No. 8 Arizona swept GCU in a doubleheader Wednesday night closing both games in five innings by way of the run rule behind another strong performance at the plate.
Highlights during the first game came freshman outfielder Bella Dayton, who had two RBIs on a double in the second inning, and a home run for freshman first baseman Carlie Scupin.
Sophomore second baseman Reyna Carranco flied out during the last play of the first game which allowed Giulia Koutsoyanopulos to score, invoking the mercy rule for an 8-0 Arizona win in the fifth.
Carranco recently returned for the first time since February when she sustained a hand injury. She had her first hit since returning during the second game against the Lopes.
A standout player from the second game included freshman outfielder Janelle Meoño who had her first career home run to help the Wildcats take a 5-0 lead in the second inning. She finished with two runs and one RBI.
"I thought it [Meoño's homerun] was great," said UA head coach Mike Candrea. "I mean I've seen her square up balls at practice and hit them against the fence. She hit one over the other day, but I mean that was a rocket out of here. Inside pitch, turned on it, got the bat to the ball and good things happened."
Meoño is a great slap hitter and able to hit bunts, line drives, high, low; really whatever her team needs in the moment.
"When my first base coach started laughing I think thats when I knew it was gone ," said Meoño about her first home run at UA. "Before the at-bat I'm not thinking a 'home run.' I'm just trying to slap the ball, but then it just went. There's not too much thought process there. My thing is pitch selection... I'm just going to keep it the same way that I chop."
What really put the Wildcats on their way to another 8-0 win during the first inning of the second game was a three -run home run by center fielder Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza that brought in shortstop Jessie Harper and catcher Dejah Mulipola. It was the sixth home run of the season for the UA senior.
On the defensive side, freshman pitcher Devyn Netz got the win with a strong performance in the circle. She pitched five innings for the Wildcats giving up six hits while striking out four batters to move to 3-0 this season.
"I think I did well," said Netz. "I think I moved the ball pretty well in beginning, kind of got hit a little bit in the second inning, but that's just me going out there and learning. I think it's just a part of the learning process for the freshmen and learning from these older girls.
"So I think I did well going out there and pitching for the whole game, but theres obviously things to work on and I'm only a freshman so there's so much more to learn."
However, defense wasn’t all that great for everyone on the field tonight. Jessie Harper seemed to struggle during the first and second inning fumbling the ball three times, one of which resulted in an error.
UA seemed to just go through the motions, rather than playing with the sense of focus Candrea expects from his team.
"I think it's just one of those mid-week games," said Candrea of the performance from his group Wednesday. "I wasn't overly pleased with the way we played. We just didn't have any sense of urgency. We've got 48 hours to get tuned up for ASU."
The Wildcats (26-5) will be on the road this weekend in Phoenix to play a four-game series against No. 13 Arizona State. The first game with the Sun Devils (25-10) will begin Friday at Alberta B. Farrington Stadium in Tempe at 6 p.m.
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