In the final game of the Wildcat Invitational, Arizona had a rematch with No. 24 SC Upstate, and came out victorious again, 9-1.
Freshman Hanah Bowen got the start on the mound, and after giving up an early solo home run, gave up four total hits and struck out seven.
When asked how she came back so strong, Bowen kept it simple.
“Just don’t leave [the ball] middle,” Bowen said. “Don’t leave it over the plate, or they will take advantage of it.”
SC Upstate got the scoring started early, with a solo homer from junior Ansley Gilstrap to leadoff the first inning.
In the bottom of the first, sophomore Reyna Carranco hit a triple up the middle into center that scored redshirt sophomore Alyssa Palomino. The next batter, sophomore Jessie Harper, scored Carranco with a two-run shot into left center. Sophomore Dejah Mulipola would add another run in the inning with a solo homer, making it 4-1 Wildcats.
The ‘Cats gave Bowen some more run support in the bottom of the third, when a single by sophomore Malia Martinez scored redshirt senior Aleah Craighton from second, giving Arizona a 5-1 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, Carranco got on the board with another RBI, this time a single that scored freshman Jenna Kean. Then, after a single by Harper, Craighton hit a double that scored Carranco, pushing the Wildcats lead to 7-1.
In the bottom of the fifth, freshman Ivy Davis, on as a pinch hitter, hit a two RBI triple that ended the game, with a final score of 9-1.
“You always want to get that win,” Davis said when asked if she thought about ending the game coming to the plate as a pinch hitter. “But, at that point in the game, no outs, you kind of just want to get a job done, so more in that mindset.”
Arizona wraps up the Wildcat Invitational with a 6-0 record, allowing just seven runs in those six games, while scoring 41 runs.
“I thought we were up and down,” head coach Mike Candrea said of his team’s performance in the tournament. “I thought we played some very good moments and we played some moments where we weren’t quite having that sense of urgency that I’m trying to get out of them.”
Next up is a game vs. Minnesota on Wednesday, March 14th at 6 p.m., before Pac-12 play begins that weekend.
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