In softball, one at bat can be an emotional rollercoaster.
As Jessie Harper stepped to the plate with two outs in the third inning of Friday’s 7-0 victory over Oregon State, the Arizona fans in attendance had to be feeling a mixture of optimism and anxiety.
The No. 9 Wildcats (15-5, 1-2) had lost five of seven games and scored just six runs in their last five games. In the second inning, they needed two passed balls just to get on the board. So, this golden opportunity, one inning later, could easily be squandered.
Yet, as Harper watched three straight balls, the optimism grew. A surefire belief spread through the cold, windy air that the active NCAA career home-run leader was about to make something happen.
Back-to-back strikes quashed this momentum, and the anxiety returned. Coach Mike Candrea shouted encouragement at his sixth-year senior, who was seeking to end her 0-for-11 drought.
“In all honesty, I didn’t hear a word he said,” Harper said. “During that, I was just thinking, ‘Hit the ball hard.’ That’s all I was thinking about.”
She delivered, sending a deep fly ball over the left-center field fence. The wind certainly helped, but regardless, the three-run homer ignited something in the Wildcats that had been missing since they left Tucson undefeated.
“That’s the thing about these kids, they’re pleasers and they’re trying to please everyone, sometimes trying to please too many people,” Candrea said. “Hopefully, this will jumpstart us.”
With a solid lead, Arizona was impeccable. Harper drilled another homer, the 82nd of her career, in the fifth inning to make it 7-0. Alyssa Denham never lost her cool in the circle, working through several jams to record the complete-game shutout. She stranded nine runners, getting some defensive help along the way.
The Wildcats turned two double plays. The first was a grounder third baseman Malia Martinez fielded, stepped on third and threw to first in the sixth inning, and Denham did the second herself, snaring a liner and throwing to first to get a runner leaning off the base in the seventh. There were also little things, like left fielder Janelle Meono cutting off a sharply-hit single before it reached the corner, setting up Martinez’s double play.
The players and coaches recognized this evening constituted a return to form. The Wildcats, who had hit 20 home runs in their first 10 games, had their bats silenced on the road. A comfortable series-opening win served as a shot of confidence in the beleaguered program’s arm.
“We went through a tough spell there, and I think they’re trying very hard, sometimes too hard,” Candrea said. “Coming out and being at home, being in your own bed and having a little bit of a routine throughout the day, is really what the doctor ordered for us.”
Arizona continues its series against Oregon State (13-8, 2-2) with a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. Saturday.
