Pitcher Nancy Evans will take a medical redshirt for the 1996 season, UA softball coach Mike Candrea announced yesterday.

Evans, a junior, who was trying to come back from a broken foot, had a 4-0 record as ace of the second-ranked Wildcats (9-2). She was more or less forced to pitch to offset the loss of freshman Lisa Pitt, who broke her arm in a preseason practice and has been unavailable to pitch thus far. But with Pitt's return to the lineup this weekend, the decision to redshirt Evans was made.

"We were just trying to see how she would respond," Candrea said. "We feel right now it is in the kid's best interest to sit."

Evans was second-team All-Pacific 10 Conference last season with a 31-4 record and a 1.65 ERA, including two no-hitters. She also hit .351 with 41 RBI.

Evans is the third player the Wildcats will redshirt this season. Junior catcher Leah Braatz will redshirt because she is due to give birth this spring, and junior outfielder Leah O'Brien will take a year off as a member of the U.S. Olympic softball team.

Arizona will host Tennessee and Northwestern (La.) State at the Wildcat Classic this weekend. Arizona will face both teams today, with the game against the Volunteers coming at 1 p.m. and the Northwestern State game set to begin at 3 p.m.

The same teams will meet again tomorrow, with the Wildcats facing the Demons at 1 p.m. and Tennessee at 3 p.m.

On Sunday, the teams will be seeded by record, and the No. 2 and No. 3 teams will play at 11 a.m. The winner will advance to meet the No. 1 team at 1 p.m.

The Wildcats are led at the plate by sophomore outfielder Alison Johnsen, who was named the Pac-10 player of the week for her performance at the Arizona Softball Classic last weekend. In five games, Johnsen went 10-for-19, but her average still dropped to .581.