Another night of pseudo-batting practice and the Arizona Wildcats look like they’re ready for the biggest challenge of the young season.
The ninth-ranked Wildcats (2-0) will face No. 2 Alabama in front of a sold-out crowd at 6 p.m. Saturday following their second blowout win in as many nights. Arizona crushed Southern Utah 15-0 Friday night, picking up where they left off against the Thunderbirds (0-3) in Thursday’s 22-1 season-opening victory.
This time, the bats came alive immediately, as Arizona piled up 11 runs in the first inning, their highest total in an inning in more than a calendar year. Sophomore Sharlize Palacios delivered her first homer of the season to make it 3-0, and that was only the beginning.
Southern Utah didn’t record an out until the eighth Arizona batter and didn’t get out of the inning until Palacios added another RBI hit, followed by a home run by sophomore Allie Skaggs.
“Quite a few of these now-sophomores who were freshmen last year had been waiting their turn for quite a while now,” said first-year UA coach Caitlin Lowe. “They’ve made it sound like it has been a really long time, not just the summer and fall, to get to this point. So, I know they’ve been chomping on the bit to get on the field.”
The heart of the order was one of the biggest concerns coming into the season.
Arizona had to replace two-time first-team All-American Dejah Mulipola in the No. 3 slot and cleanup hitter Jessie Harper, who finished her career tied for the UA’s all-time career home run mark with 92. This year, Palacios has jumped from fifth to third in the order, with Skaggs and sophomore Carlie Scupin behind her.
On Friday, the sophomore trio showed its power, going 5 for 6 while driving in six runs. It was a nice encore after Thursday, when Skaggs and Scupin both homered and Palacios ripped a two-run triple.
“With us three, specifically, we do a lot together outside of softball,” Skaggs said. “We’re around each other all the time. You’re building those relationships not just as teammates but as friends. When we’re out on the field, we’re playing together as friends. The three of us know, 100%, we have each other’s backs.”
However, Skaggs knows it will be much more difficult to keep up that production against the Crimson Tide and reigning NFCA Pitcher of the Year Montana Fouts.
Fouts beat UA in the Women’s College World Series in both 2019 and 2021.
“Our team is young, but we’re scrappy and ready to go,” Skaggs said. “It’s a high-stakes game, which is exciting this early in the season. We’ll be a little excited tomorrow, but we’re ready.”
Through two games, Arizona has tinkered with its pitching staff. On Thursday, Hanah Bowen — who had the most innings of any — allowed one run in three innings while Jessie Fontes tossed two perfect innings with four strikeouts. Friday, Devyn Netz and Madi Elish combined for a shutout in their season debuts.
But just like the hitters, the Arizona pitching staff will have its hands full with an Alabama offense that averaged roughly 5.8 runs per game in SEC conference play last season.
“It’s important for us to see where we’re at,” Lowe said. “We’re excited for the challenge. That’s the most important part. Nobody is shying away from it.”
