When it comes to superstitions, nobody holds a candle to the Arizona softball coaching staff.

When the team takes the field at the PONY/Louisville Tournament in Fullerton, Calif., today, they will be wearing the same red T-shirts they have worn for all of the second-ranked Wildcats' 23 games this season. Top that fact off with this little bit of trivia, and you can see why the team tends to get superstitious: Every year that the Wildcats (21-2) have won the PONY, they have lost the College World Series - including winning the tournament last year and falling to UCLA in the CWS.

"We're always a little superstitious," assistant coach Stacey Hill said. "But we're going in to win it."

The tournament, hosted by Cal State-Fullerton, will be played in four-pool, round-robin format. Arizona has been pooled with DePaul, No. 10 Oklahoma and South Carolina. The Wildcats take on DePaul today at 10:15 a.m. and the Sooners at 4 p.m. The Gamecocks and UA will meet tomorrow at 1 p.m.

The Wildcats defeated Oklahoma twice two weeks ago en route to the championship of the Hillenbrand Invitational, but it was a victory against another PONY participant - No. 4 Fresno State - that has given the team the most confidence.

"I think that was huge," Hill said, "to be tested by a team like Fresno State. Just to know that you can do that gives you confidence."

The fact that the Wildcats are hitting .397 as a team doesn't hurt either.

In fact, the No. 3, 4 and 5 hitters are hitting .556, .548 and .420, respectively. And all three, center fielder Alison Johnsen, second baseman Jenny Dalton, and catcher Lety Pineda, were consecutive Pacific 10 Conference players of the week.

The Wildcats are also riding a 17-game win streak that they hope to extend into a meeting with Fullerton in the title game. The Titans defeated UA 6-3 on the opening weekend of the season. Former Wildcat and National Player of the Year Susie Parra is also an assistant coach at Fullerton. Parra led Arizona to three national championships from 1991-94 and was a graduate assistant last season before accepting the job with the Titans.

"There's mixed feelings," Hill said. "We've already faced her once, and she got the best of us. I know the girls are looking forward to facing (CSF) in the championship game."