Arizona looked to stay hot over the weekend as it faced No. 11 Washington. The Huskies were coming off a series victory over UCLA.
Game 1 – No. 18 Arizona 8 No. 11 Washington 4
The offense for Arizona continues to show consistency that it lacked to begin the season. Big innings are the new trend for the Wildcats offense that drove the team to victory in game one.
The matchup featured the Pac-12’s most prolific offense against the toughest pitching staff in the conference. Arizona got just enough in the circle from junior Danielle O’Toole, and a big inning put them in control of the game.
Arizona threatened in the first two innings and broke through against Washington starter Taran Alvelo in the third.
Mo Mercado started things with a double off the center field wall that drove in two runs and Lauren Young followed up the at-bat with a walk to put runners on first and second for freshman Joelle Krist. Krist crushed a home run to left center field that gave the Wildcats the 5-0 lead that would be too much for the Huskies to overcome.
Danielle O’Toole earned the victory and moved to 13-5 on the season. She allowed four earned runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts.
Game 2 – No. 11 Washington 6, No. 18 Arizona 2
The tables were turned in game two as Washington shut down the Wildcats. The Huskies are used to scoring runs and overpowering their opponents, but Husky starter Casey Stangel held the Wildcats to just two runs.
Freshman Taylor McQuillin got the start for the Wildcats and went 5.2 innings allowing six runs on nine hits. It was McQuillin’s toughest matchup to date and she moves to 8-5 on the year. McQuillin ran in to trouble in the third inning when she faced Stengel and could not get out of the jam giving up a three run home run.
The offense struggled to get anything going and managed their two runs in the sixth inning when the game was already in hand.
Game 3 – No. 11 Washington 5, No. 18 Arizona 1
The Huskies were able to wrap up the series victory over Arizona with a victory on Monday night. Another tough outing for the Arizona pitching staff led to the Wildcats loss. The team used three pitchers on the night.
Danielle O’Toole started the game and would only last 2.1 innings before control issues chased her from the game. O’Toole gave up three runs on four hits and fell to 13-6 on the year in the loss.
Nancy Bowling was the first reliever used in the game by Arizona and she would face four batters before Taylor McQuillin came in to finish the game for the Wildcats.
Arizona started the game off by taking the lead in the second inning when Mo Mercado scored on a two-out error. The offense managed only four hits in the contest.
The Wildcats have a busy week beginning with a doubleheader against New Mexico State on Wednesday night. They will then face the University of Houston Cougars in a weekend series beginning Friday night.
Follow Daily Wildcat Sports on Twitter
