Arizona outfielder Brittany Lastrapes had three hits as the Wildcats beat Hawaii in an elimination game Saturday night at the Women's College World Series/ESPN3.com screenshot

Can’t imagine there would be anything that could faze Arizona pitcher Kenzie Fowler. It’s as if she has turned the whole controversy at the Women’s College World Series upside down.

The more illegal pitches the umpires call, the better I pitch.

The Wildcats are marching on in Oklahoma City, winning two games Saturday in the losers’ bracket despite 12 more illegal pitches being called against Fowler, who couldn’t completely curtail her “leaping” issue from the pitching rubber. It’s against the rules for the pitcher to have both feet off the ground, resulting in a ball being called and allowing any runners to advance a base.

Whatever.

Fowler was the winning pitcher as Arizona hung on to eliminate Washington 4-3 Saturday afternoon, ending the career of the Huskies’ Danielle Lawrie, the two-time national player of the year. Saturday night, UA defeated Hawaii 5-1 as Fowler struck out 13. She recorded nine of the last 10 outs via strikeout.

It’s as if coach Mike Candrea said last week at the Super Regionals in Tucson. “She’s stable,” he said.

When Fowler was called for eight illegal pitches in an opening-round loss to Tennessee, she was understandably frustrated and thrown off rhythm, as umpires emphatically enforced a rule that had become less-emphasized as the regular-season wore on.

But you might as well have called her “Poker Face” in Saturday’s victories, even as those illegal pitches piled up and nearly led to a Washington comeback victory.

“She threw not like a freshman, but like a seasoned veteran,” Candrea said in the postgame press conference.

But it wasn’t all Fowler on Saturday. Candrea had wanted his Wildcats, who bowed out meekly from the World Series in two games last season, to show some fight. A lot of fight, actually.

They found their fight, and their hitting stroke, Saturday. Well, at least the Wildcats’ speedy left-handers found their hitting stroke.

As UA’s middle-of-the-order sluggers continue to struggle, Brittany Lastrapes, Lauren Schutzler, K’Lee Arredondo and Karissa Buchanan accounted for all 13 of Arizona’s hits on Saturday. Lastrapes got things started against Hawaii with a bunt hit to lead off the bottom of the first, and she came around to score on a sacrifice, an infield hit and a throwing error.

There used to be a cheer Arizona would sing from the dugout:

You get the first runner on
You bunt her over
You get a hit
You score
You win
That’s all.

That was a pretty good formula in the first inning against Hawaii, although Arizona still had more work to do after taking a 1-0 lead. Hawaii tied the game in the top of third on a home run, but the Wildcats responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning … and Fowler did the rest.

At Arizona, pitchers make or break reputations at the World Series. Fowler is well on the way to making hers.

She faces the daunting task of facing Tennessee against Sunday, with the Wildcats needing to beat the Vols — who are 2-0 at the Series — twice to advance to the best-of-three championship series. The first game Sunday begins at 12:30 p.m. Tucson time on ESPN.

Fowler

Pressure for Fowler?

What pressure?

Three years ago, Fowler was facing life-threatening blood-clots in her pitching shoulder.

Three weeks ago, her postseason was in doubt because of a pinched nerve in her neck that caused her pitching hand to swell.

Last week, she had to leave the game when she was hit by a line drive, turning her pitching forearm black and blue.

And now there have been 20 illegal pitches called in three games.

Seems like she can overcome adversity just fine.

The more illegal pitches the umpires call, the better I pitch.

Lastrapes

Arizona freshman pitcher Kenzie Fowler and junior outfielder Brittany Lastrapes have earned first-team All-American honors, as selected by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

Junior catcher Stacie Chambers and senior shortstop K’Lee Arredondo were selected to the second team.

Fowler is the first Arizona freshman to earn All-America honors since outfielder Caitlin Lowe in 2004. Fowler is 34-6 with a 1.27 ERA. Lastrapes is hitting .403 with 16 home runs in 59 games. The Arizona athletics site has the team’s full stats.

The NFCA selected a total of 54 players on three All-America teams. Arizona’s four selections were the most of any team.

The NFCA has all three All-America teams on its website.

Mike Candrea will let pitcher Kenzie Fowler rest her arm for most of the week/2009 Tucson Citizen photo

Arizona had just played a 12-inning game, lasting 3 hours and 40 minutes, in the Tucson heat. Wildcats coach Mike Candrea, with his team in the midst of another postseason run, had specific instructions for the next day.

And it had nothing to do with softball.

After dispatching Hofstra on Sunday with a grand slam in the bottom of the 12th to cap a 10-6 come-from-behind victory and win an NCAA regional, Arizona took Monday off.

All the way off.

“Coach told us, ‘I don’t want to see any of you. I don’t want you to do anything. And I don’t you to see each other. Just take a break,’” center fielder Lauren Schutzler said.

“At this point in the season, we have been together for a long time, so sometimes you just need to get away and relax.”

The Wildcats regrouped Tuesday afternoon for practice in advance of this weekend’s Super Regional against BYU. The best-of-three series begins Friday at 4 p.m. at Hillenbrand Stadium. The second game will begin at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, with a third game to follow, if necessary.

Candrea, who used the time away from the team to recover from an illness he has been battling, said he was just looking to recharge his players’ batteries.

“Really since January, we have had maybe one or two days when we weren’t together doing something. They run into each other even on their days off,” Candrea said.

“I think in this game, rest is sometimes overlooked. At this stage of the game, there is only so much we can do, and rest is as important as anything for us.”

It certainly is important to freshman pitcher Kenzie Fowler, who threw 202 pitches against Hofstra on Sunday, running into trouble in the top of the 12th. The Pride scored twice before Sarah Akamine came in and got the final two outs.

Fowler, who has battled a pinch nerve that has caused her pitching hard to swell, doesn’t figure to throw in practice until Thursday. Fowler (33-6, 1.25 ERA) is line to start Friday.

“With her right now, the key to this part of the season for her is to be able to rest and recuperate and then come out and give it everything’s she got for a weekend,” Candrea said.

NOTE: Arizona senior shortstop K’Lee Arredondo was selected a third-team ESPN The Magazine academic All-American, as voted on by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America. Arredondo graduated earlier this month with a degree in psychology and a 3.55 grade-point average.

All seems right with Arizona softball again. The Wildcats have advanced to an NCAA Super Regional, which will played at home Friday and Saturday against BYU.

Arizona was pushed to 12 innings by Hofstra on Sunday, but the Cats rallied twice in extra innings. Matte Haack‘s pinch-hit home run tied the game at 4 in the bottom of the ninth, but Hofstra forged ahead with two runs in the top of the 12th.

Karissa Buchanan and Lauren Schutzler singled to put the tying runs on base, and then K’Lee Arredondo delivered a one-out, two-run triple into the right-center field gap. Hofstra intentionally walked the next two batters to set up a force at any base, but that didn’t matter when Lini Koria smashed a grand slam to win the game 10-6.

Arizona went 3-0 in the Tucson Regional. If Hofstra would have won, the teams would have played again in a winner-take-all game. That could have been dicey for the Cats, considering ace Kenzie Fowler had pitched 11 1/3 innings before Sarah Akamine finished up with two outs to get the win.

“That was probably the best performance I have seen as far as grit, fight and the never-give-up from the people out there,” UA coach Mike Candrea said in his post-game news conference.

“For K’Lee to come up as a senior and embrace the moment and come through in the clutch was huge. And with Lini, I told her, ‘Let’s do one for (Lini’s late mother)’ and boom. It was remarkable.

“It was one of the greatest wins. For the time, for what the game meant and for the situation we were in, it was one of the biggest games since I’ve been here.”

Arizona will play BYU in the best-of-three Super Regional, with the winner advancing to the Women’s College World Series. The Wildcats will be looking to advance to their 22nd World Series in the past 23 seasons.

To get there, they will have to conquer a good-hitting Cougars team that features a couple of premier senior sluggers.

Third baseman Angeline Quiocho, the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year, has 27 home runs and entered last week as the nation’s leader in homers (0.5 per game). First baseman Andrea Ramirez has 19 home runs and was 10th in the country at 0.35 per game.

The bracket has worked in Arizona’s favor so far. BYU upset seventh-seeded host Texas in regional play. If Texas had won, the Wildcats — seeded 10th in the tournament — would have had to travel to Austin for the Super Regional.

Now, there is more softball at Hillenbrand … always a good thing for the Cats.

Akamine

The Arizona softball team began the season Friday afternoon with a no-hitter in a 13-0 five-inning victory over Western Michigan at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe.

Senior Sarah Akamine, coming off offseason back surgery, threw the first no-hitter of her career, striking out three and walking one.

Coach Mike Candrea sent out touted freshman Kenzie Fowler to make her much-anticipated debut in Arizona’s second game of the day, against Purdue, which lost to the Wildcats in last season’s NCAA regionals.

Fowler came through with a one-hitter, striking out eight and walking two, in a 10-0 five-inning victory. Brittany Lastrapes, Stacie Chambers and freshman first baseman Baillie Kirker hit home runs against Purdue.

In the first game, Arizona scored 13 runs on only seven hits as two Western Michigan pitchers combined to walk 14 batters. UA junior centerfielder Lauren Schutzler went 2-for-2 with three RBIs. Shortstop K’Lee Arredondo was the other Wildcat with multiple hits, as she went 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

The Wildcats scored seven runs in the first and six in the fourth.