The Wildcats (4-0) will wrap up the event vs. No. 12 Tennessee on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. MST.
Game 1: Arizona 6, Portland State 3
Phoenix native Marissa Schuld made the most of her first career start in the lineup, going 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI to lead the Wildcats to a 6-3 victory over Portland State in Saturday’s first game.
Schuld’s three RBI came after Portland State had briefly tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the third inning, including her two-run home run in the fourth inning, her first career hit. Schuld’s homer was one of two long balls in the game; Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza hit her second of the weekend in the first inning.
Arizona’s offense collected 11 hits, six of which went for extra bases, but the Cats scored just six runs off the hits.
Alyssa Denham picked up the victory in the circle in relief of Hanah Bowen with 4.1 nearly perfect innings after the Vikings tied the game at 3 in the third. Denham retired the first 11 batters she faced and allowed just one hit, a seventh inning single, while fanning two and not walking a batter. She improved to 1-0 on the season. Bowen allowed three runs on four hits in 2.2 innings in her first start of the year.
Schuld was one of four Wildcats to post multiple hits in the game; Reyna Carranco, Jessie Harper and Malia Martinez all had two hits as well in the game. Martinez is now hitting .833 in the early going this season.
Arizona hit for the cycle in a three-run first inning. Reyna Carranco hit a one-out triple and scored on Jessie Harper’s RBI single. Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza followed with a home run to put Arizona up 3-0. Malia Martinez doubled but was stranded to end the inning.
The Vikings responded with a two-run homer of their own in the bottom half and then tied the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the third.
Marissa Schuld broke the tie with her first career hit, a two-run homer to left-center in the top of the fourth inning.
Schuld came through again in the top of the sixth, doubling home Malia Martinez to extend the lead to 6-3.
Game 2: Arizona 12, Western Michigan 0 (5 innings)
Arizona hit five home runs, five of its 14 hits, as the Cats blanked Western Michigan, 12-0 in five innings in Saturday’s second game.
Isabella Dayton, Reyna Carranco, Jessie Harper, Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza and Ivy Davis all homered in the game, bringing UA’s home run total to 10 through four games at the Kajikawa Classic.
Ten different Wildcats had hits in the game, led by Carranco, who went a career-best 4-4 in the contest.
In the circle, Mariah Lopez (3-0) picked up her third win in as many appearances, allowing just one hit over four scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. Marissa Schuldpitched the final inning, a scoreless fifth with two Ks.
The Cats plated at least two runs in every offensive frame – two in the first, three in the second, three in the third, two in the fourth and two in the fifth.
Press Release courtesy of Arizona Communication Services/Danny Martinez
