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Wildcat softball dominating both offensive and pitching

Arizona outscored its opponents by 270 runs

It's hard to find a weakness on this year's UA softball team, as the Wildcats have dominated their opponents throughout the season in route to a 42-4 overall record.

Their domination has come both in the circle and at the plate, as No. 2 Arizona's statistical numbers are staggering.

Junior pitcher Becky Lemke and sophomore pitcher Jennie Finch have combined to allow only 31 earned runs all season, in 292 innings of work.

"We all have confidence no matter which one is on the mound," junior shortstop Allison Andrade said. "If you don't have pitching, you don't have much."

The pitching duo has each thrown two no-hitters this year, marking the first time since 1995 a pair of Wildcats have thrown no-hitters in the same season.

Carrie Dolan and Nancy Evans each threw no-hitters that year as they led UA to the 1995 National Championship.

Lemke also leads the team in wins with 22 and strikeouts at 225, which places her third all-time in the program's history with 623, trailing only Evan's 733.

Finch has done double-duty for the Wildcats, as she is a perfect 20-0 in the circle and leads the team in ERA at 0.57.

Aside from pitching, though, Finch has carried a powerful bat as she has crushed 14 home runs while hitting .391 at the plate from the fifth spot in the UA lineup. She is also one of only two Wildcats who are batting .500 in Pacific 10 Conference play, going 10 for 20 with seven RBI. Senior Katie Swan is the other, going 12 for 24 with a homer and five RBI.

Andrade said Finch's feats as both a pitcher and batter are impressive because the amount of energy Finch has used to focus on both aspects of her game.

"Mentally, it can wear you down, that is incredible what she has done," she said.

Finch also holds the honor of being the only player in the Pac-10 to win both the Player of the Week and Pitcher of the Week awards this season.

When Finch threw a perfect game against Tennessee Tech on Feb. 18, she also received the distinction of being the only pitcher in the Pac-10 to throw a perfect game this year.

The Wildcat offense has held its own this year as it leads all Pac-10 teams in batting average and runs scored.

The team also had a 32-game win streak earlier in the season, which is the longest in the Pac-10 this year.

As a team, Arizona is batting .362, with junior center fielder Nicole Giordano leading the way from the leadoff spot with a .481 average, which is 90 points higher than Finch's .391, which is second on the team.

"She's just awesome, I am really happy for her," said senior second baseman Katie Swan of Giordano's success this season. "She works hard at it, and she deserves it."

Swan attributed the team's high batting average to the Wildcat's team speed, which has stolen 74 bases in 79 attempts.

"We have a lot of speed in our offense, which is a big bonus," Swan said.

Junior left fielder Lauren Bauer leads the team with 28 stolen bases.

All eight of UA's regular starters are batting over .300, with senior right fielder Chrissy Gil's .311 batting average the lowest of all starters, which is still considered a very good average.

UA head coach Mike Candrea usually rotates players in the ninth spot in the batting order, which is why the Wildcats have only eight regular starters.

Junior Erika Hanson has seen the most time in the spot, as she plays first base when Finch pitches.

Arizona has also driven in runs from every spot in the batting lineup, as eight players have at least 15 RBIs.

"It takes off a lot of pressure because you know that someone can do the job," said Andrade of Arizona's ability to produce from any spot in the lineup.

Junior catcher Lindsey Collins leads the team with 48 RBIs, while Finch is only three behind at 45.

Power at the plate has not been lacking either for the Wildcats, as they have 43 long balls this year.

Finch leads the team with 14 but has yet to hit one in conference play, while Collins is

Freshman first baseman Leneah Manuma has yet to play this season despite her outstanding power-hitting potential.

Manuma suffered ligament damage to her left knee this fall and underwent reconstructive surgery in October.

Although her rehabilitation has gone very well, she is going to redshirt this season and prepare for next year.

The Wildcats could be in trouble this weekend when they play No. 3 UCLA and No. 1 Washington twice on the road.

All four of UA's losses have been during day games, which is when all three contests will be played this weekend.

"It is nice to play both night and day," Swan said. "I don't think anyone has any preferences."

Arizona is 15-0 in night games this season, including five Pac-10 games against - Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona State, California and Stanford.

The next night game for the Wildcats will be in Tempe against the No. 4 Sun Devils on April 21.