The Arizona softball team avenged two losses to California on Saturday by ripping Stanford twice yesterday in a doubleheader in Palo Alto, Calif.

Freshman pitcher Lisa Pitt (12-3) tossed a shutout in the second game of the doubleheader, as the No. 2 Wildcats - who had scored just 12 runs in the last seven games leading up to the doubleheader with the Cardinal - exploded for nine runs to get the victory.

Junior All-American Carrie Dolan (27-6) pitched a solid game to lead the Wildcats to a 6-3 victory in the first game of the afternoon.

With the wins, Arizona upped its record to 43-9 overall and 15-5 in the Pacific 10 Conference. UA trails conference-leading Washington by 2 1/2 games with four games to play. The Cardinal fell to 23-24 overall and 6-14 in conference play.

As for Saturday's games, Arizona was probably glad it didn't have to remain on Strawberry Field forever.

No. 12 California, which plays on Strawberry Field in Berkeley, swept the Wildcats by scores of 3-1 and 3-1 on Saturday.

Junior first baseman Melanie McCart smacked her school-record eighth home run of the season, a two-run blast in the first inning, to power the Golden Bears (33-7, 12-8) in the second game. It was all the runs sophomore Holly Yost (7-2) needed as she held to the Wildcats to one run on five hits while striking out two.

An RBI single from senior second baseman Jenny Dalton was the only offense the Wildcats could muster.

Arizona led the first game 1-0 going into the bottom of the fifth, thanks to an RBI double from sophomore Julie Reitan. Senior third baseman Krista Gomez tried to score on the play, but was tagged out at the plate. A two-run single by the person who tagged Gomez out, freshman catcher Megumi Takasaki, in that inning gave the Bears a lead they would not relinquish.

The sweep was Cal's first over Arizona since 1991 and just the second since the series began in 1982.

Arizona returns home this weekend to face Oregon and Oregon State in the final home games of the season for UA. The Beavers will be at Hillenbrand Stadium on Friday night in a doubleheader set to begin at 6 p.m. The Ducks visit the Wildcats on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Arizona will close out its regular season schedule on May 11 and 12 with away games against Oregon and OSU.