It's the best rivalry in college softball and Friday in Oklahoma City it did not disappoint. No. 6 Arizona faced No. 2 UCLA in a winners bracket meeting at the Women's College World Series and the Wildcats were able to keep the game close before momentum went to the Bruins' side thanks to a big pinch-hit home run.
In the early going it was anyone's game thanks to some solid pitching, impressive defense and, of course, the long ball.
Eventually it was the long ball that made the difference as the Bruins went to pinch hitter Malia Quarles in the top of the sixth inning and she crushed a leadoff home run to center field giving the Bruins a 2-1 lead they would never surrender.
UCLA would go on to tack on four more runs in the top of the seventh while UA would add one more in the final inning as the 6-2 game came to a close with Arizona heading to the elimination bracket.
"We just let the game get quick, kind of let the game slip away from us in that one inning," Arizona pitcher Taylor McQuillin said. "We'd been competing the entire time, the past month actually. To come out, let up one inning, it's a bit rough. Obviously with a team like UCLA or any other team here, you see what happens. They'll put up runs on the board any way they can."
The game looked a lot like UA's matchup with Washington to start as McQuillin and Rachel Garcia went toe to toe in the early innings with both pitchers delivering some big pitches. Eventually the Bruins broke the scoreless tie with a manufactured run on a sacrifice fly from Garcia to go up 1-0.
UA's Hannah Martinez made an impressive play on the run in the field to hold the Bruins to one run in the bases-load situation. It was one of a pair of impressive defensive plays for the Wildcats with left fielder Carli Campbell having a diving catch in the fourth inning that highlighted UA's day in the field.
The Wildcats would find a quick answer to UCLA's one-run lead with a solo home run from center fielder Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza to tie it up. Palomino eventually accounted for both UA runs in the game as she hit another solo blast in the bottom of the seventh inning but there simply wouldn't be enough innings left for the Wildcats to make a comeback.
"I think facing her, since I was 12, has a lot to do with it," Palomino-Cardoza said about her two home runs off Garcia. "I mean, I just go up there, try to keep it simple, know that I'm going to get rise ball, rise ball, rise ball. Just kind of find a pitch down, something I can drive. I think that's how I went in today."
The final inning is the one that will stick in UA's mind moving forward since it was just a one-run game heading into that final frame. The fact that the Wildcats were able to make some spectacular plays in the field early in the game only to have issues late is something that has Mike Candrea still searching for answers.
"It's something that I haven't seen for a long time," the UA head coach said. "The same kid [Campbell] that makes the great play drops the fly ball. It was just a crazy inning. Honest to God, I wish I had an answer for it. It's really what we've been talking about forever.
"I just think the moment got a little quick on us. If you look at that inning, we have a relay that had an opportunity to throw a runner out, didn't do it. We had a fly ball to right field, had a chance to throw a runner out, we didn't do it. Then the dropped fly ball. You can't make mistakes like that at this level, in a game of this stature.
"I was very pleased with the team, I thought for six innings, too bad we're not a little league team, only play six. The seventh inning just really got a little bit out of hand."
Now, the Wildcats will head to elimination bracket and play Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. MST against the winner of a game between No. 5 Florida and No. 8 Alabama that is set to take place Saturday afternoon.
