On Friday, April 21, the Arizona softball team traveled to Eugene, Oregon for their last road trip of the regular season. The Wildcats entered the series at 25-18 with a conference record of 3-12. Arizona also was coming off a win against Grand Canyon University on Wednesday, April 19. The Wildcats took on the University of Oregon, who had a record of 28-11 and a conference record of 8-7 going into the series.
Game 1: Friday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m.
In the first game against Oregon on Friday, April 21, Arizona started Devyn Netz at pitcher. She faced Oregon’s Morgan Scott.
Oregon kicked off the game strong, scoring 2 runs in the first inning and taking the early 2-0 lead. Arizona, unable to respond with runs of their own, tightened up the defense and didn’t allow Oregon to score again until the fourth inning. Oregon scored 2 more runs in the bottom of the fourth after a 2-RBI single drove in runs.
As the Wildcats could not find any offense, they came out for the bottom of the fifth with a pitching change. With a defensive shuffle, head coach Caitlin Lowe sent Sydney Somerndike out to pitch. Unfortunately, the pitching change was not enough to slow down the Oregon offense. Oregon’s Terra McGowan hit a 3-run home run to center field, putting Oregon up 7-0.
With that hit and a subsequent double, Somerndike was taken out as pitcher and replaced with Aissa Silva. Oregon came back up to bat in the bottom of the sixth only needing 1 run to end the game. They got it after loading the bases and KK Humphreys hit the game-winning RBI through the infield, scoring the last run.
Arizona lost the first game 8-0 in six innings.
Game 2: Saturday, April 22, at 4 p.m.
Arizona came out for day two of the series feeling a little more comfortable, as the temperature had jumped from game one’s 55 degrees to 69 degrees for game two. With the heat also came Ali Blanchard to the pitching circle for the Wildcats. Blanchard faced Oregon’s Stevie Hansen.
Unlike the previous day, both teams were quiet on offense. This was until the bottom of the third inning, when Oregon was able to string together a rally of hits and score 4 runs. Arizona was able to respond with a pair of doubles in the top of the fifth inning that drove in 3 runs, closing the gap. However, with the score now standing at 4-3, Oregon came up to bat in the bottom of the fifth inning and hit two home runs that netted them 3 more runs.
Arizona, unable to respond, gave up 1 more run before the game was over, losing the second game against Oregon 8-3.
Game 3: Sunday, April 23, at 12 p.m.
On the last day of the series, Arizona sent Netz back to the circle. This time she faced Raegan Breedlove.
In the final game, the Wildcats came out firing, scoring 3 runs in the top of the second inning. With the defense holding strong, Arizona extended their lead in the top of the third when Netz hit a solo home run to straight-away center field.
Oregon had had enough, though, and scored 3 runs in the bottom of the fourth after Oregon’s Ariel Carlson hit a 3-run home run, bringing the score to 4-3. Arizona brought Blanchard out to pitch in the bottom of the sixth inning hoping to close out the game and get a win for the Wildcats. Oregon had other plans, though. Only needing 2 runs to win, Oregon put up 4 runs in the bottom of the sixth and secured not only the win but also the series sweep.
With the three losses to Oregon, Arizona falls to 25-21 on the season, 3-15 in conference play and drops to last place in the Pac-12. Arizona comes home to Tucson for the last two series of the season against Oregon State University and the University of California, Berkeley.
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