The ship upon which the Arizona softball team sails is entering familiar waters.

The team is ranked No. 1 in the country, it just won its second-straight PONY/Louisville tournament and will open up the Pacific 10 Conference season tomorrow against defending national champion UCLA.

So, without further ado, here are your notes for the Arizona softball team.

It's as easy as 3, 4, 5: There are a lot of reasons that Arizona has jumped out to a 27-3 record, but the biggest reason has to be its No. 3, 4 and 5 hitters. By name they are center fielder Alison Johnsen, second baseman Jenny Dalton and catcher Lety Pineda.

The three are hitting a combined .475. Dalton has 14 home runs and 64 RBI. Pineda had seven home runs and 42 RBI.

"Well, I thought they were very capable of it," Arizona head coach Mike Candrea said. "There is always the challenge to go out and do it when it counts."

Early in the season, Pineda had yet to establish herself as a hitter to be feared. Because of that, teams could afford to pitch around the power-hitting Dalton. But after a March 1 tournament that saw Pineda go 13-for-15 with 17 RBI, teams began to pitch to Dalton, which is just as much a mistake as trying to pitch around her.

Pitching a fit: Lisa Pitt, the Wildcats' freshman pitcher, has had some problems finishing teams off in the late inning, but her record is still unblemished. She is 5-0 with a 3.82 ERA, but will be tested this weekend with No. 2 Washington and No. 3 UCLA coming to Hillenbrand Stadium.

"She's progressing well," Candrea said. "She's making strides forward."

Junior All-American Carrie Dolan seems to get better with every outing. She is 18-3 with a Greg Maddux-like 1.02 ERA.

"Carrie is looking very strong and making big strides for us," Candrea said.

This, that, and other things: Dalton's 247 career runs is No. 2 on the NCAA list, five behind former Wildcat and current UA assistant Amy Chellevold (1991-94)... Her 283 RBI is 32 behind former Wildcat Laura Espinoza's (1991-94) record 315... Arizona led the nation in hitting last year with a .383 average and is topping that this year, hitting .386... The Wildcats are 7-1 against ranked teams.