No. 6 Arizona Softball caps regular season with series win
LOS ANGELES, CA- The No. 6 Arizona Softball team (42-12, 19-5) caps of the regular season, with a HUGE series win over No. 3 UCLA Bruins.
It was an important weekend for Arizona Softball, after the Wildcats were swept by the Washington Huskies the week before.
Setting up for another epic showdown between conference rivals Arizona and UCLA, the Wildcats would travel to Los Angeles, to take on the then 45-3 Bruins.
Arizona Wildcats
The series would get started on Thursday evening with Taylor McQuillin on the mound for the Cats. From the start, who knew we’d be in store for a good one!
UCLA would strike first, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning, when the Bruins would single in the inning to bring home the run.
A few innings later, the Wildcats would tie the game on a home run from Rylee Pierce. However, UCLA would respond in the next half inning, when they would homer and then single make it 3-1 Bruins.
Luckily, the Wildcats wouldn’t go away quietly. Trailing 3-1, shortstop Jessie Harper would send a two-run shot to left field to make it 3-3 in the top of the fifth.
Two innings later, the Cats would do more damage, this time from slugger Alyssa Palomino, as she would homer to center field on another two-run shot to make it 5-3 Arizona!
Palomino would come up big in the following inning, making a big-time catch to end the game, and help deliver the 5-3 win for the Cats!
https://twitter.com/ArizonaSoftball/status/1126701170955698177
McQuillin would get the win for the Cats, pitching seven fantastic innings, holding the Bruins to just three runs on eight hits. With the win, McQuillin would improve to 20-7 on the year!
https://twitter.com/ArizonaSoftball/status/1126701770078441472
Looking to continue the magic in game two, Arizona would turn to Alyssa Denham in this one!
Early on, it was all Arizona. Harper would get things going for the Cats, when she would hit a solo home run to left field, to make it 1-0 Cats.
Two innings later, it was catcher Dejah Mulipola that extend the Wildcats’ lead to 3-0, when she would send a two-run shot to right-center.
However, that’s most of the offense the Wildcats would see in this one, as UCLA would score five runs over the course of the third and fourth inning to take the lead at 5-3.
Arizona would try and come back in this one, when Mulipola would be hit by a pitch that brought in a run for the Wildcats on a bases-loaded situation. Unfortunately, on the next batter, Pierce would ground out to end the game, as Arizona fell 5-4 in game two against UCLA.
Denham would pick-up the loss, dropping to 11-5 after pitching just three-and-two-thirds innings. Offensively, it was primarily Harper and Mulipola leading this one, as the two went a combined 3-6 from the plate with four RBI’s.
Hoping to come away with the series in game three, the Wildcats would turn to Gina Snyder in this one, and man would she deliver an absolute gem!
Early on, both teams would start out slow, just looking for an opportunity to gain an edge. Finally in the third inning, Arizona would get a break through, when sophomore Hannah Bowen would homer to left field to make it 1-0.
Just a couple innings later, it was Malia Martinez that would extend Arizona’s lead to 3-0, when the junior infielder would homer to left center on a two-run shot!
https://twitter.com/ArizonaSoftball/status/1127298530081529857
Dueling, UCLA would be held scoreless for most of the game, until the 6th inning, when the Bruins would hit a solo shot to cut Arizona’s lead to just 3-1.
Luckily, that’s all the offense Arizona would need in this one, holding the Bruins to just that one run, picking up the win, and the overall series win to end the regular season.
https://twitter.com/ArizonaSoftball/status/1127317213885620229
Snyder would pick up the win in this one, pitching five, stellar innings, surrendering just one run on five hits, improving her record to 5-0 on the year!
Offensively, it would be Martinez and Bowen leading the way, as the two went a combined 2-6 from the plate with three RBI’s and two home runs.
Denham would come on in relief in the sixth inning, pitching the last two innings, holding the Bruins scoreless with just two hits to pick up the save!
With the 3-1 win, Arizona improves to 42-12 (19-5) on the year, capping off the 2019 regular season with an impressive series win!
Now their focus will turn to the postseason, as the Wildcats will undoubtedly prepare for the Regionals they will host at home!
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At Zona Zealots, we’re excited to see our Cats return to their dominant form, and hope they can continue their strong play, deep into the postseason! As always, Bear Down, Arizona!