This week's Pac-10 opening softball matchup between the #3 Arizona Wildcats and the #7 Arizona State Sun Devils will highlight two of college softball's top programs and the superb local talent on their rosters.

Both teams are coming off of a few tough losses in the pass 10 games and would love nothing more than to get a few wins back against the cross-state rival. The Wildcats (28-3) dropped a 1-0 loss to Michigan on March 18 and then fell 2-1 to Virginia three days later.

The Sun Devils (31-4) also ran into some tough luck on March 18, losing 1-0 to Texas and 5-4 to Oklahoma. The losses snapped an 18-game winning streak.

Former Canyon del Oro ace Kenzie Fowler has led the Wildcats from the circle, posting a 18-2 record on the season. The freshman phenom has a miniscule 0.84 ERA and has struck out 177 batters in 124.2 innings.

Another freshman getting it done for Arizona is third baseman Brigette Del Ponte. The Peoria Sunrise Mountain alum has swung a hot bat for the Cats, nailing 12 home runs and collecting 47 RBI. Del Ponte is currently batting .402 and has struck out only 11 times in 82 at-bats.

Not to be outdone, the Sun Devils also have a stud freshman on the roster. With success on both sides of the ball, pitcher and second baseman Sam Parlich has proven she can cut it from the circle or from the batter's box.

In her role as a part time starter and reliever, Parlich has posted a 5-2 record with a 2.08 ERA in 33.2 innings. The Chandler Basha grad has put up equally impressive numbers on offense, hitting .387 in 75 at-bats this season.

Sophomores Annie Lockwood (Phoenix Paradise Valley) and Katelyn Boyd (Phoenix Horizon) have also led the potent ASU offense. Boyd has provided pop from the number two spot with a batting average of .455 and 14 homeruns. Lockwood has also shown some power this season, slugging eight homeruns to go along with a .372 average.

Boyd has also shown she is light on her feet, stealing 20 bases thus far this season.

The Wildcats topped the Sun Devils 12-6 in a slugfest Friday night in the first game of the three-game set in Tempe.

ATH for Wednesday:

While the top-ranked Sun Devils historic win streak has garnered most of Arizona college baseball’s attention as of late, the No. 18 University of Arizona Wildcats quietly put together a pretty impressive streak of their own.

After getting off to a mediocre 5-4 start, the Cats reeled off 15 straight wins before the Oregon Ducks used a ninth inning rally to drop Arizona 9-8 on Sunday. The streak put the Wildcats back into national contention, improving their record to 20-5 overall.

Nogales high school grad Rafael Valenzuela and Cienega alum Seth Mejias-Brean have been major contributors to the surging Wildcat offense.

Valenzuela is batting .327 with eight doubles, three triples, one home run and 23 RBI on the season. He has also stolen eight bases.

Holding down the starting third baseman's job as a freshman, Mejias-Brean is batting .412 with five doubles, two triples, one homer and 23 RBI.

In a limited relief role, former Page High pitcher Vincent Littleman has posted a 1-0 record and 4.22 ERA over 10.2 innings of work. He has struck out 10 and walked five.

Arizona opened Pac-10 play against the Ducks last weekend, taking two out of three.

ATH for Monday

The 14u AZ Desert Kaos Spring Team played its way into the USSSA 14U Swing Into Spring Qualifier championship this weekend despite coming together as a team only days before the tournament began.

The team did not even have time to practice together, and they had to pick up their jerseys from an opposing coach’s garage, said coach Rick Phillips.

“We just put together a bunch of eighth-grade girls from the area and they came out and played well," said Phillips.

Taylor Hughes, Boo Wuerger and Anderson Phillips all helped spark the upstart Kaos offense. Hughes batted better than .400 for the tournament. Wuerger led the team in RBI.

From the circle, Cailee Smith pitched in five games over the weekend.

The Kaos fell 5-0 to the AZ Hotshots 96 in the championship game.

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