April 26, 1997
No. 1 Arizona Powers Past No. 24 California in Softball
BERKELEY, Calif. - Top-ranked Arizona combined to score 21 runs on 26 hits in a doubleheader sweep of No. 24 California Saturday on Strawberry Field. The Wildcats (46-4, 18-1) beat the Golden Bears (27-21, 8-11), 10-4 and 11-0.
In the first game, Arizona broke through with a run in the top of the fourth inning on a solo home run by third baseman Lety Pineda. Cal gained its only lead of the afternoon at 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth on a single by right fielder Kirsten Drake and a homer to left by first baseman Melanie McCart. The home run was McCart's 10th of the year, breaking her own single-season mark of nine set in 1996.
The Wildcats, though, ran up four runs in the fifth inning and five more in the sixth. First baseman Leah O'Brien and catcher Leah Braatz-Cochrane both had RBI hits in the fifth, while the big blow in the sixth was a two-run double by shortstop Lisa Pitt.
The Bears rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh on RBI singles by shortstop Katie May and catcher Megumi Takasaki, but it wasn't enough. Arizona pitcher Nancy Evans improved to 26-1 on the year, while Cal's Holly Yost dropped to 20-15.
In the second game, Arizona scored three times in the first inning on three hits and a Cal error. Yost, who also started the nightcap, was pulled with just one out and replaced by McCart. In the second inning, Braatz-Cochrane's three-run homer put the Wildcats up by seven, and they were able to cruise the rest of the way. Pitcher Carrie Dolan tossed a two-hitter in up her mark to 20-3.
Game 1
Arizona 000 145 0 - 10 16 0
California 000 200 2 - 2 6 2
Evans (26-1) and Braatz-Cochrane. Yost (20-14) and Takasaki. HR -- Pineda (A), McCart (C).
Game 2
Arizona 340 020 2 - 11 12 0
California 000 000 0 - 0 2 1
Dolan (20-3) and Braatz-Cochrane. Yost, McCart (1) and Takasaki, Kilgariff (5). HR -- Braatz-Cochrane (A), Gil (A).
Records: Arizona 46-4 (18-1 Pac-10); California 27-21 (8-11 Pac-10)
