The No. 18 University of Arizona softball team (2-0, 0-0 in Big 12) took the victory in both games of the doubleheader against Southern Utah University (0-2, 0-0 in WAC) on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. The Wildcats started out their season strong with an opening day victory.
An overcast 75-degree day set the stage for opening day as the Wildcats dominated the Thunderbirds by a score of 8-0 in both games on day one of the Candrea Classic.
Game 1
It was a unique start to the season as head coach Caitlin Lowe deployed five infielders. Junior outfielder Regan Shockey, a unanimous preseason All-Big 12 selection, covered first base and recorded the first out of this season’s campaign.
An error by the Thunderbirds shortstop Isabella Knight started the scoring for the Wildcats, getting off to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. A Shockey single in the second extended the Wildcat’s lead to 2-0.
Second baseman Sereniti Trice went 3-for-3, racking up a single, double and triple, a home run shy of the cycle.
The first home run of the season belonged to infielder Jenna Sniffen who continued the trend of scoring in every inning and extended the lead to 4-0. This knocked the Thunderbirds’ starting pitcher Delaney Baker out of the game.
After three years at the University of Iowa, transfer starting pitcher Jalen Adams dominated in her Arizona debut. She allowed no hits and struck out four out of 53 pitches, recording the 99th no-hitter in program history as the first Wildcat to throw a solo no-hitter in their debut.
A 4-run bottom of the fourth propelled the Wildcats to a fifth-inning mercy rule, capped off by a walk-off single from Tayler Biehl. This closed out the game that resulted in a 8-0 victory for Arizona.
Game 2
The second game of the day was a much tighter matchup compared to the first in its early stages. Through the first three innings, it was a pitching and defensive masterclass as both offenses were held scoreless and had two hits apiece.
Coming off of a rough junior season campaign, Thunderbirds starting pitcher and Tucson native Riley Nielson started off the game holding the Wildcats’ offense in check through the first four innings.
Arizona starting pitcher Sarah Wright followed suit with her own dominant performance. She only allowed three hits through five scoreless innings for Southern Utah.
The Wildcats loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth with only one out. Unfortunately, they were not able to capitalize on the opportunity which kept the game scoreless as they headed into the second half of the game.
The offense finally got going in the fifth inning. A leadoff bunt single by outfielder Addison Duke and an error by Nielson allowed for a 2-run single from Trice. This brought the score to 2-0. Thunderbirds’ outfielder Michaella Salvatierra made a great play at the wall that prevented an extra base hit, but still resulted in a run as Trice scored from second. This extended the lead by 3 runs heading into the sixth.
The Wildcats continued to build their lead with an RBI double from Duke followed by another RBI single from Shockey. Eventually capped off by a walk-off 2-run single by redshirt senior infielder Kiki Escobar, the game ended in the sixth with a final score of 8-0.
The double header ended in a shutout across both games as the Arizona pitching staff held the Thunderbirds scoreless through 11 innings.
Looking forward
No. 18 Arizona hosts No. 3 University of Oklahoma in a clash between two storied programs on day two of the Candrea Classic at Mike Candrea Field at Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium on Friday, Feb. 6 at 4 p.m.
Follow the Daily Wildcat on Instagram and Twitter/X
