Softball team hosts Cal St. Northridge

Eric M. Jukelevics Arizona Daily Wildcat Sophomore pitcher Becky Lemke (00) winds up for a pitch during a game against Oregon State March 27. The Wildcats take on CS-Northridge tonight at 5 at Hillenbrand Stadium.

Arizona (32-4 overall, 5-1 Pacific 10 Conference), coming off a two-game sweep last weekend at Arizona State, is ranked No. 2 in the country.

Northridge comes in at 16-18 overall, 3-6 in the Big West Conference, and lost to the Wildcats 3-1 March 18 at the Kia Klassic Tournament in Fullerton, Calif.

Arizona (32-4) vs. CS-Northridge (16-18) When: Tonight at 5 Where: Hillenbrand Stadium What: Arizona is coming off a 3-2, 2-1 sweep of No. 6 Arizona State in Tempe last weekend... The two teams met earlier this season in the Kia Klassic Softball Tournament in Fullerton, Calif. Arizona won 3-1... UA is looking at this game as a warm-up going into this weekend's road trip to face No. 1 UCLA and No. 4 Washington... Arizona is tied with the Bruins for first place in the Pacific 10 Conference with a 5-1 record.

Pitching in the first game will be sophomore Becky Lemke (17-3, 1.15 ERA), followed by freshman Jennie Finch (15-1, 1.50) in the second. Lemke's 129 strikeouts and Finch's 103 are within reach of the UA single-season top 10 strikeout list.

This is the beginning of a tough week for the Wildcats as they travel to play at No. 1 UCLA (36-1, 5-1) Friday and at No. 4 Washington (25-7, 3-2) Saturday. With those games looming, Arizona is looking at tonight's doubleheader as a chance to get into a rhythm and gain confidence going into the weekend.

"We just want to play," UA head coach Mike Candrea said. "At this point in the season, we just need to see some at-bats.

"Northridge is a tough team. We played them earlier in the season and they played us hard then. I think it will be a good game."

The Wildcats will use speed against the Matadors, as UA has 85 stolen bases on the year, led by sophomore Lauren Bauer's 24 in 25 attempts.

Bauer also leads the team with a .455 batting average. Arizona has outscored its opponents by a 220-61 mark.

The Matadors will counter with a strikeout specialist of their own in junior Tara Glaister, who has 178 on the year, the most in the Big West. Glaister also leads CSUN with 10 wins and a 1.93 ERA.

CSUN's offense is led by junior infielder Katrina Nolletti's .359 average, sophomore catcher Jamie Moore's 23 RBI and freshman infielder Veronica Lopez's seven home runs.

Currently, Arizona is tied for first in the conference with the Bruins, who split a doubleheader with the Huskies last weekend. The Wildcats swept Washington in a non-conference doubleheader in the season-opening Arizona Softball Classic Feb. 8.