The No. 4 Arizona softball team has revenge on its mind.
The Wildcats (9-2) host No. 2 Texas A&M (10-0) for a three-game series at Hillenbrand Stadium tonight through Sunday night.
Arizona lost to the Aggies on a walk-off home run in the final game of the Kajikawa Classic Feb. 11.
“”We owe them a little something,”” said second baseman Chelsie Mesa. “”We didn’t play as well as we wanted to when we were up in Tempe (for the Classic), so we’re ready to come out and give it our all and show them that we’re better than how we played against them.””
In the first matchup UA center fielder Caitlin Lowe scored the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh inning to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead. But in the bottom of the inning, A&M’s Megan Gibson turned on a Taryne Mowatt pitch and sent it deep towards center field.
Lowe was able to put a glove on the ball before crashing through the outfield fence but was unable to get the out, as Arizona took its second loss of the season.
Lowe feels the loss to the Aggies was more a matter of the Wildcats beating themselves than anything else.
“”We help ourselves to lose, it’s not really another team,”” she said. “”We didn’t really put ourselves in a situation where we were able to win, so it’s kind of on us that way.””
“”We’re ready to come out and give it our all and show them that we’re better than how we played against them.””
– Chelsie Mesa,
second baseman
The loss appears to have refocused the defending champions. Arizona has won five in a row, sweeping the Worth Wildcat Invitational at home last weekend.
Mowatt was dominant in the Worth, collecting three wins, including her third career no-hitter. She struck out 14 in the no-hitter, notched Friday against Texas Tech, and now has 71 strikeouts this season in only 44 1/3 innings.
Mowatt also seems to have fixed her most glaring problem. After giving up six home runs in her first 22 1/3 innings, she hasn’t allowed a single home run in the last 22 innings.
Arizona’s winning streak has come against inferior competition, however, as not a single opponent was nationally ranked.
UA shortstop Kristie Fox said the Wildcats are anxious to show A&M that they are a better team than they were two weeks ago.
“”We don’t like to lose to anyone, and we have the opportunity now to make a statement to (A&M) because we have three games and we definitely want to come out and beat them all three games and show that that one game was just a fluke,”” she said.
