CLAIRE C. LAURENCE/Arizona Daily Wildcat Arizona sophomore pitcher Alicia Hollowell throws a pitch during the Arizona Fall Classic Tournament this weekend at Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium.

Golden Bears rush over Arizona, 42-14, with ground attack

Arizona softball's campaign to win its first national championship without head coach Mike Candrea got off to a shocking start, losing to Pima Community College in the Arizona Fall Classic Tournament with the Wildcats' ace in the circle.

Despite sophomore pitcher Alicia Hollowell's 14 strikeouts and three-hitter, Arizona lost to the Aztecs, 2-0.

The good news is that the game doesn't count and the UA won the other four games in the tourney.

"At this time of the year it's a good wake-up call," said interim coach Larry Ray. "It was just a matter that we allowed them to play with us too long and the unthinkable happened."

After the Aztecs took the lead in the sixth, Arizona failed to capitalize with runners on second and third and one out after sophomore Autumn Champion sacrificed them into scoring position.

"It's a little reality check for us," Hollowell said. "We cruised through those first games and Pima came ready to play. We weren't really ready for that."

Before the PCC game, the Wildcats beat the college-age team Hum-Babe Cats, 8-0 in five innings.

In the first game of the tournament, Arizona beat Arizona Western College, 9-1 in five innings. Senior catcher Mackenzie Vandergeest went 3-for-3 with five RBI, including a three-run homer

On the second day of the tournament, the Wildcats beat New Mexico, 8-0 in five innings and Central Arizona College, 4-1. Junior third baseman Jackie Coburn had three-run homers in both games.

On the weekend as a whole, Hollowell pitched 20 innings and had 47 strikeouts.

Ray said the pleasant surprises in fall practice have been sophomore pitcher/infielder Shelly Shultz and the Wildcats' two freshmen who played on the USA junior team at the World Championships earlier this month.

Shortstop Kristie Fox was the California Interscholastic Federation Division I Player of the Year and hit a three-run homer against Hum-Babe. Centerfielder Caitlin Lowe batted .500 for the USA's silver medallist.

"I think so far, Shelly Shultz has really done a nice job," Ray said. "She's swinging a pretty good bat, and I'm pleased with the offensive output of Kristie Fox and Caitlin Lowe, two of our incoming freshmen that were on the (Junior Olympic) team, so they're going to pleasant surprises."

In her first game as a Wildcat, the highly touted Lowe, an All-American each year in high school, went 2-for-3 with a fielder's choice, scoring three runs.

"It felt great. I've been waiting for this for like two years now," Lowe said about playing in college for the first time.

Lowe, who was one of 48 finalists at the final Olympic team trials, is optimistic about the Wildcats' chances in their upcoming season, which begins in January.

"I think we have great potential. We just need to come together as a team," Lowe said. "We learned from this weekend (the) things we needed to work on."