The Wildcat softball team ended a busy weekend at Hillenbrand Stadium with a sweep in yesterday's doubleheader against UNLV.
The pair of wins brought the team's record to 36-1.
The second half of the doubleheader ended in a 6-4 Wildcat victory, though the win was much harder to come by than in the first game of the day.
UA utility player Shelly Schultz scored the go-ahead run after a leadoff walk in the sixth inning, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by utility player Samantha Quintero. Pinch hitter Candace Abrams doubled to shallow left, and Schultz came in when the throw got past the cutoff player. Center fielder Caitlin Lowe flied out to right field, and pinch runner Crystal Farley tagged and scored from second for the insurance run.
Sophomore pitcher Alicia Hollowell pitched 3 2/3 innings of relief and struck out nine of the 10 batters she faced, including the final eight, to end the game.
Hollowell replaced Leslie Wolfe, who held the Rebels (17-21) scoreless for the first two innings, but gave up three runs in the third and one in the fourth before exiting with one out in the fourth. She gave up four runs on eight hits and struck out two.
"Wendy (Allen) and Leslie (Wolfe) is not a good combo together," said acting head coach Larry Ray. "They both have similar styles - they both rely on the off-speed. Wendy did a good job in the first game, but they were ready for that. Leslie did a good job getting through the first couple innings, but then they caught up to it."
In their half of the first, the Wildcats raced out to a 4-0 lead, but the Rebels tied it up in the fourth when Lisa Sampson singled in Bridget Byrne from second base.
"We weren't all there defensively. We made errors we shouldn't have, and they were capitalizing," Quintero said.
The Wildcats won the first game of the doubleheader 11-3 in six innings. Wendy Allen got the victory, pitching all six innings. She struck out 10, scattered six hits and didn't allow a walk.
Offensively, Lowe was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, and Quintero batted 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs. The Wildcats had 14 hits, including a solo home run by first baseman Erin Palomarez in the fourth.
On Friday night, the Wildcats played an exhibition game against the USA softball team, before a record 3,541 fans.
The game featured a highly anticipated matchup of past versus present: UA alumna Jennie Finch against Hollowell.
Though Finch and the rest of the USA team got the better of Hollowell and the UA, winning 6-1, the Wildcats accomplished what few other teams have been able to do against Team USA on its "Aiming for Athens" tour: scoring a run off of Finch.
Finch pitched five innings, striking out 13 and surrendering one hit. That second-inning hit, however, was a home run crushed over the left field wall by freshman shortstop Kristie Fox to tie the game at 1. It was the first homer off Finch since March 4 against Illinois, and her first run allowed in 42 2/3 innings.
"Jennie Finch is an awesome pitcher," Fox said Friday. "To get such a great hit off a great player is awesome. It's an honor."
Hollowell gave up six runs on six hits in seven innings of work. She struck out five and walked four.
Jenny Topping singled in Crystl Bustos, who was hit by a pitch, to put USA up 1-0 in the first inning. USA struck again with a two-out, bases-clearing double by Jessica Mendoza to go up 4-1 in the third, and rounded out its scoring in the sixth after a fielder's choice by Bustos and a sacrifice fly by USA veteran Lisa Fernandez.
The Wildcats made three errors in the game.
Despite the loss, Arizona was successful in keeping the most powerful hitter in the USA lineup hitless. Bustos had a 23-game hitting streak coming into Friday's contest.
"They're the best. There is no break in their lineup - that's the difference between a good college team and the Olympic team," Ray said. "I was proud of the way the team approached this game. They were not intimidated."
Coach Mike Candrea, who is on leave from the UA to coach the Olympic squad, said playing in Tucson was emotional for him.
"Obviously this team (USA) is very special and that team (UA) is very special, and I had a very tough time walking in here last night when we practiced," he said. "We thought this would be a challenge for us, not only playing against a quality team, but playing in front of a group like this."
On Saturday afternoon, the Wildcats played the "Classic Cats" in their alumni game, winning 2-1.