Arizona softball coach Mike Candrea was tired of trotting Alyssa Denham and Mariah Lopez out to the circle in games the Wildcats should dominate.
So he issued a challenge to the offense Saturday, subbing in presumptive third pitcher Hannah Bowen despite just a two-run lead on Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. His players answered the call, scoring a season-high in runs on the way to a 15-2, five-inning, run-rule victory.
“We tried to turn it on and flip the switch right there,’” said Ivy Davis, who went 1 for 2 with a homer and three RBIs. “It worked. We started getting those hits, and it didn’t stop.”
Much like the response when South Dakota trimmed the lead to 3-1 in Thursday’s game, No. 4 Arizona (20-3) unleashed a barrage of tactical and powerful hitting. Jessie Harper, Malia Martinez and Hannah Bowen hit back-to-back-to-back doubles to give Arizona a 4-1 lead. A few innings later Harper blasted her 10th homer of the season, forcing an SIUE pitching change.
From there, the Wildcats didn’t look back, piling up nine hits including seven for extra bases.
“It lit a fire under all of us, that yeah, we do have to be competing at that level all the time.” Davis said. “It doesn’t matter if we’re not facing Oklahoma, Florida or another big-name team, anybody can come out and put up a fight.”
Every time the offense ignites, it reminds Candrea of this team’s ceiling and why it’s among the best in the country.
But when things aren’t clicking, it couldn’t be more frustrating.
The problem boils down to timely hitting. In Saturday’s first game, a 2-1 win over Boise State, the Wildcats left eight runners on base before Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza blasted a walk-off solo home run to end it. Fortunately for Arizona, Denham was up for the challenge, allowing one run on four hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in a complete game.
She threw 101 pitches to do it, though.
“The offense is going to come around, and they’re going to score when we need them to,” Denham said.
While that has usually been the case, it would be nice to give Denham/Lopez an easy afternoon every now and then. Lopez has thrown 65 innings on the season and Denham is at 67ª. Those are staggering numbers considering the team has yet to reach Pac-12 play. Starting with Oregon State next weekend, five of the conference’s nine teams are ranked and three more received votes.
“I wish this team would play high-level softball all the time and take some pride in that,” said Candrea, after Lopez threw 92 pitches in six innings against South Dakota Friday. “There is no reason why Mariah had to throw as many pitches as she did tonight.”
Arizona faces Indiana at 11:15 a.m. Sunday to finish the Wildcat Invitational. The Hoosiers (9-8), even with ace Emily Goodin, touting a 1.76 ERA, in the circle, shouldn’t be able to contain Arizona. But which set of Wildcat bats show up is yet to be determined.
