TUCSON, Ariz. – The No. 9 Wildcats (6-2) defeated Loyola Marymount (4-6) but fell to No. 16 Kentucky (8-1) on the second day of the Hillenbrand Invitational.
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Game 1 – Arizona 4, Loyola Marymount 3
Arizona beat LMU 4-3 in the first game of the doubleheader.
Sharlize Palacios hit a two-run homer in the first inning to give the Cats an early lead. Allie Saggs ended the game on a walk-off sacrifice fly in the seventh to score
Jasmine Perezchica.
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Arizona had four runs on four hits, with four RBI. Palacios' home run was her fourth of the season.
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Biringer scored
Amber Toven – a pinch runner for Palacios – on a single up the middle in the third inning to put the Cats up 3-0. LMU hit a home run in the fourth and scored two in the sixth to tie the game.
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Perezchica was walked to lead off the bottom of the seventh. The Lions intentionally walked Palacios and Perezchica advanced to third on a wild pitch. Skaggs scored Perezchica with a sacrifice fly to secure the win for Arizona.
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Hanah Bowen (4-1) earned the win, entering the game in the sixth and allowed no runs on one hit. Â Â
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Game 2 – Kentucky 7, Arizona 6
No. 9 Arizona fell to No. 16 Kentucky 7-6 in a back-and-forth heartbreaker. Three Cats hit doubles, but Kentucky had two home runs to push Kentucky to the win.
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Kentucky struck first in the third inning, but Arizona answered back with a two RBI single from Skaggs. Kentucky then hit a two RBI home run that Martinez followed with an RBI single to score
Amber Toven who was a pinch runner for
Izzy Pacho.
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Kentucky scored four in the top of the fifth to regain the lead at 7-4.
Carlie Scupin and
Blaise Biringer each hit RBI doubles to bring the Cats within one in the bottom of the fifth.
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It was a pitcher's duel between
Madi Elish and Kentucky's Kennady Sullivan in the final two innings. Sullivan (2-0) came away with the win and Elish fell to 0-1 after giving up the deciding run in the fifth inning.
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Up Next:
No. 9 Arizona closes out the Hillenbrand Invitational against Long Beach State at 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 20.
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