CLAIRE C. LAURENCE/Arizona Daily Wildcat Sophomore Alicia Hollowell gave up two runs on 12 hits during a 2-1 loss to Stanford yesterday. Stanford took an early lead and held off top-ranked Arizona to split the weekend series.

No. 1 Cats can't complete sweep of Bay area's best

The good news for Arizona softball yesterday was that it probably won't play Stanford again until the World Series.

Otherwise, it was a long day.

The No. 4 Cardinal two-hit the top-ranked Wildcats (48-3, 12-2 Pacific 10 Conference) yesterday. On Saturday, the UA beat the Cardinal (39-13, 10-5) by the score of 4-0, one day after mercy-ruling No. 4 California (40-11, 7-8) 8-0.

Stanford senior Dana Sorensen (25-7), the reigning Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week, shut down the nation's best-hitting team, matching the Wildcats' lowest hit total of the year. Earlier this season in the Worth Wildcat Invitational, teammate Laura Severson (13-6), whom the UA lit up for 12 hits Saturday, also two-hit the Wildcats in a 2-1 Arizona win.

"I told the team that I give Dana Sorensen all the credit, but we came out really on cruise," acting head coach Larry Ray said.

The Cardinal roughed up UA sophomore Alicia Hollowell (35-2). She gave up 12 hits, the most she has surrendered all season. Hollowell allowed 11 against Cal last year in a 7-5 UA win.

"If you look at the last day games we played Stanford, they put the ball in play on Alicia quite a bit," Ray said. "It was going through my mind. I had thoughts of starting (senior utility player) Wendy (Allen). The first two times we played them, it was daylight and it was a slugfest.

"I expected that they were going to move the ball a lot, but I just thought we would be a little bit more prepared defensively."

CLAIRE C. LAURENCE/Arizona Daily Wildcat Freshman center fielder Caitlin Lowe takes a crack against Stanford yesterday during the UA's 2-1 loss at Hillenbrand Stadium. Lowe went 0-for-3 in the game.

Sophomore utility player Shelly Schultz, who usually plays first when Allen (8-0) pitches, has been sidelined with an injury. Allen last pitched April 23, pitching one inning as part of a no-hitter against Oregon State.

In their first Pac-10 game, the Wildcats beat Stanford 8-0 in six innings, and in the championship of the Wildcat Invite, the UA came back twice in a 7-5 win.

The home loss was the first meaningful one for Arizona since April 11, 2003, when Sorensen beat Hollowell. The Wildcats lost to Washington in the second-to-last home game of the regular season last year after clinching the Pac-10 title.

Stanford and No. 11 Oregon are the only schools to beat Hollowell in Pac-10 play.

Stanford struck first in the second inning yesterday when sophomore shortstop Lauren Lappin, the reigning Pac-10 Player of the Week, was driven in by senior catcher Jessica Allister. The Cardinal scored again in the fifth with two outs when slap-hitting junior right fielder Katherine Hoffman hit one off Hollowell. There was no throw on the play.

Arizona's run came off of a homer by senior second baseman Samantha Quintero, but the next batter, junior pinch-hitter Candace Abrams, struck out. The UA stranded five runners in the game.

In the first Stanford game, Quintero went 3-for-3 and scored two runs. Hollowell threw a two-hitter and struck out 11.

On Friday, Arizona beat Cal on a walk-off wild pitch to earn the mercy-rule win. The Wildcats swept the season series with the Golden Bears largely by forcing them into miscues. Five of Arizona's runs were unearned.

"We want to force the issue," Ray said on Friday. "We're going to make teams have to make plays."

Freshman shortstop Kristie Fox had two RBIs and freshman center fielder Caitlin Lowe went 3-for-3 in Friday's game.

The Wildcats close out their regular season home schedule this week with Oregon and No. 18 Oregon State.

Hollowell, Lowe and sophomore outfielder Autumn Champion were among the 10 finalists for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. The list, which had 25 names April 7, will be cut down to three May 11 ... Arizona's Pac-10 lead Stanford was cut to 3 1/2 games with six games to go, with potentially one game with Washington to make up ... Former UA great Jennie Finch was selected as one of People's 50 Most Beautiful People in this month's issue. She was the only female athlete and one of two athletes overall. In next month's issue, she will be featured in an article and/or photo spread.