To say that No. 13 Arizona softball’s offensive performance on Wednesday was explosive may be an understatement. The Arizona offense dominated from start to finish on a day that the pitching struggled, en route to 8-4 and 16-6 wins over UNLV at Hillenbrand Stadium.
“We swung the bats well, not great pitching that we saw, but we came out and put some runs on the board and did what we needed to do.” Arizona softball coach Mike Candrea said.
The second game of the double-header saw the Wildcats put up eight runs in the first inning, two runs in the second and six runs in the third. Arizona went through the entire batting order during that eight-run first inning and never looked back.
Five different Wildcats recorded an RBI in the first inning, including home runs from catcher Chelsea Goodacre and infielder Hallie Wilson.
“It’s always nice to get the runs and that was nice to see,” Candrea said. “Thought we had some kids that swung it well.”
Goodacre’s home run hit the top of Ina E. Gittings building in right-center field, a feat rarely reached by Arizona batters. The Arizona softball Twitter estimated it was at least 280 feet away from home plate.
“I think in regular season games, that’s my third time,” Goodacre said. “It’s pretty cool, but still a home run. Only four bases.”
It was an up-and-down performance on the mound for Trish Parks. The freshman allowed seven hits and six runs in five innings and struck out three. After the game, Candrea said that he chalked up the rocky performance to “growing pains.”
“We’ve just got to get Trish back to where she’s hammering the zone a little bit, because that’ll catch up to us,” Candrea said. “Can’t do that in Pac-12 [Conference].”
Arizona’s offense in the first game of the double-header was much of the same. Arizona took down UNLV 8-4 and scored seven of its eight runs in the third and fourth innings.
Arizona hit three home runs during the game, with catcher Chelsea Goodacre leading the way. Goodacre finished the game with two home runs and five RBIs in three at-bats. Goodacre leads the team in home runs and RBIs after her performance on Wednesday.
“This is my last [season], so I’m going to do the best I can to make our team win,” Goodacre said.
Pitcher Michelle Floyd continued her recent stretch of dominance against the Runnin’ Rebels. Floyd pitched a complete game and gave up four runs on two hits to go along with nine strikeouts.
Wednesday marked the second-straight start in which Floyd recorded nine strikeouts. However, Floyd said she’s not trying to get strikeouts when she’s on the mound.
“I go out there, and I’m not necessarily trying to get strikeouts; I’m trying to get outs,” Floyd said. “Whether it’s a strikeout, whether it’s a ground ball, whatever happens — we’re just trying to get outs. It’s cool getting nine, but it’s not really my focus.”
The Wildcats have a day off before kicking off the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif., Friday with a matchup against No. 1 Florida.
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