The No. 1 Arizona softball team suffered a major setback when senior ace Alicia Hollowell went down last weekend, but the team hopes that her injury will not play too much of a role in this weekend’s three-game series against No. 10 Louisiana-Lafayette at Hillenbrand Stadium.

Undefeated until last week at the Judi Garman Classic, the Ragin’ Cajuns (23-3) have played four out of their last five games against teams ranked in the top 15, and the schedule does not appear to be getting any easier in their trip to play the Wildcats (26-3). Lafayette finished third in its pool after losing to No. 4 Texas and No. 13 Washington.

“”Lafayette’s a good team,”” Arizona head coach Mike Candrea said. “”We will need to play good softball to beat them. They have good power, so they could leave the yard at any time.””

The Lafayette bats he is referring to are hitting a combined .343 with 57 home runs, scoring nine runs per game. Among their other statistics are a .653 slugging percentage and a whopping .435 on-base percentage.

“”They swing the bats quite well, and they are very aggressive hitters,”” Candrea said. “”It will be a good series.””

Candrea may call upon senior pitcher Leslie Wolfe to take the spot of the injured Hollowell, but as of yesterday, Wolfe had

not yet been penciled in to start. The verdict is slow in large part because the coach is mixed about what to expect from Wolfe, who Wednesday threw for the first time in months.

“”We will wait and see,”” Candrea said. “”I haven’t even gotten that far yet.””

If Wolfe gets the nod in a game this weekend, it will be her first appearance of the year. Last year Wolfe went 6-2 with a 1.64 ERA and is 14-4 with a 2.38 ERA in 48 career appearances.

Hollowell will probably be out for about two to three weeks, Candrea said, after getting struck in the head by a line drive in Sunday’s semifinal game of the Garman Classic against Texas. She was able to stand up on her own power but still was forced to leave the game.

“”I’m doing well,”” Hollowell said. “”I’m just recovering, and trying to get better.””

Hollowell acknowledged that it is a bit frustrating being on the sidelines.

“”I would like to be out there and be involved, but there’s nothing I can do about it,”” she said. “”I’m just trying to stay positive and get healthy.””

Hollowell is accustomed to throwing in simulated games during the week, but now that she is sidelined, the team is trying to work Wolfe back in the habit of throwing again.

“”(Leslie)’s coming back slowly, so we may only be able to use her in some situations.””

For Arizona, however, losing Hollowell could have been worse had sophomore pitcher Taryne Mowatt not pitched so well last weekend. Mowatt (12-2) was named the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week after throwing a perfect game and a no-hitter in the Classic.

Another Wildcat sidelined for the weekend is All-American junior centerfielder Caitlin Lowe, who injured her hand last week in the same game Hollowell went down and will be out for about four to six weeks, Candrea said. Lowe has been a key offensive figure for Arizona, leading the team with a .490 batting average and 19 stolen bases, while also scoring 25 runs.