Hanah Bowen is back.
After not pitching since the series opener at Utah a week ago, she wanted the ball Saturday, and was ready.
Bowen burned through four innings β giving up only two walks and no hits β and got out of a sixth-inning jam to lead the Wildcats past Fresno State 5-1 in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday night at Hillenbrand Stadium.
Arizona defeated the Bulldogs 8-4 earlier in the evening.
UA (31-16) has won six straight games, its second longest winning streak of the season.
Bowen took a few days off this week to rest what seemed to be a hip strain that occurred in that first game in Salt Lake City. She put all that out of her mind and focused on the task at hand. She struck out a career-high 11 against the Bulldogs (16-32), allowing just four hits and walking four on 150 pitches.
βShe has been hurting a little bit, but I think she just wanted to prove herself that she can fight through the pain,β Sharlize Palacios said. βI mean, in this season, it's hard to find one person that feels good in their body right now. It's kind of humbling to see, βHey, my game is even good when I'm not feeling my best.β And I think that's what she wanted to see. Her game is great when she's not feeling her best. She did amazing for us.β
Bowen was working on a no-hitter before giving up a solo home run to Abby Doughty in the fifth. Alyssa Orr hit a single before Bowen struck out pinch-hitter Vanessa Hernandez to end the inning.
In the sixth, Bowen walked Alesia Denby before enticing a fly out and getting yet another strikeout. Then she gave up two hits to load the bases. Kacey Hvitved hit a fly into short left field that Jasmine Perezchica ran down.
She struck out the side in the seventh.
Bowen said two pitches were really working well for her: the back door and the curve.
βShe goes right at hitters and just gets lost in playing the game, which I think is a big deal for pitchers β just reading people's swings and just being locked in all the time,β UA coach Caitlin Lowe said.
The Wildcats came out swinging, scoring four runs in the first off home runs from Palacios, Izzy Pacho and Paige Dimler, who finished 3 for 3. They didnβt score again until the fifth inning as Dimler came home on a delayed stolen base after hitting a single to right field and moving to third on a single by Carlie Scupin.
βI think we got less aggressive for some reason in the middle of the game, whereas normally it's the opposite,β Lowe said. ββ¦I think sometimes when your pitcher is shutting down own the team, it's a little hard to be like, βOK, let's put this team away,β but I just think you got to get hungry in those moments. It's 4-0. We need four more to put a team away and that's just the mentality.β
In the first game, UA clubbed 14 hits and scored in bursts across three innings β one in the first, four in the second and three in the fourth.
In the fourth inning the Wildcats jumped out to an 8-1 lead on back-to-back home runs. Scupinβs was a two-run blast to right-center, scoring Palacios. Paige Dimlerβs a solo shot to center. Palacios (3 for 3) got on base on a single to left field.
The Bulldogs added three more in the top of the sixth to extend the game. Their three also came on consecutive dingers to right center and center field from Keahilele Mattson and Denby.
Devyn Netz (13-5) picked up the win going five innings, striking out five, walking one and giving up seven hits. Three of the four runs she got tagged for were earned. Madi Elish came in relief in the sixth and got three quick outs on two ground outs and a fly out to left field. She struck out the last two batters of the game.
βI thought today was the first time maybe ever that β¦ we were ready to throw punches from the first pitch on,β Lowe said. βAnd I think just the energy β¦ the energy of pregame β everything was great. And everyone was locked in 1 through 18. And, you know, sometimes it takes a little bit to get going. I think they were ready. They were ready to play 14 innings of hard softball today.β
Inside pitch
Arizona took a moment of silence before the game for former JMU catcher Lauren Bennett who took her own life earlier this week. The Wildcats also put a purple No. 22 behind home plate to remember Bennett.
