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Wildcats spear Devils, 3-1

Unlikely power source breaks fifth-inning tie, delivers for Arizona

It took almost four innings, but Arizona's bats finally woke up last night in a softball showdown against Arizona State.

After the Wildcats tied the game at 1 in the bottom of the fourth inning, senior second baseman Katie Swan homered in the fifth to lead UA to a 3-1 victory at Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium.

Swan's shot, which stayed inside the right-field foul pole by about one foot, broke open a 1-1 game and was also her first of the season. She said she was expecting a pitch over the plate because ASU sophomore pitcher Kirsten Voak's rise ball had been staying in the strike zone.

"I looked for it, and when I saw it, I went after it," Swan said. "It's awesome, it doesn't get any better than that."

Junior third baseman Toni Mascarenas followed Swan with a homerun to left field, giving No 2. Arizona (40-3 overall, 4-0 Pacific 10 Conference) a 3-1 lead that would hold up for the rest of the game.

In the circle for the Wildcats was sophomore Jennie Finch, who dominated the fifth-ranked Sun Devils ( 34-7 overall, 2-2 Pac-10) for most of the game. She allowed a solo homerun to freshman shortstop Kara Brun in the second inning, but responded by giving up only two hits - a ground ball off her leg and a looper just over junior shortstop Allison Andrade's head - the rest of the way.

"I just hung a fat change-up and she got a hold of it," Finch said of the homerun pitch.

Finch, who struck out nine Sun Devils and improved to 18-0 on the season, said the win was extra special because of the rivalry between the two softball powers. The win was also sweet because the Wildcats listened to Voak brag after each strikeout she recorded, Finch said.

"It's another Pac-10 win, but of course it's ASU and the little rivalry there, and that pitcher got a little cocky," she said.

Voak (23-3) started off strong for the Sun Devils, striking out three through the first three innings. She also controlled the tempo of the game by freezing UA hitters in the batters box.

Arizona's first threat came in the second inning, when junior left fielder Loren Bauer reached base on an infield single and stole second. After Voak retired Finch, walked catcher junior Lindsey Collins and stuck out right fielder Chrissy Gil, Andrade belted a line drive right at the left fielder for the final out.

The Sun Devils could have increased their lead in the next two innings, but Collins ended both the third and fourth innings by throwing out runners at second base.

Then in the UA half of the fourth, Finch started off the inning by singling up the middle. After Collins singled to left, Andrade smacked a double to the wall in left-center field. Pinch runner senior Lindsey Robinson scored easily from second, but Collins was thrown out at home by a perfect relay throw.

Andrade said the double helped to get the Wildcats rolling against Voak.

"The first hit that I got (the line-drive out in the second inning) was nice and hard, so I was seeing the ball really well tonight," she said. "When anybody gets a hit, it gets the team rolling. I think that kind-of did give us a little fire beneath our belts, too."

Last night's win was the beginning of a tough week for Arizona, which face No. 4 California on Friday and No. 8 Stanford on Saturday and Sunday. All three games are at Hillenbrand.