Spring break is usually a time for students to relax, but not for the Arizona softball team. The Wildcats played a total of seven games over the break, including opening Pac-12 Conference play.
Arizona (27-6, 2-3 Pac-12) most recently took the field Sunday at Hillenbrand Stadium in the second game of a three-game series against the Oregon State Beavers. The Wildcats used a five-run first inning to lead to the 13-1 five-inning victory in the team’s conference home-opening series.
Redshirt junior shortstop Kellie Fox continued her season-long offensive outburst by hitting a two-run home run in the second inning. On the year Fox has a team-high 12 homers and 44 runs batted in.
Three other Arizona hitters joined Fox in the power surge by launching home runs of their own on Sunday. Headlining the group was freshman third baseman Katiyana Mauga, who hit two home runs in the ball game to go along with three runs batted in.
The win Sunday marks the third time this season Arizona has had a winning streak of at least four games. The longest winning streak of the season is 10 games.
However, the break did not consist solely of winning. The Wildcats traveled to Los Angeles to take on then No. 3 UCLA for a three-game series March 15-17 and lost all three games.
Arizona was outscored 11-4 over the three-game series, with all four runs coming in the second game. The other games in the series marked the third and fourth games all season in which the Wildcats were held to zero runs. Perhaps the most frustrating part of the sweep for head coach Mike Candrea was when the Wildcats gave up five runs to UCLA in the seventh inning of the second game.
In between the two weekend series, the Wildcats traveled to Las Vegas to take on the UNLV Rebels in a two-game series. Arizona took both games in close fashion, outscoring the Rebels by only 10-7.
Looking forward, the Wildcats play Oregon State again at noon at Hillenbrand to conclude the three-game series before hitting the road again to take on ASU on Friday.
—Follow Roberto Payne @HouseOfPayne555
