Although softball is a game of inches, it was a 200-foot home run that made the difference for Arizona in the NCAA Regional at Hillenbrand Stadium Sunday.
In the bottom of the second inning, Arizona freshman left fielder K’Lee Arredondo hit a line drive two-run home run to right field that barely cleared the wall, propelling the Wildcats to a 7-0 win over Pacific and a ticket to the NCAA super regionals next weekend.
“”It felt really good to get a swing together and get everything going,”” said Arredondo. “”I was just really ready to put a good swing on the ball…Anything I needed to do I was ready to do.””
The NCAA informed Arizona (42-12-1) after its victory that it will be a host of the super regionals. The Wildcats will welcome Cal State Fullerton to Tucson after the Titans beat Ohio State twice on Sunday in Columbus, Ohio, to advance.
In the fourth inning Arizona used a two-run double by senior second baseman Chelsie Mesa and an RBI double by senior shortstop Kristie Fox to extend the lead to 5-0.
The Wildcats would tack on two more in the fifth off of first baseman Laine Roth’s first home run of the season and an RBI single from senior center fielder Caitlin Lowe.
“”K’Lee got us started again, the bottom of the order, and that is a good sign for us,”” UA head coach Mike Candrea said. “”I think at this stage of the game it is going to be a new hero every day. As long as they keep their heads screwed on it could be anyone in that order that comes up with a big hit.””
Arizona starting pitcher Taryne Mowatt threw her third consecutive complete game shutout, holding Pacific (36-24) to one hit while striking out seven. Mowatt pitched a total of 19 scoreless innings in the tournament while Arizona batted .363 as a team.
The Wildcats outscored their regional opponents 24-0, while Mowatt (34-10) held the opposition to a .083 batting average.
Mowatt continued to work the off speed selection she put on display against Mississippi State Saturday, using a diverse set of pitches to keep the opposition guessing.
“”I think I used my off-speed pitches very effectively and kept the hitters off-balance,”” said Mowatt, who sports a 1.61 ERA. “”We came out and put some runs on the board and it feels really good to get the first step over with.””
The victory was all too sweet for Candrea, with his son Mikel in the opposing dugout as an assistant coach for Pacific.
“”It was fun that I got a chance to play Mikel’s team, but that wasn’t what it was about,”” Candrea said. “”I don’t care who I play. If I am playing my mom I want to beat her.””
But as usual, Candrea was all about business.
“”It was a good performance by our team,”” he said. “”I thought we played well this weekend, but like I told the girls, we have to play even better next weekend.””
Extra Bases
Caitlin Lowe stole two more bases in the contest, bringing her season total to 49 and 156 total in her career. The 49 steals bring her into a tie with Vivian Holm for second place on Arizona’s all-time list. Her career 156 stolen bases is good enough for 11th all-time in NCAA history and two away from the Pacific 10 record….Arizona is now 53-6 all-time in postseason games played at Hillenbrand Stadium….Taryne Mowatt’s 34 season victories ties her for sixth place on Arizona’s all-time list and is now eighth in total victories in school history.
