Reyna Carranco’s injury threw a wrench into what seemed to be a fine-tuned lineup for Arizona’s softball.
The sophomore has been out since getting hit in the face by a pitch in Game 1 of last week’s Washington series, and Wildcats coach Mike Candrea needed to make quick adjustments.
The Wildcats weren’t able to turn it around in Seattle, where they suffered a sweep at the hands of the No. 1 Huskies. But something clicked into place on Thursday in the opener against California.
Better yet, not something, but someone: Jenna Kean.
Kean notched her first two career RBIs to lead the No. 11-ranked Wildcats to a 3-0 victory over the Golden Bears.
The freshman said it felt really good to be able to help Arizona get on the board twice. The first came in the second inning on a single up the middle to score Carli Campbell and the second RBI hit was on a sacrifice fly to score pinch runner Jaycee Lindley in the fourth.
“At first, it was kind of surreal,” Kean said. “I’ve never felt anything before like that.”
Candrea used Ashleigh Hughes to fill Carranco’s absence at second base, and bumped Hughes up to Carranco’s No. 2 spot in the lineup.
The 33-year skipper said he thought Hughes swung the bat extremely well on a night when top hitters Alyssa Palomino and Jessie Harper struggled.
“You lose a kid like (Carranco) that is just a steady force and you have to scramble things around, I was really pleased that Jenna stepped up for us,” Candrea said. “I was very pleased.”
Kean was struck out at her next at-bat and then suffered the consequences of the new slap rule. On a 3-2 count in the sixth, Kean was called out for having her foot on the line of the batter’s box.
“That was the first time it’s ever happened to me,” Kean said. “I don’t usually get called out of the ball, so when I got called it was kind of a shock. But it is what it is, you just have to adjust to it.”
Hughes went 3 for 3 and provided half of Arizona’s six hits of the night. She also managed to steal three bases. The senior was the first UA player to steal three bags in one game since Karissa Buchanan did so in 2012.
“It’s part of the game. It’s exciting,” Hughes said. “(I’m) just happy to be in scoring position for some of our big hitters. It’s key.”
Wildcats ace Taylor McQuillin threw her NCAA-leading ninth shutout and earned her NCAA-leading 17th win. McQuillin struck out eight batters while only allowing one hit.
The junior said it felt good to break the three-game losing streak.
“I think it’s always good to come back with a victory after you’ve fallen off a couple games,” McQuillin said. “In the sense of ‘you needed that,’ I think we kind of did to pick our team up and show our team like ‘hey, this is what our conference is like.’ We’re going to celebrate the little victories because every victory in the conference is a big one.”
The Wildcats host the Golden Bears at 6 p.m. Friday for the second game of the series.
