(Tucson, AZ) Kim Doss
Game one of Saturday’s doubleheader between the Wildcats and the Antelopes came down to a strong showing by pitcher Taylor McQuillin and a timely home run from Malia Martinez.
McQuillin threw a complete game three-hitter, giving up no runs and striking out seven in a usual dominating performance. She also walked one Antelope hitter. The problem for the Wildcats was that they couldn’t adjust to the off-speed offerings from Grand Canyon Universitystarter Brianna Aguilar.
“The first game, we had a hard time adjusting to the speed of that pitcher,” Arizona head coach Mike Candrea said.
Candrea said that the team worked on hitting against the off-speed pitch this week, but the hitters said that it was still difficult to adjust to it in the middle of the PAC-12 season.
“It just goes to show you how powerful the off-speed pitch can be,” he said.
That off-speed pitch kept the Wildcats off balance for almost the entire game. The difference was the fourth home run of the season from Martinez, who sent a ball out of Hillenbrand in the bottom of the fifth inning.
“I’m glad Malia ran into one,” Candrea said.
The Arizona lineup had five hits off Aguilar, who also walked one. She was also helped by some great plays by her defense, especially on the left side of the infield.
Arizona moved to 36-13 ahead of the second game of the doubleheader, while GCU fell to 27-24.
