Everything was playing out perfect for the Arizona softball teamβs first run-rule victory over California since 2016 on Saturday.
Pitcher Hanah Bowen fended off every challenge, stranding eight runners over five shutout innings. An error by the Cal first baseman placed runners at second and third with two outs, and Carlie Scupin, the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week, stepped into the batterβs box.
Another Scupin homer, she hit one over the Ina Gittings Building earlier, would have ended it. Instead, she lined a single to left field, loading the bases and leaving it to nine-hole hitter Hannah βPeanutβ Martinez.
Martinez had been mired in a difficult stretch, carrying a sub-.300 batting average since March, but she didnβt give her doubters a chance, blasting the third pitch she saw over the center-field wall. The grand slam secured the 9-0 victory.
Even though the No. 9 Wildcats (32-8, 10-5) seemed destined for a 29th straight home win, the walk-off grand slam was an unforgettable moment for the redshirt junior.
βAt first, I didnβt even know it was a walk-off,β Martinez said. βIt felt sweet off the bat, and rounding third, (coach Mike Candrea) was like βthatβs how you do itβ with his handshake he gives, and that always feels good.β
If not for Bowenβs heroics in the circle, maybe Martinezβs homer wouldnβt have been enough to end it.
Despite letting up six hits and two walks while hitting two batters, the junior righthander remained unfazed. She mixed up speeds throughout her seventh win, dropping down from 66 miles per hour to 62 to get a soft two-out popup with the bases loaded in the fourth inning.
While Alyssa Denham was warming up in the bullpen, Candrea never wavered in his faith that Bowen would escape.
βShe threw some pitches when she really needed it, and just kind of hung in there,β Candrea said.
That moonshot by Scupin in the fourth inning took some pressure off, giving Arizona a 4-0 lead.
Candrea said he βhadnβt seen one that long in a long time,β and Scupin said it was the longest home run she had ever hit in a game.
Dejah Mulipola also homered, driving in Janelle Meono, who went 3 for 3 to extend her hit streak to 26 games. Sharlize Palacios also had two RBIs, getting Arizona on the board in the first inning and singling in the fifth. The two catchers, Mulipola and Palacios, have now combined for 98 RBIs this season.
However, the night belonged to Martinez, who reminded how lethal this offense can be with just her third home run of the season.
βMid-game when weβre up by five or six runs, coach is always telling us we need to put them away,β Scupin said. βSometimes he says weβre too nice. So recently, putting the nail in the coffin has been a big thing for us, and Peanut showed us how to do that tonight.β
Arizona wraps up its two-game series with Cal at noon Sunday. The series was shortened from four games due to COVID-19 concerns within the Cal program. It was the Golden Bearsβ (16-13, 3-7) first game since April 11.
