When Lauren Schutzler was a senior in high school, she traveled to Oklahoma City to watch big sister Lindsay, one of the great players in Tennessee history, face the Arizona Wildcats in the Women's College World Series finals.
Schutzler, who had committed to play at the UA, wore a Tennessee orange shirt - but also a pair of UA sandals.
"I didn't want my future teammates to hate me," she said.
Thursday, when the Wildcats play Tennessee at 4 p.m. in this year's WCWS, Lindsay will get payback.
"She wants to go neutral," Lauren said.
The Wildcats and Volunteers seem to play a crucial WCWS game almost annually.
Freshman pitcher Kenzie Fowler, who will start Thursday, pointed out the team's similarities, down to three left-handed hitters at the top of each batting order.
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"I think we match up with Tennessee very well," she said.
Credit familiarity.
The two schools have met seven times in the WCWS since 2005, with the Volunteers winning four games. The UA eliminated Tennessee in 2006, setting up a national title showdown with Northwestern.
Arizona defeated Tennessee in the best-of-three final series in 2007.
Schutzler had to watch Game3 from home, returning for high school graduation in Monterey, Calif. Asked what she remembered, she smiled.
"I guess the Taryne Mowatt changeup," said the UA left fielder, who is friendly with Tennessee coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly. "It was kind of a killer for the Tennessee fans, being over there, watching it."
Big sister Lindsay can't lose this time, Lauren said.
"She's never going to root against me, but if we lose, she's happy for her school," she said. "She's just happy it's not an elimination game."
Fowler fine
Fowler was stunned after being hit with a line drive that bruised her right forearm in Saturday's super regional against BYU.
"I don't think I've been hit since I was in seventh grade," she said, laughing.
She rotated between ice and compression on her bruised arm Monday. She did not throw, using the same routine as in the past two weeks.
"They don't want the swelling to go into my hand," she said.
The freshman ace said the pain "has nothing to do" with forearm soreness she has suffered for the past three weeks, the result of a pinched nerve in her neck.
The Canyon del Oro High School graduate said she never feared her arm was broken, even as she had X-rays taken Saturday, because she could move her fingers. She threw in the bullpen during the fourth inning of Game2, and said Monday she could have pitched Game3 if needed.
Fowler, 34-6 with a 1.27 ERA, said she was "excited" to travel to Oklahoma City, where UA pitchers' legacies are cemented, one way or another.
"It's the pressure situation that defines how a pitcher can react," she said. "The postseason is all about handling pressure, I guess, and getting the job done when it counts."
Inside pitch
• UA coach Mike Candrea spent Monday in Oklahoma City as a member of the All-America selection committee. The Pac-10 rotates coaches every year to serve on the panel. Assistant coach Larry Ray ran practice.
The Wildcats will take a chartered flight to Oklahoma City today.
• Three Pac-10 teams and three Southeastern Conference schools will play each other Thursday. Washington faces Georgia, and UCLA sees Florida. The Wildcats could face the Huskies, who swept the UA in three games this season, on Friday.
"I haven't looked that far," Fowler said.
WCWS SCHEDULE
Women's College World Series
In Oklahoma City. Times are Tucson times.
Thursday
• Game 1: Missouri (51-11) vs. Hawaii (49-14), 10 a.m., ESPN
• Game 2: UCLA (45-11) vs. Florida (48-8), 12:30 p.m., ESPN
• Game 3: Arizona (48-11) vs. Tennessee (47-13), 4 p.m., ESPN2
• Game 4: Georgia (48-11) vs. Washington (50-7), 6:30 p.m., ESPN2
Friday
• Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 4 p.m., ESPN
• Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 6 p.m., ESPN
Saturday
• Game 7: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 9 a.m., ESPN2
• Game 8: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 11 a.m., ESPN2
• Game 9: Game 5 loser vs. Game 7 winner, 4 p.m., ESPN
• Game 10: Game 6 loser vs. Game 8 winner, 6 p.m., ESPN
Sunday
• Game 11: Game 5 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 10 a.m., ESPN
• Game 12: Game 6 winner vs. Game 10 winner, noon, ESPN
• Game 13 (if necessary): Game 11 winner vs. Game 11 loser, 4 p.m., ESPN2
• Game 14 (if necessary): Game 12 winner vs. Game 12 loser, 6 p.m., ESPN2
Championship round (Best-of-three series)
• Game 1: June 7 at 5 p.m., ESPN2
• Game 2: June 8 at 5 p.m., ESPN2
• Game 3: June 9 at 5 p.m. (if necessary), ESPN2
Up next
• What: Women's College World Series
• Who: Arizona (48-11) vs. Tennessee (47-13)
• Where: Oklahoma City
• When: 4 p.m. Thursday
• TV: ESPN2
Full glance, Page B4
