By Eric Wein

Arizona Daily Wildcat

Ever since the final out was recorded last Saturday night, Arizona coach Mike Candrea has been a happy man.

His happiness comes not only because the Wildcats swept UCLA on Saturday, but also because they did not overlook Cal State-Fullerton the night before.

"I can't tell you how proud I was," Candrea said. "I thought their preparation, their intensity, their whole approach to the game this weekend were very good."

After a day off and a practice last night, the No. 1 Wildcats (35-1 overall, 6-0 in the Pacific 10 Conference) take on Arizona State at Hillenbrand Stadium in a doubleheader tonight at 6.

"If we go out and do the things we do well, very well, it's going to be like this last weekend," Candrea said. "My biggest concern is not so much with the opponent, but to make sure we go out and play our game. We're not going to change what we do because of anyone."

There's a big difference between the outlook of the team from Tempe and the outlook of the team from Tucson.

Arizona State upset UCLA on Opening Day in February. But there have been few highlights since.

The Sun Devils (16-23, 1-5 in the Pac-10) almost pulled out a win against Fresno State, the only team to defeat Arizona. The Sun Devils lost a two-run lead and the game in the seventh inning against the Bulldogs last month in Tucson.

The Sun Devils' ace, Mona Nard, carries a respectable 2.75 ERA, but because run support has been ASU's problem, her record is a meager 8-14.

While the Sun Devils have hit just three home runs, the Wildcats have hit 52.

"We haven't played our best game yet," Candrea said. "I hope it comes in May."

NOTES _ Freshman outfielder Brandi Shriver suffered the first significant injury of the season when she broke her wrist a couple of weeks ago. However, it has not prevented her from pinch running and Candrea doesn't know when she can resume hitting and fielding.

ùPitcher Susie Parra and catcher Leah Braatz appeared on separate NBA television shows on both NBC and CNN over the weekend.

The Wildcat duo played in a celebrity benefit softball game last week in Phoenix and Parra came in to pitch against the Suns' Charles Barkley. After throwing her regular fast pitches to the All-Star forward, she was instructed to lob the next pitch. Barkley then drilled Parra's slow pitch clear out of the stadium. Read Next Article