CLAIRE C. LAURENCE/Arizona Daily Wildcat Sophomore shortstop Kristie Fox tags out a runner at second base during last month's exhibition win over Phoenix College. Fox and the No. 1 Wildcats will take on Marshall College and Northern Iowa today to open this weekend's annual Worth Wildcat Invitational tournament.

Entering its second home tournament of the season, the No. 1 Arizona softball team is ready to return to old habits.

"I think now, since we've been practicing really hard and we haven't had a chance to get a lot of games under our belt - we've had a lot of rainouts - we're just so eager to play," said senior third baseman Jen Martinez.

Arizona gets a few chances to hit the field this weekend, as it hosts the Worth Wildcat Invitational at Hillenbrand Stadium.

The three-day, five-game tournament, beginning with today's games against Marshall (6-4) at 4 p.m. and Northern Iowa (3-2) at 6 p.m., gives the Wildcats (6-0) an opportunity to let out frustrations still lingering from the Kajikawa Classic in Phoenix last weekend.

Rain cancelled all of Arizona's Friday and Saturday games, and moved an earlier opponent - Tennessee-Chattanooga - to Sunday.

Sophomore shortshop Kristie Fox said that everyone tried to make the most of a tattered schedule.

"We had a lot of team time," she said. "We went to the batting cages and got some good cuts in." We were just trying to stay focused in case we had to play on Sunday," she said.

The rest paid off against the Mocs, as the Wildcats rolled to an 8-0, five-inning victory. Martinez and freshman catcher Callista Balko each drove in their first runs of the season, and Fox added two hits and a home run, her third in as many games.

"The kids were tired of being cooped up in a hotel and wanted to get out and wanted to be aggressive, and that's what they did," said Arizona assistant coach Larry Ray.

The Wildcats' offensive resurgence should come of little surprise, Martinez said.

"We've been putting a lot of work into our hitting and doing a lot of scrimmaging," she said. "That helps because it gives us the chance to see a lot of live pitching. I think that's what's benefiting us right now."

Arizona will test those benefits in Sunday's doubleheader against Hawaii at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The Green Wave (4-3) bring in seniors Melissa Coogan (1-1, 3.44 ERA) and Shannon Tabion (2-0, 3.50), who has gone the distance in both of her starts this season.

Tabion allowed three runs on seven hits in a 6-3 win over Central Florida Sunday in the UNLV Louisville Slugger Desert Classic in Las Vegas.

Ray said the Wildcats' lineup will likely stay intact throughout the weekend, even as the team plays Northern Iowa (4 p.m.) and Marshall (6 p.m.) again Saturday.

"We may tinker a little bit with some (designated player) positions," Ray said. "Other than that, I don't see a whole lot of changes. We'll probably stay with Candace (Abrams, who is) swinging a good bat right now. Jen Martinez came in and swung it well.

"That's encouraging," he said. "They may get some more opportunities than what they normally would have."

As the team becomes more comfortable with itself, Arizona should continue to improve from top to bottom.

"I think, already, we're really close," Fox said of squad camaraderie. "We're just trying to keep it the same and spend a lot of time together. We're out here at practice all the time, so we're pretty much like a family."