TUCSON, AZ – The Arizona Wildcats play the Arkansas Razorbacks in the NCAA Softball Tournament Super Regionals.
The Wildcats reached the best-of-three streak by scoring 12 unanswered runs and beating Ole Miss 12-6 on Sunday night.
In the competition, which was the final of the Tucson regional competition over the weekend, the home team dropped early before they rallied to victory.
The Wildcats fell 6-0 after three innings on Sunday after the Rebels scored four runs in the third frame.
The home team bounced back from there, however, with Redshirt senior infielder Malia Martinez’s home run serving as the main catalyst for the Wildcats in an eight-run fifth inning that secured the win.
Longtime Arizona softball head coach Mike Candrea described his team’s ability to overcome an early deficit with a strong finish as a gritty Sunday night.
“When you give up six runs it is sometimes very difficult to compete the way they did, but I was just (impressed) with their response to that deficit,” Candrea told Arizona Desert Swarm. “And then I really thought that Mariah Lopez is a big factor today that gave us a really good ball game. I’ve played a lot of games and told them they show more grit than anyone I’ve seen in one. ” long time. And so, in a big game like this, to lose six and then win six, that says a little about them. “
Martinez, who has completed eleven home races for Candrea and Company this season, said her titanic blast on Sunday night was the end result of focusing on the task at hand and delivering when her teammates needed it most.
“I think it was her screwball. It was gone,” Martinez said. “And so I really tried to make adjustments, to speed up my timing, to make sure I was tracking the ball on the right track and that I was seeing a good field of play to drive. I knew I just had to try and get it up. ” as much as possible.”
Martinez and the Wildcats now face the No. 6 seeded Razorbacks in Arkansas with a trip to the Women’s College World Series on the line.
The two teams will meet in the best-of-three series this weekend. Here is the schedule for the series:
- Game one: Friday, 6 p.m., ESPNU
- Game two: 4pm Saturday, ESPN2
- Game three (if required): Sunday, 8 p.m., ESPN2
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