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Lemke and Finch dominate Oregon in 2-game sweep

In what was a must-win weekend for Arizona softball team, sophomore pitcher/first baseman Jennie Finch and junior pitcher Becky Lemke rose to the occasion and silenced the Oregon bats.

The pitching duo held the Ducks to only four hits in the two-game series - three singles and a double - without yielding a single run in the two UA victories.

More impressively Finch and Lemke struck out 22 of the 55 batters they faced, severely limiting Oregon's chances of scoring.

"We know most of the team is free swingers, they give 100 percent of the hack," Lemke said. "Mostly it was the riseball for Jennie and I both. They are not very disciplined on that pitch."

Finch opened the series on Saturday with a three-hit shutout in a 2-0 UA victory and Lemke followed the next day with a one-hit gem to shutout the Ducks and preserve a 1-0 win.

The Wildcats defense was also stellar during the weekend, as they were perfect in the field and provided great support for both Lemke and Finch.

"I think it is totally comforting, just knowing every position their is not a weakness," Lemke said.

Three regular starters have been flawless in the field this year - junior center fielder Nicole Giordano, junior catcher Lindsey Collins, and senior right fielder Chrissy Gil.

Collins, Gil and Giordano are on pace to become only the second Arizona players to finish the season with a perfect fielding percentage. Former Wildcat catcher Jody Miller Pruitt was the only other player to accomplish the feat.

"That's awesome for anybody to go through the majority of the season without making an error," junior shortstop Allison Andrade said.

The team is also on pace to break the old record of fewest errors in a season (42) as they have 30, and are in position to tie for the best fielding percentage in program history which was .979, set in 1995.

The UA fielding percentage leads the nation and the team has committed 49 fewer errors than their opponents.

Arizona's hitters were held in check during the weekend as Oregon's Connie McMurren and Andrea Vidlund reduced the Wildcats to only eight hits.

"I don't necessarily think it was their pitching," Andrade said. "We are just coming out of a wall right now."

Of the eight hits, only two went for extra bases. Both extra base hits were crucial, though, as they each drove in the game-winning runs for both games. Toni Mascarenas' RBI double in the first game, which brought in junior left fielder Lauren Bauer, and Andrade's home run in the second game proved to be the game deciding run.

Andrade was the offensive star of the weekend as she drove in two of UA's three runs, including the homer - her seventh of the season - in the second game off Vidlund.

"I have been pretty much thinking here's our chance to win the Pac-10 and gain momentum toward the NCAA's," Andrade said.

The Wildcats are having a rough time with the umpires in the Pacific Northwest lately.

On April 16, UA head coach Mike Candrea was ejected from the first inning of the game against the top-ranked Huskies for arguing two calls at the plate.

"It seems like that, but both trips to Oregon and Washington we haven't had real good experiences with the umps," Andrade said.

During Sunday's 1-0 victory against Oregon, Arizona had a run taken away in the seventh inning when the umpires ruled the Bauer had stopped running to first base to avoid being tagged by McMurren. Andrade scored from third base on the play but had to return to third after the umpires made their ruling that Bauer had stopped running to avoid the tag. Candrea immediately contested the call but to no avail.

"That call Sunday was lame, but they really can't control the outcome of the game," Bauer said.