Top-ranked UA softball swept by No. 2 Fresno St.

"The big test for us is this week because were vagabonds," UA head coach Mike Candrea said referring to the fact that Arizona played Washington on Friday night and flew to Fresno the next day for last night's games. "It's gonna take some character. We got to come out a play the game hard every time we come out on the field."

This is the first time the Wildcats have been swept since last season at Washington. The losses put Arizona at 33-4 overall, 7-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference. Fresno State is now 37-6, and has a serious case for the No. 1 ranking.

Arizona's play was riddled by errors - three in the first game and two in the second. They managed, in classic Wildcat fashion, to score early in both games. But, in both games Fresno State came back with monster four-run innings.

UA pitcher Nancy Evans (17-1) sustained her first loss of the season. She allowed five earned runs off nine hits in the first game.

Unfortunately for the Huskies, the frigid air on Friday night and the colorful lights of Spring Fling were not enough to distract Arizona, which swept the No. 4 Huskies (24-8 overall, 0-2 in conference) 3-2 and 8-2.

Game one had the Wildcats up 3-0 until the sixth inning, when the Huskies started a comeback with two runs off a double by Leanne Rosser and a sacrifice bunt by Heather Tarr. They tried to tie in the seventh, but Dolan (15-2) was able to induce a game-winning ground ball.

Candrea benched catcher Leah Braatz-Cochrane for being late to batting practice. In her place he started Lety Pineda behind the plate, and to replace Pineda at third base he started Evans.

Pineda hit her conference leading 14th home run in the first inning.

Game two was highlighted by Arizona's five-run fourth inning which gave the Wildcats a 6-2 lead. In the next inning freshman Crissy Gil hit her first home run of the season - a two-run shot into the left field bleachers.

"It was the best feeling ever," Gil said. "I wanted to call my dad. I don't think anything will feel as great as that felt, except if I get married or something."

Evans (17-0) pitched seven innings allowing only five hits and one earned run. That would be a good outing for most pitchers, but allowing one earned run will actually raise Evan's ERA, which was at 0.62. She also hit 2-for-4, with two RBI.

Despite winning by a solid six-point margin, Candrea was visibly upset by the mental errors on the field.

"In the second game we came out more relaxed and tried to cruise through the game," Evans said. "Our heads weren't really in the game and we didn't feel very intense out there. Coach came out and told us what he thought about it and kind of screwed our heads on straight."