Just like any team that replaces a large group of seniors, the Arizona Wildcats softball team has many quiet tournaments raging over whom will emerge as the starters.
Saturday night, Amber Toven made one of those a lot louder.
For five straight seasons, the Wildcats didn’t have to worry about the shortstop position with Jessie Harper, the program’s all-time co-leader in home runs. Replacing that production has been even more of an issue than expected, but Toven made her pitch with back-to-back home runs in Saturday’s nightcap, an 11-0 five-inning run-rule victory over Marist.
The No. 9-ranked Wildcats (18-4) crushed UNLV 7-2 in the first game of the doubleheader.
Toven, a 5-foot-6 freshman, now touts three extra-base hits and seven RBIs in nine at-bats over three straight starts.
“There were a lot of nerves racing in my body when I got told I was going in,” Toven said. “But I think I felt more comfortable as soon as I stepped in the dirt, because I knew my teammates had my back. The chemistry on this team makes it a lot easier to handle all of that pressure.”
Toven replaced Sophia Carroll, who has been out with a concussion and is “day-to-day,” according to coach Caitlin Lowe. Carroll maintained a .932 fielding percentage while batting .250 over 18 starts at shortstop. Blaise Biringer had a short stint, moving over from third base, but she has been inconsistent at the plate as well, leading to Izzy Pacho’s emergence at third base.
Pacho, a redshirt junior, extended her hit streak to eight games by going 2 for 5 with a walk in Saturday’s doubleheader. Her experience and personality play a key role in the infield.
“She’s just a calming force entirely, and it’s funny because she’s also our hype woman at the same time,” Lowe said. “But she has done just such a good job of not just on the field but on the plate as well, being able to calm people down.”
Pacho has moved up to the cleanup spot to give Arizona’s lineup four straight batters with a better than .400 average. And that’s without last year’s Pac-12 batting champion Janelle Meono, who is awaiting MRI results while she nurses a foot injury.
“Her X-ray was clean, but with a stress reaction-type thing, we’re getting an MRI to be safe,” Lowe said. “It is getting better in the boot, so that’s good. We’re just taking it day by day.”
But with Arizona flooding the field with capable players, there isn’t the pressure to force Meono back into action.
Giulia Koutsoyanopulos filled in at center field Saturday and went 3 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs against UNLV. Bailey Thompson, who started the season as a backup catcher, went 4 for 6 with a double, a homer and five RBIs in Saturday’s doubleheader.
“The way we look at it is we have a bunch of secret weapons on the bench,” Pacho said. “It’s not like it’s just the starting nine, and that’s all you get the entire game or series. We have so many people who can step up when others are not hot or not feeling it. Or if their name is called, they’re ready to go.”
Arizona concludes play in the Bear Down Fiesta with another game against Marist at noon Sunday. UA starts Pac-12 play next week at UCLA.
