's second game Friday against No. 6 Georgia, the highest-ranked opponent the Wildcats have faced all season, sophomore pitcher Alicia Hollowell showed she isn't perfect, giving up a home run to first baseman Kim Wendland in the first inning as Georgia went up 2-0. It was Hollowell's first two earned runs of the season, but that was all she would give the Bulldogs. Allen and senior catcher Mackenzie Vandergeest took care of the rest in an 8-2 Arizona win.
Allen and Vandergeest each whacked home runs - a three-run shot and a grand slam, respectively - to put the game away.
On Saturday, the Wildcats first faced No. 7 Alabama and came out with a 5-0 victory. Hollowell dominated, striking out 14 and walking two. All five UA runs were scored in the third inning, most of them via freshman shortstop Kristie Fox's three-run homer.
The Wildcats' second Saturday game was against No. 17 Cal-State Fullerton. Hollowell seemed to get better as the tournament went on, striking out 16 batters and giving up three hits in her second complete game of the day.
The Wildcat offense scored eight runs on nine hits, led by sophomore outfielder Autumn Champion who went 3 for 3, scored twice and had one RBI.
After a rain delay caused their game to start three hours later than scheduled yesterday, the Wildcats ended how they started the weekend, winning 10-0 in six innings against Boston College.
There was a 30-40 minute delay during Sunday's game, Ray said, forcing Arizona to play the entire game through a light drizzle. Ray said it rained through much of the weekend in Palm Springs, but yesterday's delay was the only problem caused by the elements.
The weather may be the only thing Ray could complain about, as his team is 16-0 and has outscored opponents 130-15 this season.
"It's been a pleasant surprise so far," said Ray about the team's success. "I'm pleased with the approach this team has taken right from the very first pitch. We are still working on a lot of the little mistakes that might not show (in the box score), but overall, I'm pleased."
Arizona comes home to play in the Worth Wildcat Invitational beginning Friday.