The Arizona softball team has now lost three games in a row after getting swept this weekend in Washington. After going 4-3 in their trip to Florida, the Wildcats opened conference play with a weekend series with the Washington Huskies.
Arizona dropped the first game 2-1. They were again down 2-1 late in the second game but it was suspended until Sunday morning due to weather. In the restart, the Huskies were able to take home a 4-2 win after Baylee Klingler hit a walk-off two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The third and final game of the series that was scheduled to be played on Sunday was canceled due to heavy rain.
Here are three takeaways from the road trip.
Slow starts dug early holes for Arizona
The common factor since the Wildcats started this rough patch is that they get themselves behind early, and often, in games.
This problem first showed up during their trip to Florida where they gave up three runs in the first inning, and eventually lost 4-2 in their first game at Florida State. This problem was magnified over this series against Washington.
In the first game, the Huskies scored both of their runs in a 2-1 win in the first two innings. Again, in their second loss, the Wildcats fell behind 2-0 within the first three innings.
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The offense is starting to slump and in need of a spark
After starting the season red-hot, the Wildcats’ offense is starting to cool back down. In this recent road trip, the Wildcats are averaging only 3.6 runs per game, unlike the beginning of the season when the lowest run total they posted was three.
Their struggles were exposed in the first game of this series as they could only manage to get two hits in their Pac-12 opener.
Home at last
Arizona has had their fair share of struggles during their nine-game road trip where they finished below .500 with a 4-5 record. That is a complete contrast to their play at home as they are 10-0 when they play at Hillenbrand Stadium.
Both sides of the ball suffered while on the road with their defense putting them in bad situations early in games. Their offense was hitting home runs constantly to begin the season, but they could only hit two in their last two series. Hopefully, these problems will fix themselves when they return home next series.
Arizona currently stands at a 14-5 record and will be back in action this weekend at home against Oregon State. The series begins on Friday, March 26, and will wrap up on Sunday, March 28.
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