On a rainy, windy afternoon Sunday, Kristie Fox gave teammate Caitlin Lowe a birthday present to remember: a quick exit from Hillenbrand Stadium.
Fox had three hits and six RBI and the No. 2 Arizona softball team defeated the New Mexico State Aggies 9-0 in five innings on the final day of the Pepsi Arizona Softball Classic.
The nine runs were a welcome surprise for the Wildcats (5-0), whose previous four games on the weekend were decided by three runs or fewer.
"I don't think they were too close, but I think a lot has to do with just, you know, we didn't have a great week in practice, and it was cold," said senior Jackie Coburn. "I'm not complaining, but it was different for us. We play in 100degree heat."
"When we score two runs in the first inning and we don't any (more) until the sixth, we need to score runs every inning and put teams away," she said.
Fox opened the scoring for Arizona, hitting a solo home run in the first inning for a 1-0 lead.
The sophomore shortstop hit a three-run single in the third inning to stretch the lead to four, and Coburn followed with another RBI single to make it 5-0.
After a fourth inning double by Arizona junior outfielder Autumn Champion sent junior Courtney Fossatti to third, Fox plated both runners to give the Wildcats an 8-0 advantage.
"She's very clutch. She swung the bat well throughout the whole weekend and got some clutch RBIs for us," said UA head coach Mike Candrea. "We're going to need someone to step up like that. I really feel that with her and Jackie and (outfielder) Shelley (Schultz) ... I think the key's going to be the middle of that lineup."
Freshman pitcher Taryne Mowatt rebounded from a shaky outing on Friday night, when she lasted only five innings in a 4-3 win over Kansas. Mowatt gave up three hits and struck out eight Sunday, including the last two batters for the Aggies (0-5).
"Taryne today, I thought, turned it around after the first inning. She started to get her off-speed pitch in," Candrea said. "If she can get her off-speed pitch in, she can be successful."
Lowe, who turned 20 on Sunday, was 1-3 with an infield single. It was a quiet end to an otherwise solid weekend for the sophomore center fielder, who finished 8-18 with six stolen bases in the Pepsi Classic.
Fox continued her torrid start to the season. She had nine hits in 14 at-bats in the Classic, with two home runs and 11 RBIs.
"I had pretty much the same mindset I have every game: make some good contact, get some good at-bats under my belt," Fox said. "We really all stepped up at different times, when we needed each other. It was really nice."
Champion played in all five games for Arizona, alternating time in left field and as the team's designated player. She missed practice last week tending to personal matters and recovering from an injured left knee.
"She's going to be huge for us," Coburn said. "We just need to make sure that we don't push her too quick."
Coburn hit a game-winning, two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning in Saturday's 4-3 win over Northwestern. She ended 2-4 with three RBIs.
Junior pitcher Leslie Wolfe allowed one run and four hits in five innings against Northwestern (4-1), before junior Alicia Hollowell took over for the last two frames.
Hollowell, whose 508 strikeouts last season set an NCAA record, punched out 15 and allowed one hit in seven innings in Friday's 3-0 win against Tulsa (3-2). She carried a perfect game into the fifth inning, and a no-hitter until the sixth.
Hollowell appeared to close out both the Jayhawks (1-4) and the Oklahoma State Cowgirls (2-3), 4-1, on Saturday. She allowed three hits and no earned runs in four innings of relief in the two games.
"Hollowell obviously looked good," Candrea said. "Leslie came in for a good ball game. The only struggle was Taryne's first outing, and then today she came back and kind of turned it around. We've got to be pleased right now, but it's early. We've got a lot of games ahead of us."
Arizona travels to Phoenix next weekend to play in the Kajikawa Tournament Friday through Sunday. The Wildcats return to Tucson for the Worth Wildcat Invitational Feb. 18-20.