CLAIRE C. LAURENCE/Arizona Daily Wildcat Junior pitcher Alicia Hollowell winds up during Sunday's win over Oregon. Hollowell has started six of the first seven Pac-10 Conference games this season.

With an ink trail as long as a Jackie Coburn home run in the Pacific 10 Conference and NCAA record books, the No. 2 Arizona softball team seemed to turn the page on its offensive struggles this season in a two-game sweep of Oregon at home over the weekend.

After sitting in the conference cellar in extra-base hits entering Saturday's game against Oregon, the Wildcats (31-4, 5-2 Pac-10) pounded at least a double and a home run in each of their 8-1 victories over the Ducks.

Freshman catcher Callista Balko hit her first career triple Sunday, only the team's second of the season.

Sophomore center fielder Caitlin Lowe, who went 0-for-8 with three strikeouts in a two-game stretch entering the weekend, went 6-for-8 against the Ducks and Friday versus No. 10 Oregon State.

Her average sits at a conference-best .512.

"It's just a matter of not getting ahead of themselves and letting their instincts take over," said Arizona assistant coach Larry Ray.

Ray said the coaching staff has told the team to take its destiny to each at-bat.

"It's all up to them, and they decided they wanted to play," he said.

A dominant duo again

Freshman Taryne Mowatt made her first start in nearly a month Sunday, allowing one run on five hits in five innings against Oregon.

Junior Alicia Hollowell (21-3), who pitched the final two innings in relief, had made every Pac-10 start and seven straight overall, dating to the team's 6-2 loss to No. 1 Michigan March 20.

A sore back muscle forced Mowatt (8-1) to give way to Hollowell, who showed signs of fatigue last week.

The junior threw three wild pitches in the Wildcats' 1-0 loss to the Beavers, one of which allowed the winning run to score.

Saturday, she struck out only four batters in seven innings, the least she has thrown in a start all season.

Ray said having two starters able to pitch on a given day would help the pitching staff return to its dominant early-season form.

"It's a big plus," he said. "We don't have to overuse anyone."

Hollowell carries a .70 ERA in 169.1 innings this season with a Pac-10-high 14 wild pitches.

With 305 strikeouts, she has at least 300 for the third straight season. No other Arizona pitcher has as many as two 300-strikeout seasons in a career.

Beavers pad lead in Pac-10

In a conference where no team holds a losing record and the defending national champion enters this weekend in last place, Oregon State's victory over the Wildcats was the latest surprise to come out of the Pac-10.

After outscoring the Beavers 14-1 in three wins last season, including a 9-1, five-inning pounding April 23 of last year in Corvallis, Ore., Arizona managed just five hits against sophomore Brianne McGowan and had two players with double-digit strikeouts.

Oregon State (28-6, 7-0) extended its win streak to 20, which then stretched to 22 with wins over ASU Saturday and Sunday.

The Beavers, who start with seven straight conference wins for the first time in school history, hosts No. 9 Stanford and No. 3 California in a three-game set this weekend at home.

"They're definitely on a hot streak," Ray said. "This weekend will be a very revealing weekend."

Acton could get more action in RF

Freshman outfielder Adrienne Acton has been in a hurry to get in the starting lineup all season, starting with pinch-running duty for most of the year and getting her fourth start in right field Saturday.

Acton, who entered the game 0-for-6 in her career, delivered a hit and scored two runs against starter Amy Harris and Alicia Cook, and went 1-for-3 with a run Sunday.

Acton is batting .167 with 10 runs and four stolen bases in 30 games.

The team's regular right fielders, redshirt junior Courtney Fossatti and senior Allyson Von Liechtenstein, bat a collective .243 with 13 runs, one double and six RBIs.

Ray said Acton's start was simply one of many options the team has considered in filling its third outfield spot, and that the freshman had impressed in limited duty.

"It got to the point where we said, 'What the heck, let's give it a shot,'" he said. "We have confidence in Ally and Courtney and certainly we will give them their opportunities."

Martinez stands up for herself

When senior third baseman Jen Martinez connected with the bases loaded in the sixth inning of Saturday's 8-1 win over Oregon, her first career home run may have opened the doors on offense for some of her struggling teammates. Now all they need is some time to sit and think about it.

Martinez was held out of the starting lineup Saturday, after starting hitless in 11 at-bats to start conference play.

"We needed to kind of shake things up," Ray said. "Jen, in a pinch role, sometimes that's a motivation for these kids."

"It worked," he said. "What we do (from here), we're not sure. We'll have to see what we do in practice."