Wildcat softball looking for a 'Coke and a smile'

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat UA senior third baseman Lety Pineda (center) high-fives her teammates in a game last season. Pineda returns to the softball team after missing the Arizona Softball Classic last week because of academic problems. The Wildcats are in Phoenix today competing in the Arizona State Coca-Cola Classic, which lasts for three days at the Cave Creek Sports Complex.

The tournament features 18 of the nation's best teams playing a total of 50 games over the weekend.

The Wildcats welcome the return of third baseman Lety Pineda, who missed last week's Arizona Softball Classic due to academic problems.

"I'm not one to predict, but Lety's bat is one that needs to be in our lineup," Arizona head coach Mike Candrea said.

Pineda spent time before yesterday's practice working with Candrea on her hitting. Candrea said her timing has improved and she appears ready to go.

Arizona takes on Tennessee tonight at 5:30 and will meet Utah State and Texas in back-to-back games tomorrow at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively. The team's final two contests will be played Sunday, against Ohio State at 10 a.m. and No. 14 Long Beach State at 2 p.m. Each meeting is a single-game contest.

The Wildcats' most interesting matchup will be tomorrow's second game against the Longhorns, in which the Wildcats are likely to face a familiar face in the pitching circle.

Texas hurler Cristal Williams, a sophomore who transferred from UCLA, will most likely go up against Arizona and its ace, senior Nancy Evans. Although Candrea was reluctant to ink Evans into the starting spot for the game, he said the pitching matchup was not of concern to him.

Williams combined with fellow sophomore Carmen Martinez to record the school's first no-hitter in a 10-0 defeat of St. Edward's University on Feb. 4.

The Wildcats defeated Williams twice in the College World Series last year when she was a Bruin, including a 10-2 victory in the final game which earned UA its second straight national title.

Senior Leah Braatz leads the Wildcats in hitting with a .600 average, four home runs and 12 RBI.

Meanwhile, Evans, along with freshmen Becky Lemke and Teresa Ayoub, anchor a solid pitching staff that allowed just one earned run while recording four straight victories to open the season last weekend.