Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza hit a two-run go-ahead home run in the top of the seventh inning and sixth-ranked Arizona softball defeated No. 3 UCLA, 5-3, on Thursday, handing Pac-12 Player and Pitcher of the Year Rachel Garcia her first loss of the season.
UCLA’s Garcia entered the game a perfect 20-0 with a 0.71 ERA and not allowed more than one home run in a game all of 2019. She had not allowed more than three runs in a game since the 2018 Women’s College World Series (5 – Florida, June 1).
Arizona got to Garcia for five runs on six hits, all five runs scoring on three homers from the Cats. The three home runs came at key moments in the game for Arizona, as the Cats fought back from two separate deficits in the game. Rylee Pierce hit a game-tying solo home run in the fourth, Jessie Harper hit a game-tying two-run homer in the fifth and then Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza hit the eventual game-winner, a two-run homer to break a 3-3 tie in the top of the seventh.
Palomino-Cardoza finished her terrific seventh with a diving catch onto the warning track in deep left center field to help turn away the Bruins in the home half of the seventh and help Taylor McQuillin shut the door.
McQuillin picked up the victory in the circle for the Cats, allowing three runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and four walks and picked up her first win over a top-five team of the year. She improved to 20-7 on the season with the win.
Palomino-Cardoza’s home run, the 50th of her career, was one of her two hits in the game, her fifth straight multi-hit game; the last four games have been against a trio of All-American pitchers (Washington’s Gabbie Plain and Taran Alvelo; UCLA’s Garcia).
Harper also had two hits in the game. Her two-run homer increased her Pac-12 leads in both home runs (24) and RBI (63). Harper’s 63 RBI are the most by a Wildcat since Chelsea Goodacre led the NCAA with 86 in 2015.
The Wildcats’ win kept their Pac-12 Championship hopes alive. Arizona (41-11, 18-4 Pac-12) would need to sweep UCLA (45-4, 19-3 Pac-12) to win at least a share of the conference title. The two teams meet in game 2 on Friday at 5 p.m. MST.
