Arizona Softball team Steps Up in series win over Oregon
This last weekend we may have finally seen the Arizona Softball team rise up and deliver a message to the rest of the Pac-12: “We’re still here and we’re dangerous!”
Going into last week’s pivotal set with No. 17 Oregon, the 20th ranked Arizona Softball team needed to start winning, like right now.
They had recorded only two Pac-12 wins in twelve tries when the Ducks arrived in Tucson. True, one of those wins was a 10-9 thriller over No. 11 ranked Washington but they needed to get on it and take some series if Arizona was going to have anything to say in the Pac-12 race.
Challenge accepted!
As I said in an earlier post, the 2022 softball team will live or die by their offense. Over three days, the Arizona Wildcats belted seven homers out of Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium to take two of three games from the Ducks. It was a much-needed performance.
In the first game, Allie Skaggs, Izzy Pacheco, and Paige Dimler all went yard with Carlie Scupin and Sophia Carroll adding two baggers as Arizona beat Oregon 11-8. Hanah Bowen registered her first save this season in the game.
Game two featured homers by Sharlize Palacios and Carroll, but it wasn’t enough as the Ducks pounded out five dingers and took the game in five innings by the ‘run rule’ by the score of 11-3.
The rubber game featured home runs by Palacios and Sculpin along with ten other Cats’ hits and two sacrifices, as first-year Head coach Caitlin Lowe’s softball team turned the tables on Oregon and ended the game in five again by mercy rule, 12-4.
Arizona’s pitchers, Devyn Netz (9-5), Hanah Bowen (8-7), Madi Elish (4-3), and Jessie Fontes (1-0) pitched well enough to keep the Ducks in check in the two big wins. Let’s hope this is just the first series win of several still to come.
Next. Arizona Baseball falls to Utah, loses series against the Utes. dark
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