TUCSON, Ariz. – The No. 21 Wildcats walked-off the No. 7 Cardinal in a mercy rule victory on Friday night to even the series. Dakota Kennedy hit the walkoff home run – a solo shot – in the fifth to end the game.
 
Arizona scored 11 runs on 13 hits and held Stanford to three runs on nine hits. Kennedy went 3-for-4 and drove in two RBI to lead the team. Olivia DiNardo hit a double and a home run – a two-run shot – to push the Cats past the Cardinal.
 
Arizona opened the game with a two-run first inning courtesy of DiNardo's home run – her seventh of the season.
 
The Wildcats exploded for six runs in the second inning for an eight-run lead. Jasmine Perezchica drove in the first run with an RBI single and Kennedy followed with an RBI single of her own. DiNardo and Blaise Biringer brought in three more runs with a pair of doubles. Allie Skaggs scored the final run of the inning after Emily Schepp forced a Stanford error.
 
The Cardinal answered with a two-run home run in the top of the third and held Arizona scoreless in the bottom half of the inning.
 
In the top of the fourth, Arizona was able to get out of a bases-loaded jam to hold Stanford at bay. The Wildcats added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single from Emily Schepp and an RBI triple from Tayler Biehl for a 10-2 lead.
 
Stanford scored one run in the top of the fifth on an RBI single, but Kennedy ended the game in the bottom of the inning on a lead-off solo home run.
 
In the circle, Aissa Silva picked up the win to improve to 14-3 to secure Arizona's second top 10 win of the season. She pitched 4.0 innings, allowing just three runs on eight hits. Miranda Stoddard entered in relief in the fifth, allowing one hit to hold Stanford to just three runs in the game.
 
Up Next
Arizona and Stanford will face off in the rubber match on Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Hillenbrand Stadium on ESPN2.