STARKVILLE, Miss. – Arizona (37-20) edged out Mississippi State, 3-2, in game one of the Starkville Super Regional. Clutch home runs from Allie Skaggs and Izzy Pacho pushed Arizona past the Bulldogs (37-26).
 
Janelle Meoño went 3-for-4, while Pacho and Paige Dimler each had two hits.
 
The first four and a half innings were a pitcher's duel. Meoño had a home run robbery in centerfield in the first inning. In the bottom of the third, Bowen escaped a bases-loaded jam to keep the game scoreless.
 
Mississippi State's Mia Davidson hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth to break the scoreless tie.
 
Skaggs answered Davidson's solo home run with her own in the top of the sixth to tie the game. The Bulldogs hit another solo home run in the sixth to take a 2-1 lead.
 
Palacios hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh to tie the game at 2-2 and send the game into extra innings.
 
In the eighth, Pacho hit a solo homer – her 11th of the season – to give the Wildcats a one-run lead. Following a leadoff walk in the bottom of the eighth, Hanah Bowen retired the next three batters to close out the game and improve to 13-10 on the season.
 
Up Next:
Arizona will face Mississippi State in game two on Saturday, May 28 at 1 p.m. MST.