Arizona softball coach Mike Candreaโs unorthodox pitching plan worked, until it didnโt.
Mariah Lopez started for the No. 8-ranked Wildcats in the season finale against No. 2 UCLA on Saturday, throwing two scoreless innings. She was replaced by Hanah Bowen, who fanned three batters in two scoreless innings, and Alyssa Denham came out of the dugout for the fifth.
Thatโs where the plan fell apart. Denham surrendered back-to-back singles, and Devyn Netz, the final Arizona arm, entered in relief. In the blink of an eye, the Bruins (41-4, 19-2 Pac-12) pushed across all seven of their runs in a 7-2 win.
Netz, a freshman from Ironwood Ridge High School, started strong, getting a grounder to shortstop Jessie Harper, but Harper overthrew second base to plate UCLAโs first run.
Two batters later and with First-Team All-American Rachel Garcia up, Arizona (36-13, 12-10) decided to issue an intentional walk to load the bases with one out. Thatโs when UCLAโs Delanie Wisz drilled a double off the center-field wall. Kinsley Washington then crushed a towering home run to left.
โA team like that, the whole thing is trying to keep them off balance,โ Candrea said. โHindsight, you look at it, and it wasnโt a good plan. But if you donโt take a risk sometimes, youโre never going to get a reward.โ
One bright spot was Lopez regaining her footing. The fifth-year senior, who went 51-2 in three seasons at Oklahoma before transferring to Arizona in fall 2019, re-entered the game to replace Netz. She finished with 4 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and two walks with five strikeouts.
โI have struggled a little bit, but I finally have my movement back,โ Lopez said. โI know when youโre not in a great place, you tend to want to just throw your hands up. But this is my senior year and Iโm not giving up until the last pitch, the last out and the last game.โ
Perhaps, the most frustrating aspect of the loss is Arizona finally struck first and in an early inning, a rarity against ranked foes this year.
The Wildcats squandered an opportunity with the bases loaded and one out in the first inning. But in the second, they capitalized off a leadoff double by Carlie Scupin. Malia Martinez moved the runner to third with a grounder to second base, and Hannah โPeanutโ Martinez chopped an infield single to grab a 1-0 lead.
โThatโs something weโve struggled with,โ Peanut said. โBut, itโs not over yet, and weโre not done. Weโre just going to have to work on moving people over, especially with less than two outs.โ
Although, the loss may prove to be too much to overcome, the Wildcats did get some help in their quest for a top-eight seed and a home super regional.
Their main competition for the final spot, No. 9 Oklahoma State, lost for the third time in four games to No. 1 Oklahoma, 10-2, in the Big 12 championship Saturday. It was the first time the Cowgirls (42-9, 15-3) have been run-ruled this season, but they have three losses to teams outside the RPI top 50, including to No. 128 Kansas City and No. 130 Houston.
Arizonaโs worst RPI loss was at No. 33 UCF, 2-1.
โWe took care of business with the teams we needed to,โ Candrea said. โIf you look at our losses, most of them were on the road against the better teams in the conference.โ
UCLA won three of the four games at Hillenbrand, including a 3-0 mark in games that counted in the Pac-12 standings.
The NCAA Tournament Selection Show takes place at 6 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2.
