Kenzie Fowler hugs coach Mike Candrea after the Wildcats beat Tennessee to advance to the 2010 championship series against UCLA.
ESPN3.com screenshot

The Arizona Wildcats and UCLA Bruins played in the championship round of the Women’s College World Series last season … and they are favored to do the same again this season.

It’s a split decision, though.

Mike Candrea’s Arizona team is No. 1 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, receiving nine of 20 first-place votes. The Bruins are second.

UCLA is on top of the USA Today/NFCA poll, receiving 27 of 30 first-place votes. Arizona is second.

The Wildcats, who were swept by UCLA in last season’s best-of-three championship series, return all but shortstop K’Lee Arredondo from their lineup. That position, as well as the development of No. 2 pitcher Shelby Babcock — needed to supply effective innings behind Kenzie Fowler — will be key to UA’s success.

Arizona opens the season Feb. 10 against Indiana at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe.

The Pac-10 figures to be difficult, as usual. Seven of the eight Pac-10 teams that play softball are ranked in both polls.

Kenzie Fowler, a freshman from CDO, showed off her right arm in her much-anticipated debut with Arizona.

Arizona softball coach Mike Candrea likes what he see from freshman pitcher Kenzie Fowler, and not just because of the stuff you can find in the box scores.

Fowler went 4-0 in her opening weekend of college competition, striking out nearly two batters an inning and reinforcing the notion that she will pick up the pitching torch passed down from Debby Day to Susie Parra to Nancy Evans to Jennie Finch to Alicia Hollowell to Taryne Mowatt.

“I thought she threw well,” Candrea said after Sunday’s victories over Nevada and Cal State Fullerton at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe.

The numbers back that up — 41 strikeouts and only seven hits allowed in 22 1/3 innings. Fowler did walk 11 batters and allowed two home runs, one of which should have been caught, Candrea said, but left fielder Brittany Lastrapes knocked it over the fence.

It’s how the hard-throwing Fowler handled those bouts of wildness and adversity that encouraged Candrea.

For as much “stuff” as she has as a pitcher, Candrea also likes the stuff between Fowler’s ears.

“She’s very stable emotionally. Even-keeled demeanor, even when she was nervous early on,” Candrea said. “With the home runs, Kenzie kind of blows that stuff off. She is not too into herself and stays pretty even.”

Fowler won her first two starts, including a win over No. 15 Northwestern on Saturday. She picked up a win in relief of Sarah Akamine on Sunday, as Akamine tired against Nevada in her third start in three days. That was to be expected, Candrea said, as the senior is coming off offseason back surgery.

Fowler finished with 3 1/3 innings of hitless relief and then went the distance in the win over Cal State Fullerton.

Fowler, a two-time Gatorade National Player of the Year from Canyon del Oro High School, finished the tournament with a 1.25 ERA.

“She was having some problems with trying to be too careful at times,” Candrea said of the high walk total. “That will happen. I think it was a great lesson for her and she will learn from it.”

Beyond that, Candrea loved the “team” aspect of the 6-0 weekend.

Five players hit home runs, including grand slams Sunday from sophomore catcher Lini Koria and freshman third baseman Matte Haack. Nine players had at least three RBIs in the six games.

“Saw a little bit of everything, to tell you the truth,” Candrea said.

“Saw some really good performances and some performances where we had to battle back through adversity. We played from behind; we played from ahead. In the long run, it was a good thing for us.”

And it just built anticipation for the Wildcats’ home debut this weekend, when they will play ninth-ranked Missouri, which opened its season by taking two of three games from second-ranked Alabama.

You might remember Alabama. That is the team that ran Arizona out of last season’s Women’s College World Series with a 14-0 victory in five innings.

Arizona and Missouri will play a doubleheader Saturday at Hillenbrand Stadium, beginning at noon. The teams will play one game Sunday, beginning at noon.

UA is ranked fourth in one national poll and sixth in another.

UA RESULTS AT KAJIKAWA CLASSIC
Arizona 13, Western Michigan 9 (five innings)
Arizona 10, Purdue 0 (five innings)
Arizona 4, Northwestern 3
Arizona 6, North Dakota State 0
Arizona 10, Nevada 5
Arizona 8, Cal State Fullerton 1

Arizona freshman Kenzie Fowler struck out 18 in her second career start as the Wildcats rallied in the bottom of the seventh to beat Northwestern at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe.

Brittany Lastrapes‘ two-out, two-run single gave Arizona a 4-3 victory and made a winner of Fowler, who allowed only three hits but walked seven.

The Wildcats loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh on a walk, a hit batter and a walk. After Fowler struck out, Arizona made it 3-2 as pinch-runner Nicole Bryan scored on a passed ball. Kristen Arriola made the second out on a fielder’s choice, bringing up Lastrapes, who delivered the game-winner, which was only the second hit of the day for Arizona off senior Lauren Delaney.

This was a great early test for Arizona, which is ranked sixth in the USA Today/NFCA poll. Northwestern is 15th.

The Wildcats (4-0) won their second and final game of the day with a 6-0 victory over North Dakota State. Freshman Brigette Del Ponte, making her first start at third base, hit a bases-loaded double and had four RBIs. Sarah Akamine went the distance, allowing four hits, striking out six and walking one.

The right arm of Kenzie Fowler could very well be the story of Arizona's season/2008 Tucson Citizen photo by Cisco Medina

The Arizona softball team begins practice Monday afternoon, with coach Mike Candrea back for his 23rd season and pitcher Kenzie Fowler ready to begin her first.

Sounds like a pretty good combination.

Fowler is the hard-throwing 6-foot pitching machine, a local kid from CDO, a two-time national Gatorade Player of the Year for softball, a bright, smart student who grew up going to games at Hillenbrand Stadium, all of 18 years old and already with the inspirational story of overcoming life-threatening blood clots in her pitching shoulder in 2007.

All she is expected to do is descend upon Hillenbrand and deliver a couple of national championships. At least. Right?

All Candrea is expected to do is keep expectations somewhere in the ballpark.

In any case, it’s an exciting new pitching chapter for Arizona, which was last seen giving up an unholy 14 runs to Alabama while getting swept out of the Women’s College World Series. The Wildcats could have used Fowler last season. Maybe the season before.

No doubt, she is the headline story as practice begins, but here are three other subheds to whet the appetite.

Brigette Del Ponte is here
The freshman infielder from Sunrise Mountain High in Peoria didn’t enroll in the fall because of some academic issues, but she made it here for the spring semester and will try to find a role as a utility player. Del Ponte was rated the fourth-best recruit in the nation by ESPNU.

Arizona has only two positional vacancies from last season — third base and first base. Freshman Matte Haack appears to have dibs on third, with powerful freshman Baillie Kirker having designs on first.

Brittany Lastrapes is back
The junior outfielder hit a team-best .481 last season and slugged 17 home runs in 63 games. The lefty-hitting Lastrapes just finished competing at a tryout camp for Team USA, which will compete in this summer’s World Championships. The squad is expected to be announced Monday.

Two former Cats — pitcher Jennie Finch and outfielder Caitlin Lowe, both Olympic veterans — are locks for the team. Another ex-Cat, third baseman Jenae Leles, is up for a spot on the team after getting national team experience last summer.

Candrea hires a Red Sox fan
The Wildcats have a new volunteer assistant coach — a position that is always more valuable than it sounds — and Candrea, the ol’ Yankees fan, must really like the new guy, who is from Boston.

That would be Nick French, who spent the past two seasons as an assistant at Piedmont College in Georgia. French used to cover prep sports as an intern for the Boston Globe, so we’re guessing an unpaid position as a softball assistant is a step up from journalism.

We hear that the left-hander throws a mighty fine batting practice, which means he will more than earn his pay at Arizona.