Arizona Softball routes Auburn en route to the NCAA Super Regionals

TUCSON, AZ – The Arizona Softball team (45-12) put on a clinic behind Jessie Harper, en route to the 12-3 victory over Auburn to advance!

It was a busy weekend in Tucson, with the Arizona Softball team advancing and playing in the NCAA Regional finals on Sunday evening. However, first they would need to get through a tough Auburn Tigers squad!

Already having beat Harvard and Auburn to advance to the regional final on Friday and Saturday, the Wildcats would enter Sunday’s match, needing just one win to advance.

Arizona Wildcats

Having pitched twice already, Arizona would instead turn to junior pitcher Alyssa Denham, in hopes to pull this one out as the away team!

From the start, it was a slow one, as neither team could seemingly find and edge through the first two innings. Finally a breakthrough! Tied 0-0 to enter the third, Arizona would start to use some timely hitting to set up Alyssa Palomino.

With just one batter on base, Palomino would come to the plate singling to right to break the scoreless tie as she scored Hannah Martinez.

That would set up Jessie Harper’s big day, as she came to the plate, blasting a two-run homer to left field to put Arizona up 3-0 early!

However, Auburn wouldn’t go quietly, responding in a big way in the following inning as they scored three runs to tie the game at 3-3.

Luckily, Arizona would bounce right back ! Tied at 3-3, the Cats would get to work and quickly!

First it was Rylee Pierce, followed by Reyna Carranco as both reached base on Tiger mistakes. That would then set-up Hanah Bowen in the inning, who would hit a single to right field to score Pierce and give Arizona the lead.

The offensive barrage would not cease though! Martinez would then come to the plate as she too would single, scoring Carranco, extending Arizona’s lead to 5-3.

Two batters later, Palomino would come up big again, blasting a three-run home run to center field to score Carli Campbell and Martinez to make it 9-3 after four innings!

With the lead in hand, Arizona would extend it again in the sixth inning, when Harper would once again homer, this time on a solo shot to start the inning to make it 10-3, Cats!

However, her day would not be done, as the junior would hit her third, yep, you read that right, her third home run of the day in the seventh inning, this time a two-run shot to make it 12-3, Arizona!

With the three home runs, Harper has moved into a tie for fourth in Arizona history with 28 homers in a season. They’re the most since former Wildcat Stacie Chambers hit 31 in 2009.

Her three-homer game also ties an Arizona record, and is the first time since Hallie Wilson hit three home runs against Stanford on April 26, 2015.

Arizona would go on to win by a 12-3 final! Denham would pick up the win in this one, improving to 12-5 on the season, after she would pitch, seven solid innings, surrendering just three runs on four hits, while striking out 10!

With the win, Arizona improves to 45-12 on the year, advancing to the Super Regionals for the sixth straight season! The Wildcats of course are hoping to get to the College World Series for the first time since 2010.

Arizona will have a week off before returning to action in Tucson next weekend, when they will play host to No. 17 Ole Miss!

At Zona Zealots, we’re proud of our Cats in advancing and can’t wait til they return to action next week, where we hope they can finally end their College World Series drought! As always, Bear Down, Arizona!