In the fourth inning of Saturdayβs softball game against Cal, Arizona freshman Carlie Scupin launched a home run so far that not only did it clear the right field fence at Hillenbrand Stadium with ease, it landed on top of the multi-story Gittings Gym roof.
Scupin called it the longest home run sheβs ever hit in a competitive softball game, which includes the program-record 44 homers she hit while at Tucson High.
βI hadnβt seen one that long in a long time,β UA softball Mike Candrea said over the weekend.
The freshmanβs towering blast, her third in the last six games and ninth this season, is the latest example of why she is proving to be one of Arizonaβs top players this year and among the best freshmen in the country.
Scupin ranks top 20 in the country among freshmen in home runs, just behind her teammate Sharlize Palacios who ranks fourth in that category with 15. Scupin is fifth on the team in home runs and fifth in RBIs (32).
A week ago, Scupin was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the second time this year joining Jessie Harper β who won it twice in 2017 β as the only UA freshmen to earn the honor multiple times in a season.
The expectations were high for Scupin when she stepped on campus ranked as the No. 21 prospect in the nation and part of Arizonaβs third-ranked recruiting class in the NCAA, but the UA infielder is living up to them and even surpassing them down the stretch with the Wildcats down to their two final regular-season series before postseason play.
βThe one thing with Carlie Iβve been impressed with this year is truthfully I think sheβs seen the ball well as a freshman,β Candrea said.
Scupinβs recent surge of 10 hits, three homers and eight runs driven in over her last six games has raised her batting average from .293 on April 18 to .358 as the Wildcats get set to face Oregon on the road this weekend.
The current hot streak closely mirrored her blistering start to the season where she had 17 RBIs and a team-leading five long balls at the end of February. But as Pac-12 play got underway in mid-March, Scupin cooled off.
She drove in just two runs in Arizonaβs first 11 conference games and struggled to make solid contact.
βA lot of times I was trying to do too much,β Scupin admitted.
Candrea noticed Scupinβs swing getting long causing her to either roll over pitches at the plate or get underneath them for a pop-up. Frustration only grew when Scupin went 0 for 11 in Arizonaβs road series against ASU where the Cats dropped three out of four.
βMentally sheβs pretty stable,β Candrea said. βBut sometimes you start doing things that you donβt realize youβre doing, and a half an inch turns into a inch and a half to two inches. And then you wonder why youβre underneath everything or youβre a little bit late.β
The UA coach said heβs been working with the talented freshman to make minor mechanical tweaks to shorten Scupinβs swing path to the ball. The key has been to βminimize movement to maximize efficiency,β or in other words, simplify the swing as much as possible.
βSimplifying definitely helped me out,β Scupin said.
The re-emergence of the power hitting infielder only complicates matters for opposing pitchers as Scupin is another threat in Arizonaβs deep lineup that ranks fifth in the country with 78 home runs. Saturdayβs moonshot is further evidence that Scupin is back on track and catching fire at just the right time.
βI still donβt know if (the ball) has landed,β Candrea joked.
