The Arizona Softball team likes the long ball. They currently lead the Pac-12 in homers and though conventional wisdom says pitching with solid defense wins games, don’t tell the Lady Bat Cats!
The Arizona Softball is currently 14-4 on the season and ranked number 16, but that was before they went 4-0 this week so they are likely to improve on that ranking.
The Cats are playing well in the Wildcat Invitational tournament
Against Iowa State in the first game of the Wildcat Invitational, second baseman (basewoman?) Allie Skaggs started the onslaught with a monster centerfield shot that caused a few of the spectators to worry about their cars being dented. Carlie Scupin added a dinger to left to increase her league-leading homer total to eight.
After that the Cats piled it on, Paige Dimler thumped her first career four-bagger to complete a four-run third inning. First-year coach, Caitlin Lowe hopes that the bats continue to produce, fueling her bid to successfully follow in the footsteps of her predecessor, the legendary Coach Mike Candrea.
Candrea, just as Sean Miller did for Tommy Lloyd for Wildcat basketball, left a solid team for Lowe to work with. In my opinion, the Cats will go as far as their uneven pitching takes them, the other facets of their game, hitting and defense appear strong.
The Arizona Softball team has recorded runs in double figures in six of their 14 wins — five of them shortened to less than seven innings by the mercy rule. Of their four losses so far, three of them are to ranked teams, whereas Cal State Fullerton, the only unranked team that beat the Cats, is 12-6.
On Saturday the Cats played two games, both hotly contested. They won the first game against Boise State, 5-4, coming back from a 4 to nothing deficit. In the second game, the Wildcats outlasted the Texas State team, 11-10, scoring the winning run in the seventh to break a 10-10 tie.
Perhaps ironically, the Wildcat baseball team is also playing a series against Texas State this weekend.
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