The Arizona Wildcats suffered a two-hour delay before they could play Louisiana-Monroe and then Montana in Saturdayβs doubleheader. The delay would have been no big deal had inclement weather not canceled the Wildcatsβ first two days of play in the Hillenbrand Invitational.
The Wildcats finally played their home opener, a 4-0 shutout win against ULM. And, they beat Montana 2-1 in the nightcap.
"Overall, it was a long day," UA coach Mike Candrea said late Saturday. "You sit around and wait. Lights go out, there was so many things today that you're glad you walk out of here with two victories, to be honest with you right now. But this is a team that's going to be a work in progress."
Alyssa Denham pitched the complete game in Saturdayβs Game 1, registering five strikeouts. Denham was backed up by Reyna Carranco, Jessie Harper and Alyssa Palomino.
Carranco gave the Wildcats an early lead with a run in the first and, after hitting a double, was brought in by Harperβs home run. Palomino was brought in as a pinch hitter to lead off the sixth and hit a homer of her own.
It was the fourth-straight game in which the Wildcats have hit three homers. Harper nailed her fifth of the season and Palomino hit her third of the season.
Taylor McQuillin opened the nightcap by striking out the first two batters on her way to 11. Montana scored on a lone home run to get the upper hand, 1-0.
But the Wildcats responded with a two-run homer by Dejah Mulipola to take a 2-1 lead in the third that stood for the final score.
At the start of the sixth inning, just after Montanaβs Gabby Martinez made contact with the ball, sending it toward mid-center field, the lights turned off. Although the lights were on a 10 p.m. timer, Ashleigh Hughes wasnβt β she recorded the out just before the game went into a delay.
The delay lasted about 10 minutes.
