The No. 7 Arizona softball team will continue its season series against No. 6 ASU in a midweek clash in Tempe. The duel between the top-10 ranked squads will kick off with the continuation of the battle for the season series, but will be decided in Tempe due to the rescheduling of a game back on April 11.

The Wildcats will complete the game that was delayed due to rain at 5 p.m. today at Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium. The second game of the double header is slated for 7 p.m.

Arizona (37-11, 9-4 Pacific 10 Conference) will remain the designated home team and will be up to bat in the bottom of the third inning with the game tied 2-2. Although the rescheduling of the game was disappointing to Arizona at the time, the Wildcats will resume the contest against the Sun Devils (37-11, 7-6) in a favorable situation.

“”We are in a good position right now,”” said pitcher Sarah Akamine. “”We have a runner on first and Stacie (Chambers) up to bat.””

With no outs, Jenae Leles will start the game on first base while Chambers will step into the box with a full count facing Sun Devil pitcher Hillary Bach (22-5), who leads ASU with a 3.01 ERA. Before the game was postponed, Bach struggled against the Wildcat lineup.

“”She struggled last time a little bit,”” Leles said. “”I know she’s going to make an adjustment, and we’re just going to have to make an adjustment to her adjustment.””

Making an adjustment is something Arizona failed to do over the weekend against UCLA and Washington. But the Wildcats’ 11-0 victory over the Huskies on Sunday allowed Arizona’s bats to get hot again. The Wildcats blasted out five home runs and inched closer to breaking the all-time NCAA home run record of 126. Arizona currently has 111 team home runs.

“”We can definitely take the energy from the weekend and beat up on ASU,”” said pitcher Jennifer Martinez. “”(We need to) take the positives from the last game and keep rolling with the punches that are thrown at us.””

The Arizona offense will have to come out strong to defeat the Sun Devils for the second time this season, as it is looking to capitalize on its last victory against ASU. The Wildcats’ first defeat of ASU this season was their first win against the Sun Devils in four games. The series will also have Pac-10 implications as Arizona battles to return to the top of the conference.

Although Arizona does not have the advantage of playing as the home team, the players care more about the result of the game than where it is actually played.

“”I think the outcome is going to be the same whether we are playing here or there,”” Leles said. “”If we come out there with the same intensity and get the momentum going, we won’t have a problem.””