It may not have been on televisions everywhere, but it was a game for the ages. At least if you’re an Arizona Wildcat.
The No. 19 Wildcats played their most complete game of the season to defeat No. 9 UCLA at Easton Stadium on Saturday evening. It evened the series between the two teams and secured win No. 100 for Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe.
The 100th win is a BIG one.
Congratulations to our fearless leader @CaitlinLowe on career win number 100! #BearDown pic.twitter.com/TfbGhz0iFb
— Arizona Softball (@ArizonaSoftball) April 28, 2024
The Wildcats needed more out of both their pitching and their hitting if they hoped to compete with UCLA. The Bruins were clicking on all cylinders in game one of the series, defeating the Wildcats 10-2 in five innings. In game two, Arizona showed that it not only could compete, it could dominate.
The Wildcats didn’t let the Bruins run away like they did on Friday night. The visiting team struck first with a two-out three-run home run by Allie Skaggs in the top of the third.
A three-run bomb from @allieskaggs9 gives us the lead in the third!
@Pac12Network pic.twitter.com/aMPrdpEl6s
— Arizona Softball (@ArizonaSoftball) April 28, 2024
The hit from Skaggs was especially important because the middle of Arizona’s order didn’t do much in the series opener. The three through six hitters had no hits, two walks, and one RBI in game one. They struck out three times.
It was a completely different story in game two. Those four hitters went 7-for-16 at the plate and knocked in four runs. They still struck out three times, but it didn’t have the same effect as in the first game.
Skaggs was particularly dialed in. Arizona’s second baseman went 3-for-4 at the plate with four RBI.
Six-hitter Olivia DiNardo also got into the action. She got two hits in her four at-bats, leading off the four-run sixth inning with a single and getting another single in the seventh.
Three-hole hitter Carlie Scupin struck out twice to start the game but finally found her way in her fourth at-bat. After a three-run home run by Dakota Kennedy and a single by Regan Shockey, Arizona’s senior first baseman kept the rally going with a two-out single.
Scupin might have been 1-for-4 with two strikeouts but the one hit was huge. The extended rally brought Skaggs up again. She worked the count until she won, hitting a single to get her fourth RBI of the game.
The top and bottom of the order continued to make things happen. Kennedy’s two-out homer in the sixth inning was the second of her hits. She went 2-for-3 with a walk and knocked in three runs on the day.
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Dakota blasts a three-run homer for the lead!
@Pac12Network pic.twitter.com/1gzbg1gRz5
— Arizona Softball (@ArizonaSoftball) April 28, 2024
Shockey was 1-for-3 with a walk in the second spot in the order. Seven-hole hitter Emily Schepp had one of Arizona’s three home runs and nine-hole hitter Kaiah Altmeyer stayed hot with a 2-for-3 day.
Things got a little interesting in the seventh inning. DiNardo once again led off an inning with a single. After Schepp flew out to center, Biehl came up to bat. She battled and appeared to draw a walk on the eighth pitch of the at-bat.
By the time Biehl reached first base, the third base umpire said she went around. It did not look like she did, making it one of at least two strikeouts where Arizona hitters were called out on what looked like properly checked swings. The play resulted in an inning-ending double play when DiNardo, who was going on what had only been determined to be a strikeout once Biehl reached first base, was thrown out at second.
Arizona overcame the questionable situation. Freshman pitcher Brooke Mannon returned to the circle for her third inning of work and slammed the door. She gave up just one hit and one walk to take the win and improve to 5-1 this season.
Aissa Silva got the start. She allowed four earned runs on three hits in 2 2⁄3 innings. She walked one, hit a batter, and got one strikeout.
The walk came in the first inning when Silva issued the base-on-balls to Maya Brady with one out. She looked even stronger in the second inning, sitting down the Bruins in order. The problems cropped up in the third.
Arizona put three runs on the board in the top of the inning. UCLA responded in the bottom of the inning as good teams often do.
Silva got two outs before being hit by the two-out rally that has plagued all of Arizona’s pitchers so often this season. A single and a hit batter were followed by a three-run homer to tie the game. The next at-bat ended in a double. That ended Silva’s day.
Miranda Stoddard came in with a runner on and two outs. She gave up an RBI double to Jordan Woolery to allow the inherited runner to score and UCLA to take the 4-3 lead after three innings.
Arizona showed that it was the kind of team that could respond, too. Schepp’s solo home run leveled the game in the top of the fourth.
SCHEPP @emilyschepp ties it up with her fifth homer of the year!
@Pac12Network pic.twitter.com/WtS6S2Me0G
— Arizona Softball (@ArizonaSoftball) April 28, 2024
Stoddard had a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the inning before giving way to Mannon. The senior pitched 1 1⁄3 inning. She gave up one run on one hit, but the run was credited to Silva.
As a group, the Wildcats’ pitchers gave up four runs on five hits and two walks. Less than a day after getting just four hits against the Bruins’ pitchers, the Arizona offense had eight RBI on 13 hits and two walks. They hit three balls out of the park.
The Wildcats and Bruins will battle for the series on Sunday afternoon.