Lovie Jung Team USA, former UA All-American

Former All-American on hand for series with Eastern Michigan

A familiar face showed up to take some swings at Hillenbrand Stadium this week, a welcome sight for the hitting-challenged No. 1 Arizona softball team.

Former Wildcat shortstop and Olympic gold medalist Lovieanne Jung, who hit .468 and hit a team-record-tying 21 doubles in 2003, took batting and fielding practice and ran through the bleachers Tuesday.

It was one of a few appearances Arizona head coach Mike Candrea hopes will inspire his team as it heads into a two-game series with Eastern Michigan at 6 p.m. today and 1 p.m. Saturday.

"She's coming out, taking some ground balls, swinging the bat a little bit," Candrea said of Jung. "It's nice to see, and it's nice for our kids to have a chance to have her work with them a little bit in the infield. Any time we get kids like that back and our young kids get a chance to see them, it's good for the program."

The timing is fitting for Arizona (13-0), as its plays the Eagles in the last home dates until Pacific 10 Conference play begins in April.

"We just want to go out and get on a roll," said junior pitcher Alicia Hollowell. "We haven't really been doing many things well, but we've been winning. We want to go and start putting everything together."

Arizona might start in the batter's box.

Besides sophomores Caitlin Lowe and Kristie Fox and senior first baseman Crystal Farley, the team is hitting .206 this season with three home runs and 26 RBIs.

Stellar play by Hollowell, who threw two no-hitters in last weekend's Compass Bank Invitational, and freshman pitcher Taryne Mowatt, who has yet to lose as a collegiate, have carried the team through many close games, including seven decided by three runs or fewer.

The question is whether more changes on offense, like freshman Callista Balko's move to the fourth spot in the order last weekend, become the norm.

"Right now, this lineup is whoever's hottest that weekend," Candrea said. "(Balko) was swinging the ball pretty well, so we moved her up. That could be anyone from her to (senior second baseman) Shelley Schultz to (senior infielder) Jackie Coburn."

Coburn hit her second home run of the season Saturday against Louisiana State. She aims to be among a number of Wildcats set to benefit from a young, inexperienced Eastern Michigan rotation.

Junior Nikki Denman heads the group and figures to factor in offensively, as well. An All-MAC second team selection last season, she finished 8-6 with a 1.89 ERA and led the team with a school record-tying 10 home runs with 31 RBIs

"We need to see some quality pitching," said senior third baseman Jen Martinez. "This weekend, with Baylor ... we saw good pitching, and we struggled a little bit. Then, after a while, we got our bats going."

Hollowell said having a single opponent to focus on, a departure from the team's season-long tournament format, does not affect the Wildcats' approach.

"It doesn't really matter. We go after every opponent the same," she said. "Whether it's the same team or a different team, we want to go out there and dominate."

Martinez said finding success against the Eagles, against whom Arizona is 3-0 all-time, depends on steady improvement.

"The first game, we'll see how we are," Martinez said. "We don't have a lot of experience with that team. We don't know very much about them. But I think it will be the same as when we go into a tournament, seeing a team that we're not very familiar with. The second game, we'll get a better feel and execute a lot better."