Taryne Mowatt got 11 of her 12 outs in a shared no-hitter on strikes, and ran the table by throwing out a Florida State runner on a bunt attempt.

MAmta Popat / arizona daily star

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Interim head coach Larry Ray knows inexperience is a problem for the No. 8 Arizona softball team.

"The biggest focus with this group is that they're a young group and have a tendency to wander, both offensively and defensively," Ray said.

But the Wildcats (8-4) did not stray Friday in their regular- season home opener at the annual Hillenbrand Invitational. The Cats needed only five innings to crush South Florida 12-0, and then topped Iowa State 7-1.

"It was good to see this team come out and compete against two very good ball clubs," Ray said. "I like the way we're swinging the bats right now. We just have to continue to get better defensively."

Taryne Mowatt and sometime second baseman Sarah Akamine, who pitched the fifth, threw Arizona's first combined no-hitter since April 2004, against South Florida. Mowatt struck out 11 with one walk.

"No-hitters are hard to come by, because anything could happen. Maybe a girl check swings and gets a hit because it takes us by surprise, so you know, it's hard to come by," Mowatt said. "I thought Sarah did a really good job going in there. She got 1-2-3 pretty quickly."

Iowa State fared better against the Cats. But with help from a Jenae Leles two-run homer in the sixth, Arizona snapped the Cyclones' eight- game winning streak.

"It's great to be home," Ray said. "We've got a lot of things working for us and it's always nice to be in Hillenbrand Stadium."

The Cats were in front from the third at-bat. Sam Banister drove home Brittany Lastrapes with a fielder's choice, opening a 1-0 lead.

K'Lee Arredondo then hit a solo homer over the center field wall to make it a 2-0 game in the third. Iowa State looked to score later in the inning but Michelle Dettmer was thrown out at the plate.

The Cyclones finally got on the board in the sixth when a Lindsey Sisk pitch hit Carrie Monroe with the bases loaded. Mowatt then finished the inning with a strikeout.

"I thought Lindsey did well against a hard-swinging Iowa team. I think they were 11-1 coming in here," Mowatt said. "Lindsey did a great job with their hitters."

The Cats scored twice in the seventh on singles from Lanie Roth and Stacie Chambers.

The invitational continues today at Hillenbrand Stadium with six games. Arizona faces Illinois-Chicago at 4 p.m., followed by a 6 p.m. matchup with Virginia Tech.