Arizona softball escapes close calls against Boise State and Texas State

The Arizona Wildcats escaped two upset bids in one-run games against Boise State and Texas State on Saturday evening. Neither game featured shutdown pitching. Both were closer than Arizona would have liked.

The Wildcats defeated the Broncos 5-4 in the early game. For the second straight day, Arizona was without starting centerfielder and leadoff hitter Janelle Meoño who is currently in a boot. She last played against North Dakota on March 3.

Sophomores Allie Skaggs and Carlie Scupin once again led the Wildcats on offense. Skaggs went 3-4 at the plate and scored a run. Scupin led the team with two RBI.

Scupin is second on the team with 24 hits this year. Her double against BSU added to her team-high slugging percentage of 1.019.

In her second appearance since taking a brief break from the team, Hanah Bowen started for Arizona. She went 4.1 innings and gave up three earned runs on four hits. Three of those hits were solo home runs and the other was a double. Bowen did not figure in the decision but ended the game with a 3.60 ERA.

Freshman Madi Elish came in to relieve Bowen and get the win. She surrendered two doubles, a base on balls, a walk, and a wild pitch, but she kept the damage to the minimum. Elish now has a 3-1 record. Her in-game ERA of 0.87 helped lower her overall number to 3.10.

Sophomore Devyn Netz came in to get the save. The sophomore RHP gave up a hit but kept the runner from crossing the plate. She now has a 2.61 ERA for the season.

After squeaking by the Broncos, the Wildcats returned to the field to face the Bobcats. Once again, Elish entered as a reliever and emerged with a win, improving her record to 4-1.

Arizona took a 1-0 lead after the first inning, but Netz was unable to keep BSU from responding in the top of the second. She allowed two singles to open the inning, then gave up the three-run home run to Texas State first base Samara Lagway.

Arizona got itself back into the game with a five-run fourth inning. The two teams went back and forth, shrugging off the lead, then retaking it, until the Wildcats finally loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh. Scupin’s single to right-center closed it out.