Arizona's Brittany Lastrapes slides safely into second base as Yavapai's Briana Young is unable to hold onto the ball.

mamta popat / arizona daily star

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It was only June when the Arizona softball team won its second straight national championship. But the team already is working toward a third.

The UA won two fall exhibitions Saturday at Hillenbrand Stadium. In the first game, Arizona beat Yavapai College 4-0 with a one-hitter, then topped Eastern Arizona 10-1.

"There are things that we need to work on, but offensively, I was really pleased with our adjustments in the second game," coach Mike Candrea said. "We started swinging the bats."

The Wildcats had 18 hits. Sarah Akamine, K'Lee Arredondo, Callista Balko and Jenae Lelas each had a home run.

Former Pima College and Arizona Heat coach Stacy Iveson was back in Tucson Saturday, making her first coaching appearance since beginning the Yavapai program in Prescott.

"It feels great to be back in Tucson," she said. "Softball is huge here, and you can tell by how they embrace the Wildcats. I think Prescott will embrace it, too."

The young Roughriders squad includes several players with Southern Arizona connections, including Marana's Jessie Pretzer and Salpointe Catholic's Caitlin Stangl.

"We've got a great group of kids," Iveson said. "They handled themselves with quite a bit of poise. We definitely have some things we need to get better at, some things we need to work on. But for the most part, we're moving in the right direction."

She added: "I'm excited for the challenge that I have at Yavapai. And I'm just thankful for the experiences that I had in Tucson. Who knows? Maybe someday I'll be back."

Ask the players from the Tucson Aztecs softball team who their favorite Wildcats are and you will get different answers. Adrienne Acton, Balko and Danielle Rodriguez all made their list of favorites.

"My favorite is Taryne Mowatt, because she pitched all of the (NCAA) tournament," Aztecs center fielder Nichole Carson, 10, said. "She had blisters, but she still kept pitching. She's so brave."

But there was thing that 11-year-olds Gabby Karnes, Amanda Nicholas, Heather Penatzer, Kaelyn Smith, and 10-year-old Tazia Hernandez, can agree on. They all want to play for Arizona someday.

"I think it would be so cool to play for Arizona," added Mickaela Keiser, 10, who plays for Desert Thunder.

Freshman pitcher Lindsey Sisk made her debut by giving up one run and four hits in seven innings Saturday. "I was really nervous at first when I got out there. … But I knew I could do my best," Sisk said.

"It's kind of a ho-hum day for someone like me who's been around here for so many years. But for her, it was a big moment," Candrea said. "I was really pleased with her composure and getting ahead of hitters. She's doing a good job."