Softball team kicks off Pac-10 play

Ian Mayer Arizona Daily Wildcat UA freshman leftfielder Nicole Giordano has stepped up to the plate for the Wildcats blasting 14 hits in 25 at bats during last weekend's Kia Klassic.

"Winning is not a some-time thing, it's an all-the-time thing."

This teaching tool could not be applied at a more critical point in the season than this one, the beginning of a grueling Pacific 10 Conference schedule.

The conference currently has seven of its eight teams ranked in the USA Today Coaches Poll including No. 19 Oregon (22-11) and No. 18 Oregon State (17-8), teams the Wildcats face Saturday and Sunday respectively. Both doubleheaders begin at 1 p.m.

Only UCLA fails to appear in the poll because of its probation for recruiting violations.

"The Pac-10 is a very intriguing conference for a softball player because they know it is the best softball conference in the country," Candrea said. "The gaps between schools have closed down because of some good coaching and recruiting. Anyone can beat you on any given day."

These opinions are not only shared by Candrea, whose Wildcats are 32-2 this season, but are a general consensus across the board in the conference.

"The competition in the conference is so tough and the sport is growing at a faster rate every year," Oregon State head coach Kirk Walker said.

Walker, in his fourth year as the Beavers' skipper, said a lot of the credit goes to schools like Arizona, UCLA and Washington.

"Those teams have created an environment which draws players in," Walker said. "Plus, they can only recruit so many players to fill their rosters which leaves more players for the rest of us to recruit. It has really helped us out."

As for help in preparing for the weekend's games versus the top-ranked team in the country, Walker said his focus is more on his players and their preparation than on how to stop Arizona.

For the all three teams, the road leading to Pac-10 play has been loaded with top-rate competition.

Oregon State defeated highly-ranked Oklahoma 3-1 in last week's Kia Klassic, a tournament won by Arizona, and has also defeated Cal State-Northridge.

Oklahoma handed the Wildcats their first loss of the season, one of only two on the year, earlier this month.

Oregon has not fared quite as well, losing contests to Fresno State, Kansas and Texas A&M, the only other school to have edged Arizona this year.

None of these stats interest Candrea, however, who cares only about which Arizona team shows up for each game.

"We haven't played our best game yet," Candrea said. "There are still areas we can work on to put together a complete game."