A big sixth inning for Arizona proved to be too much for the Tigers on Saturday as they dropped game one of the NCAA Super Regional. More brilliant pitching from the Wildcat ace, Danielle O’Toole, pushed Arizona to a 5-3 victory, earned her a 26th victory of the season, and gave Arizona the series lead in the Auburn Super Regional. O’Toole allowed just two hits in seven innings of work for the Wildcats.
“I thought O’Toole did a good job of moving in and out,” Auburn head coach Clint Myers said.
Auburn (52-10) started out strong defensively in the first inning, as pitcher Kaylee Carlson needed only 12 pitches to retire the first three Wildcat batters in order. Unfortunately for Auburn, O’Toole also had a strong start, and retired the first six Tiger batters in order.
In the third inning the bats of both teams came alive. Wildcat star Mo Mercado grounded out and scored Eva Watson, which gave Arizona an early 1-0 lead. The Tigers quickly pushed back and put runners on first and second, after Sophomore Madi Gipson blasted a double off of the left field wall, and Whitney Jordan was hit by a pitch. The two eventually scored after Tiffany Howard reached third base on a play that included two Arizona errors.
The Wildcats pushed another run through in the fifth off of the bat of Mercado, setting them up for a huge and quite bizarre sixth inning. In the sixth, the Wildcats quickly put two runners on, which ended the day for Carlson in the circle for Auburn. Infield hits and hit batters plated three more for Arizona in the sixth, giving them three total runs in the inning.
“We’ve got to do a better job of getting outs on ground balls,” Myers said. “We had 22 ground balls and several of those went for hits when they shouldn’t. We just have to play better.”
Auburn wouldn’t score again until the bottom of the seventh inning, when first baseman Jade Rhodes blasted a solo shot to right center field giving the Tigers their third run of the evening. It was not enough, as seven infield hits and nine total hits captured game one for Arizona.
With the victory in game one, Arizona improved its record to 40-19. The Wildcats are the only unseeded team still in the Tournament. Game two of the series will be played at Jane B. Moore Field on Sunday at 1 p.m. CST, and can be seen on ESPN.
“We’ve been here before, and we talked to the team about what we need to do. It’s another day, another game and another opportunity to play Auburn softball,” Myers said.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
