University of Arizona pitcher Alyssa Denham texted coach Mike Candrea late Friday night to let him know she’d be ready for Saturday’s series finale against Cal.
Candrea and his staff chose to start Hanah Bowen in the circle anyway, figuring her screwball could damage the Golden Bears’ lefty-heavy lineup.
When Cal tore Candrea’s plan apart, scoring three runs on four hits in the first inning, the longtime coach took Denham up on her offer.
“At that point, I just knew I was going to be ready if my name was called,” Denham said. “And I was going to do the best I could at fulfilling any role that may have been, whether that’s on the field (or) cheering on the dugout. I’m going to fulfill my role as much as I can.”
The relief pitcher came in and shut down the Golden Bears, allowing only one hit against the 19 batters she faced, as the 11th-ranked Wildcats rallied to win 7-3. The sweep of the 22nd-ranked Golden Bears continued an odd trend for UA:
The No. 11-ranked Wildcats (27-6) swept Utah to begin the Pac-12 season, were swept at top-ranked Washington and then swept visiting Cal.
Denham said she was focused on hitting her spots and taking control of the count. Cal was going to have to earn it, she said.
“She came in and did a hell of a job,” Candrea said. “Sometimes you have these breakout moments as players and I thought today was one for her.”
The three-run deficit didn’t burden the Wildcats, who brought the bats out to play. Ashleigh Hughes and Alyssa Palomino reached base in the first inning, and Hughes eventually scored when Jessie Harper hit into a double play.
Aleah Craighton homered in the second inning. Three batters later, Carli Campbell ripped an RBI single, scoring Malia Martinez. Like that, the game was tied.
Craighton said she’s been struggling with timing and swinging too late, but felt she had a breakout moment this weekend.
“It was a lot better,” Craighton said. “This whole week we worked on different approaches and different counts. So, with that, I feel like we all had a set plan and we all came out together.”
The Wildcats took the lead in the third with a homer by Palomino to start the inning.
Cal switched pitchers, and Arizona feasted. Martinez and Tamara Statman scored Harper and Craighton, respectively, on singles.
The Wildcats added a third leadoff home run in the fifth inning, when Harper belted a solo shots.
Candrea said he was pleased a lot of what the team had been working on throughout the week was able to come into fruition in the series finale. And it was good to see the team make as many runs as they did, he added.
“I’m just really pleased with our fight, but more importantly with our quality at-bats throughout the day,” Candrea said. “I thought we really did a good job of sticking to a plan and using the count to our advantage.”
Arizona will travel to No. 5 Oregon this weekend for a highly-anticipated conference season. Friday and Sunday’s games will be shown on Pac-12 Arizona, and Saturday’s showdown will air on ESPN.
“It feels good to bounce back,” Craighton said. “It definitely ups our confidence so we can go in the rest of the Pac and dominate.”
