Long ball powers Arizona softball to sweep of UNLV, Marist

Arizona entered Saturday afternoon averaging 1.3 home runs per game. That average went up considerably after a pair of games paced by the long ball.

The Wildcats hit seven homers in sweeping a doubleheader during the Bear Down Fiesta, beating UNLV 7-2 and then Marist 11-0 in five innings. Four of those homers were by three players who had never before hit one in college, or with Arizona.

In the first game against UNLV, Arizona got homers from a pair of unlikely sources in Bailey Thompson and Giulia Koutsoyanopu. Thompson, a Tucson-area native and graduate transfer from Seattle, hit a 3-run shot for her first homer with the Wildcats as part of a 4-run 1^st, then in the sixth Koutsoyanopu—who was 3 for 3 from the No. 9 hole—hit a 2-run homer for her first career longball.

Carlie Scupin added a solo shot to open the scoring in the first, her ninth of the season.

Hanah Bowen allowed four hits and two unearned runs while striking out nine in a complete game win, improving to 5-2.

The nightcap saw Scupin hit her 10^th and Allie Skaggs smack her eighth homer, when Amber Toven had the first two of her career including a 3-run shot in the 3^rd. Toven finished the game 3 for 3 with five RBI, while Scupin had five hits and five RBI over the two games and Thompson had four hits and four RBIs on the day.

Devyn Netz threw four innings of one-hit ball against Marist for the victory.

Arizona completes the Bear Down Fiesta, its final set of nonconference games before Pac-12 play begins, Sunday at 12 p.m. MT against Marist. The Wildcats’ first league series is at UCLA.