Alex Lavine tags out New Mexico State's Tiare Jennings on a stolen base attempt in the NCAA regionals. Photo by Mark Evans, TucsonCitizen.com

Arizona Wildcats softball coach Mike Candrea hasn’t had to worry about the shortstop position for much of the past decade — from Lovie Jung to Kristie Fox to K’Lee Arredondo.

Those are three players with some sort of All-America honors.

Now, he has two freshman walk-ons.

That’s not usually the best way to be at shortstop, and it’s the one key personnel question facing Candrea as he prepares his team for this weekend’s Super Regional against Oklahoma at Hillenbrand Stadium.

Does he go with Alex Lavine, who has started 42 of 59 games?

Or does he go with Cienega graduate Ashlee Brawley, who started 15 games, mostly late in the season?

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Juron Criner acknowledges the crowd after catching the game-winning TD pass against Cal last season. Photo by Chris Morrison, US-PRESSWIRE

Arizona Wildcats senior receiver Juron Criner soon will be getting a lot more exposure.

Criner will be part of the Pac-12′s promotional tour for football this summer, including a stop in Bristol, Conn., where he will get the full ESPN treatment of interviews across various radio and television platforms.

Criner told TucsonCitizen.com that he found out about the trip Monday.

“I feel like there is no such thing as not enough exposure, so, of course, I need it,” Criner said.

“But as far as this being my kind of thing, I would say no, because I’m not a fan of the cameras and I’m not a spotlight kind of guy. But I’ll eventually have to get used to it, so why not start now?”

Last year, the Pac-10 took its head coaches and four quarterback, including Arizona’s Nick Foles, to the ESPN campus in late July to go through what the network calls the “car wash” cycle of interviews.

“Meeting different guys, traveling to a different place … I’m looking forward to it in a lot of different ways,” Criner said.

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Mike Candrea's Arizona teams twice have defeated Oklahoma in the Super Regionals. Photo by Mark Evans, TucsonCitizen.com

The Arizona Wildcats softball team hasn’t always played its best against the best this season.

Arizona, which finished the season ranked 10th in the USA Today coaches poll, went 1-6 against the other nine teams in the top 10.

The Cats went 9-13 against the other 15 teams competing in this weekend’s Super Regionals.

UA was swept in two games by Oklahoma.

And that’s what really matters right now.

The Sooners will be coming to Tucson to play a best-of-three NCAA Super Regional, beginning Friday at 8:30 p.m. (ESPNU). Saturday’s game is at 2 p.m. on ESPN, followed by another game at about 4:30 p.m., if necessary.

“Both times we played them we have not been at our best,” said Arizona sophomore pitcher Kenzie Fowler.

“For some reason, we have been down in the ditch when we played them. For me, it’s kind of exciting to know we have given those games way and we haven’t even really challenged them yet. In the early season we had a lot of ups and downs. It’s exciting to know we are on roll now.”

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Willie Mobley at Arizona's scrimmage on April 2. Photo by David Kadlubowski/The Arizona Republic

The ACL hits keep coming for the Arizona football team.

Junior defensive tackle Willie Mobley suffered an ACL tear playing basketball at the student rec center, and will undergo surgery this week, a UA official confirmed Monday.

Mobley played sparingly last season, appearing in 10 games and making seven tackles, including 1.5 for loss and a half-sack. He was slated in the spring to be a backup to sophomore Justin Washington, who had 11.5 tackles for loss and six sacks last season, earning Freshman All-American honors.

Mobley began his career at Ohio State, redshirting as a freshman in 2008, before transferring to Orange Coast Community College in Costa Mesa, Calif., where he did not play in 2009.

Sophomore Sione Tuihalamaka, who made four starts and 23 tackles last season, is penciled in as the starter at the other defensive tackle spot. Arizona has promising depth but is young and inexperienced behind the sophomore starters.

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Tedy Bruschi with a sack dance in 1994. Photo by Stephen Dunn, Getty Images Sport

Former, current and future Arizona Wildcats are always making news. Here is some of the latest:

Tedy Bruschi

The former All-American defensive end didn’t get into the College Football Hall of Fame last week — his ex-teammate Rob Waldrop did — but how cool is Bruschi’s latest adventure?

Bruschi recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with former Titans coach Jeff Fisher, former Eagles tight end Chad Lewis and four injured military service members to raise awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project.

He reached the summit and called it a “truly memorable experience.”

Bruschi writes about it for ESPNBoston.com.

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Arizona's power hitters did plenty of celebrating around home plate this weekend, as Stacie Chambers did Saturday. Photo by Mark Evans, TucsonCitizen.com

The Arizona Wildcats softball team did what it should have done. It took care of business in the NCAA regional this weekend, capped by a 10-2 victory over Texas Tech on Sunday.

Whether it was the Red Raiders, or New Mexico State on Saturday, or Harvard on Friday, none of the opponents had the pitching to challenge Arizona.

The Wildcats won by a combined score of 28-2. That’s the way it often is in this round of the playoffs.

But those days are over.

Arizona will take on Oklahoma this weekend in a best-of-three Super Regional at Hillenbrand Stadium. Friday’s game begins at 8:30 p.m. (ESPNU). The teams will play Saturday at 2 p.m. and, if necessary, at 4:30 p.m. (ESPN)

The Sooners beat UA 11-1 in a season-opening tournament in Tempe on February. They won again, 5-3, in the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif., on March 17.

Oklahoma has one of the nation’s best pitchers — hard-throwing left-hander Keilani Ricketts, who ended the regular season fourth in the nation in strikeouts per seven innings (11.5).

“From here on out,” said coach Mike Candrea, “the margin of error becomes so slim.”

With the stakes, the pressure and the competition rising, here is a look at what’s going good and what’s going bad for the Wildcats:

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Arizona finishes off Texas Tech, winning 10-2 in six innings to win the Tucson regional and advance to next week’s Super Regional at Hillenbrand Stadium.

The Wildcats will play Oklahoma, which defeated Tulsa on Sunday afternoon in the Norman, Okla., regional.

The teams will meet Friday at 8:30 p.m. (ESPNU). They will play Saturday at 2 p.m. and, if necessary at 4:30 p.m. (ESPN).

Since the NCAA went to the regional/super regional format in 2005, the Wildcats have gone 21-0 in regional play.

Kenzie Fowler (26-7) gets the win for Arizona, allowing five hits.

* * *

Arizona gets within run-rule range by putting up four runs in the top of the sixth. The big hit comes on a two-run homer by first baseman Baillie Kirker, who recently was dropped to ninth in the order and entered the game hitting .184. The home run was her fourth of the season, and her first since March 27.

The Wildcats lead 10-1 going into the bottom of the sixth. If they lead by at least eight after the bottom of the inning, Arizona wins by mercy rule.

The Cats have 10 hits and have walked 10 times.

* * *

Kenzie Fowler’s streak of 16 1/3 scoreless innings in regional play comes to end as Raven Richardson hits a long run to centerfield. Texas Tech gets to 6-1 in the bottom of the fourth.

* * *

The Arizona offense keeps delivering, even if it is in quiet ways. The Wildcats score twice more in the top of the fourth on a bases loaded hit by pitch (Lini Koria was grazed on the thigh by an inside pitch on an 0-2 count) and Kristen Arriola followed with a walk to drive in the other run.

* * *

Scary moment for Arizona as Texas Tech’s Logan Hall hits a deep drive to left field with a runner on first. Brittany Lastrapes goes back to make a super jumping catch, hitting the pads on the wall before firing the ball back to the infield.

She then stays on the ground, apparently hurt. The trainer and coach Mike Candrea come out to observe, and after a couple of minutes, Lastrapes pops back up and stays in the game.

* * *

Arizona extends the lead to 4-0 in the top of the third inning.

Brigette Del Ponte led off with a double off the glove of the third baseman, as the hard-hit trickled into foul territory past the bag. Stacie Chambers walked, and Lini Koria followed with a double down the left-field line.

After an out, Karissa Buchanan put down a hit right in front of the plate, with Texas Tech having no play anywhere as pinch-runner Jordy Clifton scored from third.

* * *

Kenzie Fowler retires the side in order in the bottom of the second (see two notes below).

* * *

Arizona grabs the lead in the top of the second on a solo home run by Lini Koria, her 15th of the season. Arizona adds another run as a bases-loaded walk by Brittany Lastrapes drives in a run.

* * *

New day, same story. Arizona’s Kenzie Fowler allows two hits in the bottom of the first, but works out of trouble by getting Raven Richardson to fly out to center field with runners on second and third. In 14 regional innings, she has had only one inning in which she retired the side in order.

* * *

Another lovely, albeit slightly warm day, at Hillenbrand Stadium on the final day of an NCAA softball regional. Arizona will take on Texas Tech at noon in the double-elimination tournament.

The Wildcats are 2-0 in the regional, and would get another game, to immediately follow, if they lost to the Red Raiders.

If Arizona wins, it would play host to a best-of-three NCAA Super Regional starting next Friday, likely against Oklahoma, which is the No. 9 overall seed in the tournament. The Cats are seeded eighth.

Arizona coach Mike Candrea is staying with sophomore ace Kenzie Fowler, who has pitched shutouts against Harvard and New Mexico State in the NCAA regional. She is 25-7 with a 1.63 ERA. Candrea also is staying with freshman Alex Lavine at shortstop; she started Saturday; freshman Ashlee Brawley started late in the season and also the NCAA regional opener.

Texas Tech is starting pitcher Kelsey Dennis (13-5, 2.84 ERA). Arizona is the visiting team.

Javier Morales

TucsonCitizen.com blogger Javier Morales won first place Saturday night for metro sports reporting at the Arizona Press Club awards dinner in Phoenix.

Morales won for his series of stories last summer on former Arizona basketball player Coniel Norman, who had been missing for several years before resurfacing publicly in July at a homeless shelter for veterans in Detroit.

Here are the stories:

July 16: Ex-UA prolific scorer Coniel Norman, feared lost, found living in Detroit

July 17: Struggling ex-UA star Coniel Norman eager to start new life in Detroit

July 19: Healing process begins for Norman

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Kenzie Fowler struck out 15 hitters, three off her career-best. Photo by Mark Evans, TucsonCitizen.com

It wasn’t Kenzie Fowler’s best game. It sure wasn’t her worst. It was certainly one of her strangest.

Any which way, there is no argument with the results.

Fowler shut out an aggressive, power-hitting New Mexico State lineup, striking out a season-high 15 batters as the Arizona Wildcats won 8-0 at an NCAA regional game on Saturday afternoon at Hillenbrand Stadium.

Those numbers make it appear it was a vintage, dominating performance for Fowler, who earned All-American honors last season as a freshman. But she also allowed eight hits, walked three batters, hit two others and let the Aggies put a runner in scoring position in six of seven innings.

“The zero on the board doesn’t really show how many times they had scoring opportunities,” Fowler said, “but we did make some good plays at the right time.

“You really have to try to buckle down. I thought I did a good job of not getting tight in that situation. A lot of times I tend to overthrow when the pressure is on.

“But for some reason today, I was just feeling very loose when they had runners on. So, I think that is a good sign for me to have those kind of situations for down the road … or tomorrow.”

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Arizona beats New Mexico State 8-0 as sophomore pitcher Kenzie Fowler does what she needs to do when she needs to do it.

Fowler allowed eight hits, walked three and hit two batters, but she struck out a season-high 15 batters to avoid trouble. NMSU stranded 12 runners.

Arizona will play in Sunday’s noon game in the double-elimination regional, having two chances to win one game in order to advance to next week’s Super Regional action, which would be held at Hillenbrand vs. the winner of the regional being played at Norman, Okla.

TUCSON REGIONAL RESULTS/SCHEDULE

FRIDAY
Game 1, 4 p.m. — New Mexico State 9, Texas Tech 0 (5 innings)
Game 2, 6:30 p.m. — Arizona 10, Harvard 0 (six innings)

SATURDAY
Game 3, 2 p.m. — Arizona 8, New Mexico State 0
Game 4, 4:30 p.m. — Texas Tech vs. Harvard
Game 5, 7 p.m. — New Mexico State vs. Winner Game 4

SUNDAY
Game 6, noon — Arizona vs. Winner Game 5
Game 7, 2 p.m. — Repeat Game 6, if necessary

* * *

Going to the bottom of the seventh. Arizona adds to more runs after pitcher Alex Villalobos comes into the game for New Mexico State to make it an 8-0 lead. Krista Buchanan drove in a run with an infield hit and Alex Lavine sharply hits a sacrifice fly to center.

* * *

New Mexico State is on to its fourth pitcher of the game after Arizona chases Kelsey Schueler in the top of the seventh. Brigette Del Ponte led off with a double to left. Stacie Chambers walked and, one batter later, Kristen Arriola lined a double down the left-field line to drive in Del Ponte for a 6-0 lead.

* * *

Kenzie Fowler does it again, wiggling out of trouble in the sixth. With the bases loaded with one out, she strikes out the next two batters. Fowler has a season-high 13 strikeouts as the game goes to the seventh, Arizona leading 5-0.

New Mexico State has had a runner in scoring position in five of six innings, but can’t get the big hit.

* * *

Arizona extends its lead in the top of the fifth on another big blast. Brigette Del Ponte smashes a pitch from relief pitcher Alex Newman over the right-center field wall for a two-run homer. Lauren Schutzler had led off the inning with a bunt hit.

The Wildcats lead 5-0, and the Aggies go to their third pitcher of the day — Kelsey Schueler.

* * *

Moving along at Hillenbrand. Arizona still leads 3-0 going into the bottom of the fourth. New Mexico State has run itself out of the past two innings, getting thrown out at third base in the second inning and then a caught stealing to end the third.

* * *

New Mexico State squanders an opportunity to score in the bottom of the second. Brittany Clifton singled sharply to left with two outs, and Teresa Conrad, who was on second, took a hard turn around third base.

Seemingly committed to going home, Conrad stopped halfway down the line … and Brigette Del Ponte cut off the throw from Lastrapes. Del Ponte threw in time to shortstop Alex Lavine, who applied the tag at third base.

It’s still 3-0 Arizona in the top of the third.

* * *

Kenzie Fowler gets in a bit of a trouble in the first, allowing a walk and a single, but she blows a rise ball past a swinging Hoku Nohara (23 home runs this season) for the second out and then goes outside to whiff Valerie Swedberg to end the threat.

* * *

Stacie Chambers quickly adds to her Arizona home run record, going opposite-field for a three-run shot in the top of the first inning against New Mexico State. Cats lead 3-0.

* * *

It’s a sun-drenched afternoon at Hillenbrand Stadium, where Arizona will take on New Mexico State at 2 p.m. in a winners’ bracket game of an NCAA regional.

The winner advances to Sunday’s final. The loser has to play again Saturday night, and then sweep two games tomorrow.

So, yeah, it’s a key game.

Arizona is going with Kenzie Fowler, who got the win Friday night as Arizona beat Harvard 10-0. New Mexico State counters with Celisha Walker, and not Alex Newman, who threw a five-inning no-hitter Friday night against Texas Tech.

Check back here for updates and observations during the game …

One change in the Arizona lineup: Alex Lavine is at shortstop for Ashlee Brawley, who committed an error Friday night and went 0-for-2 with a walk.