The No. 14 University of Arizona softball team (17-5, 0-0 in Big 12) swept the Hillenbrand Invitational and won five games. The Wildcats played Eastern Illinois University, Long Beach State University, the University of Minnesota and Howard University.
Arizona, winning all five games by way of mercy rule, dominated on both sides of the ball. Three wins by shutout, the Wildcats bounced back at home after suffering two mercy rule losses last weekend to the University of Texas in the DeMarini Invitational.
Game 1 – Eastern Illinois (8-0)
The Wildcats wasted no time getting on the board. In the bottom of the first, Sydney Stewart delivers a clutch two-run double, giving Arizona an early 2-run advantage. The momentum carried into the second inning when Big 12 leader in hits, Sereniti Trice, sparked a 3-run frame. Ending the day with three hits, Trice roped a double that would drive in 3 runs, and she later came around to score on a wild pitch, extending the lead to 5-0.
Arizona added insurance in the fourth inning, plating three more runs to put the game out of reach. Tayler Biehl hit a sacrifice fly, followed by a Stewart RBI single, and Grace Jenkins capped the scoring with a single, getting the Wildcats to their 8-run lead.
Freshman Rylie Holder was in complete control on the mound. The right-hander tossed a two-hit shutout, earning her fourth win of the season while keeping the Panthers off balance all night. Arizona sealed the five-inning run-rule victory in commanding fashion.
Game 2 – Long Beach State (8-0)
A huge double play by Regan Shockey erased a first inning threat, keeping Long Beach State off the board after the first three batters reached with nobody out. Stewart started the scoring for the Wildcats, with an opposite field double, scoring the first two runs of the game. Jenkins followed the very next at bat with a towering opposite field home run. Two batters later, Kez Lucas smashed a 2-run homer and put the Wildcats up 6 points after a jam-packed first inning.
The scoring would continue in the second with a Tayler Biehl two-run home run pushing the lead to 8 points. Her first home run since her grand slam earlier in the year which helped the Wildcats defeat Oklahoma earlier in the season.
Holder continued her dominant stretch, throwing four shut out innings and only allowing three hits in her second start in 2 days. Jenae Berry would come on in the fifth inning and complete the shutout. Stellar defense by the Wildcats, helping their pitchers out with multiple defensive plays across innings. The Wildcats dominated again, winning in the same fashion, an 8-0 mercy rule in five innings.
Game 3 – Minnesota (11-2)
Stewart continues to be an RBI machine, starting the scoring with a 2-run single up the middle. A 2-run single from Kiki Escobar extended the lead to 4 points. The Wildcats batted around in the first inning for the second game in a row, continuing to put pressure early on opposing teams.
The Arizona offense continued their slugging formula. The top of the order got on base while the middle of the order drove them in. Stewart continued to show her power, blasting a 2-run home run to dead center, her sixth of the year, and extended the Wildcats lead to 6-points heading to the middle innings.
Jenna Sniffen launched an absolute missile off the bat, adding another 2-run homer to the stat sheet, her second of the year pushing the Wildcats lead to 8 points. The Wildcats would add on 2 more points after that, scoring in every inning. The Golden Gophers yet to get anything going on both sides of the ball.
Jalen Adams getting back on track, pitching three scoreless frames, allowing two hits and striking out three. Minnesota was able to finally get on the board in the fourth. Adams reentered the game in a bases loaded no outs jam, allowing only one run which was unearned, keeping the eight-run mercy rule alive heading into the last inning.
Late insurance from an Emma Kavanagh home run pushed the Wildcats to another dominant win.
Game 4 – Howard (9-0)
The offense continues the early scoring trend hitting 2 home runs in the first. Biehl led the Wildcats, hitting her second of the year with one later and finishing with 5 RBIs in the game showing her power in her senior campaign. Addison Duke hit her first home run in an Arizona uniform later in the inning and continued to flip the lineup over and provide a spark at the bottom of the order.
The scoring stalled for both teams for the next two innings. Adams got into another early rhythm, shutting down the Bison offense through four innings. A final line of four scoreless innings and giving up only two hits.
A stagnant Wildcats lineup clinging onto a 2-run lead heading into the fourth, exploded for 7 runs in the bottom of the fourth. Duke would drive in the first three runs of the inning, and Stewart would follow with a solo shot of her own, capping off a dominant bottom half.
Berry would relieve Adams in the fifth and complete the shutout. The Wildcats cruised to another dominant shutout victory, winning this one 9-0 in five innings.
Game 5 – Long Beach State (12-2)
Holder and company ran into early trouble, giving up two early runs in the first. However, the Wildcats exploded for 7 runs of their own in their half of the inning. Arizona sent 12 total hitters to the plate in the bottom half, three walks and six base hits gave them an early lead.
Kavanagh would continue to display her power this weekend, extending the Wildcats lead to 8 with a 2-run home run, her fifth of the year. Showering her versatility as the usual every day designated player in the lineup.
Holder, continuing to find her groove in her freshman year, was able to settle in after the first inning. Proving to be a groundball pitcher, she kept her defense on their toes. A nice double play started by Sniffen kept Long Beach State off the board in the third. Sniffen also had a great day at the plate, going 3-for-3 including a 2-run home run driving in 4-runs this afternoon. Providing more offense at the bottom of the Wildcats lineup, Arizona would tack on two more runs and hold onto the 10-run lead. The Wildcats dominated on both sides of the ball this weekend and extended their winning streak to five as they finished off the last game of the Hillenbrand Invitational with a 12-2 victory.
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