The No. 19 Arizona Wildcats came into the opening game of their series at No. 9 UCLA having only lost two games in April. Their six wins had come against pitching staffs with ERAs of 3.09, 3.14, 4.41, and 4.62. The Bruins’ staff is third in the Pac-12 at 2.68.
The question was whether the Bruins were pitching that well because they had three games canceled. Two of those missed games were against California, which hits more home runs and doubles than any other team in the league. Another was against Oregon, which is one the best in runs scored and total hits.
On Friday evening, the Bruins showed that their pitching can hold up regardless of who they play. A combination of Taylor Tinsley and Kaitlyn Terry held UA to four hits in five innings in a 10-2 UCLA run-rule victory.
The Wildcats have more hits (402) and RBI (261) than anyone else in the league. They are one walk behind Stanford for the most walks in the conference. However, they once again showed that they struggle against the better pitchers in the conference. The pitching also had another tough day against a top team.
Since Pac-12 play started, UA is 2-7 when it scores fewer than six runs. It was the same story on Friday night. The schedule got tougher again and the Wildcats struggled to pitch and to hit.
The heart of the order—Carlie Scupin, Allie Skaggs, Blaise Biringer, and Olivia DiNardo—could get nothing working. The four hitters went 0-for-8 with three strikeouts. Skaggs’ RBI on a fielder’s choice and Scupin’s two walks were the only real production from the middle of the lineup.
The top and bottom of the order were a little more successful, but it was not nearly enough. Leadoff Dakota Kennedy went 0-for-2 with one walk. Regan Shockey was 1-for-3 and got a runner in when her short game caused a UCLA error. She also stole a base. Meanwhile, the bottom of the order—Emily Schepp, Tayler Biehl, and Kaiah Altmeyer—all went 1-for-2. Both Biehl and Altmeyer scored a run.
The offensive futility is not a surprise considering that both Tinsley and Terry sport an ERA below 2.00. Arizona needed its own pitchers to respond, but they couldn’t.
The Bruins scored every inning beginning with a solo home run by Maya Brady against Wildcat starter Brooke Mannon in the bottom of the first. Mannon put two more runners on base after Brady, but she got the final two outs without giving up another run.
Things got out of hand in the bottom of the second. A leadoff walk and a single put two on. That forced the pitching change.
Aissa Silva came in to relieve Mannon, but she couldn’t stop the UCLA defense either. She walked former Wildcat Janelle Meoño on four pitches to load the bases and bring the top of the order back around. There were still no outs.
Brady once again made the Wildcats pay. She drove in two of the three runners on base with a one-out single that left runners on the corners. Up came former Wildcat Sharlize Palacios. Her sacrifice fly brought in Meoño. Jadelyn Allchin’s RBI single followed.
Silva allowed two more singles after Allchin to load the bases again. Miranda Stoddard came in to try to end things. She did that, not allowing another run to cross, but the Bruins led 5-0 after just two innings.
Arizona finally answered in the top of the third when the bottom of the order came up. Biehl got a hit to lead things off. Altmeyer followed with her own single. Dakota Kennedy’s groundout moved both into scoring position.
Shockey made things happen with her speed and guile. Her grounder ate up third baseman Thessa Malau’ulu, allowing Biehl to score and Altmeyer to reach third base. Shockey then stole second to once again give the Wildcats two in scoring position.
Skaggs’ groundout scored Altmeyer, cutting the UCLA lead to 5-2. It seemed like Arizona might be making some inroads.
The Bruins immediately slammed the door on those thoughts in the bottom of the third. They tacked on a run via Megan Grant’s solo home run to extend the lead to 6-2. Jordan Woolery drove in Allchin in the fourth to add another run to UCLA’s total.
The Bruins needed three outs and three runs in the fifth to end things early. They got them.
Arizona put two on in the top of the fifth, but the inning ended when Skaggs hit into a double play.
Stoddard came back out in the fifth to try to keep the score at 7-2, but things went sideways from the start. Two walks gave the Bruins two baserunners with one out. A fielder’s choice put runners on the corners with two outs.
Two-out rallies have been the bane of Arizona pitchers’ existence, and they were again on Friday night. An RBI single for Palacios put one run on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Allchin’s triple followed, driving in the other two runs the Bruins needed to finish the game.
The result reinforced the concerns that Arizona struggles both in the circle and at the plate against the better teams in the league. The Wildcats are now 2-5 against the three teams at the top of the Pac-12 standings. They have been outscored 53-20 in those games with 11 of their runs coming in one game against Stanford.
Oregon is the only team above them in the standings whom the ‘Cats have had real success against. UA won the series against UO, but the Ducks have many of the same issues as the Wildcats. Arizona outscored Oregon 14-12 in three games.
If they want to keep their slim hopes of hosting regionals alive, the Wildcats must find a way to overcome a top team like the Bruins. They have less than 24 hours to figure that out.