TUCSON, Ariz. – No. 7 Arizona secured its fifth straight sweep and 20th straight win on Saturday afternoon at Hillenbrand Stadium, defeating Stanford 13-2 in five innings to improve to 37-7, 15-0 Pac-12.
Twelve of UA's 13 runs came in the bottom of the third inning when the Cats scored a dozen runs on half a dozen hits.
Malia Martinez had a two-run double and a grand slam in the inning and led the Wildcats with six RBI in the contest.
Malia Martinez's home run was one of two in the game –
Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza hit her 14th homer of the season – two of seven long balls during the series for NCAA leaders, who improved their season total to 88 on Saturday.
Malia Martinez's six RBI led the way for the Wildcat offense, which plated 13 runs on nine hits. Palomino-Cardoza and
Hannah Martinez had two RBI apiece while
Reyna Carranco,
Jessie Harper and Ryle Pierce had one RBI each.
Taylor McQuillin earned the victory in the circle for the Wildcats, allowing one run on two hits with two strikeouts and a walk to improve to 17-5 this season. The senior did not allow a hit until the fourth inning, when the Cardinal led off the frame with a single followed by a misplay-aided triple that scored the first run of the game for Stanford.
Gina Snyder pitched the fifth inning and allowed a run on three hits.
With the win, Arizona picked up its fifth straight sweep to start Pac-12 play, marking the second over 15-0 league start for Arizona (1994 – 23-0) and the first time Arizona has swept five straight conference series since the league moved to three-game series in 2010. Arizona's 15 straight Pac-12 wins mark its longest streak since winning 20 straight Pac-10 games from 2001-2002.
Arizona will take its 15-0 conference record and 20-game winning streak on the road next week; the Cats take on California in Berkeley next weekend.
KEY INNINGS
Bottom 2: Arizona opened its scoring with a two-out infield single from
Hannah Martinez that scored
Hillary Edior from second on the play. (1-0, UA)
Bottom 3: Arizona exploded for 12 runs on six hits in the third.
Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza doubled the lead with a home run to lead off the bottom of the third inning. A single and two walks loaded the bases with nobody out.
Malia Martinez doubled to the gap to score a pair and put the Cats ahead 5-0. Two more free passes brought in a run to reload the bases for
Hannah Martinez, who delivered a sacrifice fly to make it 6-0. Palomino-Cardoza recorded her second RBI of the inning with a single that scored one before
Reyna Carranco recorded a sacrifice fly to put the Cats up 8-0.
Jessie Harper doubled in a run, Arizona's eighth run of the inning before
Dejah Mulipola drew her second walk of the inning to reload the bases for
Malia Martinez, who hit a grand slam, giving her six RBI in the frame, to put a dozen runs on the board in the third and give UA a baker's dozen for the game. (13-0, UA)
Top 4: The Cardinal used a leadoff single, its first hit of the game, and a triple to right, to score its first run of the game. McQuillin, however, would retire the final three batters of the inning to strand the runner at third. (13-1, UA)
Top 5: Stanford's Emily Young hit a home run off
Gina Snyder to lead off the top of the fifth. (13-2, UA)
UP NEXT
Arizona will head to California for a three-game series next weekend. The Cats and the Bears will meet Friday (3 p.m.), Saturday (1 p.m.) and Sunday (12 p.m.) in Berkeley.
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