CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat Arizona's Adrienne Acton gets by Oregon's Erin Goodell during Arizona's 8-1 win over Oregon April 10 at Hillenbrand Stadium. The Wildcats will take on in-state rival ASU in two matchups today and tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Hillenbrand Stadium.

Two matchups against ASU within the friendly confines of Hillenbrand Stadium may be the just what the No. 3 Arizona softball team needs after a rough weekend in Los Angeles.

The Wildcats were swept by UCLA last weekend, 5-4 on Sunday and 9-1 in six innings on Saturday.

Arizona assistant coach Larry Ray said the team's offense needs to step up if the Wildcats (31-6, 5-4 Pacific 10 Conference) are going to emerge from their struggles in the Pac-10, where they sit in fourth place.

"It's all up to our offense and right now it's almost nonexistent," he said. "I'd like to think we are at least as capable as last year, but the players have to do it."

The Wildcats face the Sun Devils (26-16, 1-9) today and tomorrow at 7 p.m., against a team they haven't lost to since March 16, 2002, when they fell 3-0 in the Kia Classic.

It will be the last time ASU head coach Linda Wells faces the Wildcats in the regular season. She is retiring at the end of the season after 16 years at ASU and 15 years at Minnesota.

ASU almost broke its losing streak against the Wildcats, falling 1-0 March 6, in a game that began ASU's current seven-game losing streak in conference play. Sophomore center fielder Caitlin Lowe scored in the first inning on a multitude of ASU throwing errors. The Sun Devils are seventh in the Pac-10 in fielding.

Junior pitcher Alicia Hollowell (21-5, 1.01 ERA) held the one-run lead with a 15-strikeout, two-hit shutout against the Sun Devils. She takes the mound for the Wildcats tonight.

The performance was the kind fans and teammates have come to expect out of Hollowell, but this season she has been somewhat human compared to her first two years at Arizona.

Her ERA is at 2.32 in conference play, good by most standards but higher than Hollowell is used to.

"It's not that Alicia is not as good as last year, it's just that I think everyone (in the Pac-10) is better than they were last year," Ray said.

Ray said that Pac-10 teams have all seen Hollowell for two seasons now, so it gives them an advantage and the chance to make adjustments. He said the team may be depending too much on Hollowell's dominance.

"We think we can score one run and Alicia is going to shut it down," Ray said. "Alicia threw an outstanding game against them (ASU) last game. But we can't put it all on her shoulders."

Ray said they aren't going to get any breaks from ASU pitching, which as a team is second in the conference with 313 strikeouts. Of ASU's 26 wins this season, 14 have come in shutouts.

Freshman Katherine Burkhart (10-9) anchors the staff with a 1.04 ERA in 19 games this season.

Fox, who drove in four of the team's five runs against the Bruins, has carried the offense for the Wildcats recently.

She said she isn't quite sure why the Wildcats are struggling right now, but it isn't a matter of beating themselves with poor defense. The Wildcats lead the conference in fielding percentage (.980).

"It's hard to pinpoint right now. Since we're not doing anything wrong (defensively), that's a good thing. We can only go up from here," she said.