For the Arizona softball team consistency is the name of the game. Coach Mike Candrea may make tiny adjustments here and there, but the message to his players stays the same.
It’s all about putting three aspects of the game together: good pitching, hitting and defense.
Unfortunately for the Wildcats Saturday night, it didn’t all come together as No. 4 UCLA defeated UA 7-3 at Hillenbrand Stadium.
UCLA improves to 36-3 overall and 11-3 in the Pac-12. Arizona drops to 27-11, 6-8 and is sitting on a five-game losing streak.
Wildcats pitcher Alyssa Denham (5-3) put up three zeros in the first three innings, giving up only one single. Then the Bruins’ bats came alive with 10 hits while scoring in each of the final four innings.
“They start adjusting,” said Denham. “They are going to get hits and score runs but it’s about not letting it get out of hand.”
Denham struck out two, gave up seven hits, walked no batters, and gave up only two earned runs. Her ERA increased to 2.08.
One adjustment Candrea made was to the bottom of the order, starting Ivy Davis (designated player) and Jenna Kean (right field) in the eight and nine spots. They helped the Wildcats get on the board first, in the bottom of the third inning with back-to-back singles.
Ashleigh Hughes bunted to load the bases. With one out, Alyssa Palomino picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly to left field and put the Wildcats up 1-0. The Wildcats left two runners stranded to end the inning on a fly out by Jessie Harper.
Kean was 2 for 3, slugging a triple to center in the seventh and scoring on an error by the UCLA first baseman, who bobbled a ball from Ashleigh Hughes’ bat.
The Bruins came right back and Aaliyah Jordan, who came into the series leading the Pac-12 in hitting with a .486, crushed a double — her 13th on the season — to the left-field wall. The Wildcats had held Jordan to one single Friday night. Saturday, she was 3 for 4.
After inducing a fly out to Rachel Garcia, Bubba Nickles blasted a two-run homer over the left-field fence, giving the Bruins a 2-1 lead.
“They have smart batters and make quick adjustments,” said catcher Dejah Mulipola.
The Wildcats’ other run came in the fourth as Malia Martinez came home on a double error — fielding and throwing — by the Bruins’ pitcher Holly Azevedo, who couldn’t grab the bunt off Aleah Creighton’s bat. Martinez walked to start the inning and moved to second on a single to right by Mulipola.
Rachel Garcia replaced Azevedo and shut down the Wildcats, giving up only two hits in the two-plus inning she pitched.
“She has good velocity, a good rise ball, and a decent off-speed pitch,” said Candrea.
UCLA scored two more in both the fifth and the sixth, including another two-run shot by Paige Halstead to center.
After a 30-minute huddle with the team after the game ended, Candrea said that UA needs to find a way to help itself.
“We haven’t put all the pieces together in this stretch, this tough stretch playing Top 5 teams,” he said. “And, they are (ranked there) for a reason.”
The teams wrap up their three-game series with a game at 5 p.m. Sunday.
