Despite an offensive outburst yesterday that saw freshman Sarah Akamine blast two grand slams earlier in the day, the No. 5 Arizona softball team couldn’t carry it over to the championship game of the Judi Garman Classic, falling 11-0 to No. 6 Oklahoma.

The Wildcats (21-7) fell to the Sooners (33-2) for the second time in four days, as Oklahoma also got the best of Arizona on Thursday in pool play, winning 6-2. The Wildcats won their first game Thursday, beating North Carolina State 2-0.

Arizona bounced back from the Oklahoma loss and went on a run in the Fullerton, Calif., event, defeating two ranked opponents en route to the championship game.

After beating unranked Pacific 11-0 Friday, the Wildcats faced off against No. 7 Michigan Saturday. The game was a matchup of the past two national champions as the Wolverines (23-3) won the title in 2005 and the Wildcats won it last year.

The defending champs got the better of the Wolverines, 2-1, behind UA pitcher Taryne Mowatt’s complete game three-hitter. Third baseman Jenae Leles provided all the offense the Wildcats needed on a two-run single in the fourth inning for her sixth game-winning hit of the season.

In that game second baseman Chelsie Mesa saw her career-long 22-game hitting streak come to an end. It was the longest hitting streak by a UA player since Autumn Champion had a 25-game hitting streak in 2003.

The Wildcats then played No. 16 Louisiana-Lafayette yesterday morning to decide who would face Oklahoma in the title game.

Arizona’s other pitcher, Akamine, almost single-handedly put the Wildcats into the championship game – but did so with her bat, not her arm.

The freshman, who started as the designated player while Mowatt pitched, hit two grand slams as the Wildcats defeated the Ragin’ Cajuns (28-7) 9-0.

Akamine’s two grand slams set an Arizona individual game record, and her eight RBIs were the fourth most in school history.

The game also featured milestones for Arizona’s All-America seniors. Center fielder Caitlin Lowe’s stolen base in the top of the first inning gave her 133 swipes in her illustrious career, moving her into a tie with Lauren Bauer for second place in school history.

Shortstop Kristie Fox doubled Lowe home right after the steal, giving her 196 career RBIs, good for sixth place on the school’s all-time list ahead of Jennie Finch.

Arizona kicked off spring break with a visit to No. 10 Baylor on March 9-11. After beating the Bears 3-0 in the opening game, the Wildcats dropped the next two, each 3-2.