NCAA Softball Tournament results: Katiyana Mauga, Danielle O’Toole lead Arizona past South Carolina, 5-0

Mauga made history and O’Toole was masterful as the Wildcats move one win away from making the Super Regionals

It pays to have star power.

Danielle O’Toole tossed a one-hit shutout and Katiyana Mauga homered to become the Pac-12’s new home run queen as Arizona softball beat South Carolina 5-0 on Saturday in the Tucson Regional.

Mauga’s third-inning blast, a solo shot to deep center which gave UA a 1-0 lead, was the 91st of her career, putting her atop the Pac-12’s all-time home run list.

O’Toole, the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year, carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning, which was broken up by a one-out double by Victoria Williams.

O’Toole (29-4) only needed 75 pitches to go the distance. The left-hander faced two batters over the minimum and struck out seven.

Mauga’s day didn’t end after her record-breaking homer, as she ripped a two-run double in the fifth to put Arizona up 5-0.

Mauga, the Pac-12 Co-player of the Year, was 2 for 3 with 3 RBIs.

Arizona tallied five runs (one earned) on nine hits off South Carolina starter Nickie Blue in 4 ²⁄₃ innings, but the right-hander did an admirable job keeping the Wildcats at bay for the most of the game despite having a shoddy defense behind her.

Mauga’s solo shot was the Wildcats’ only run through the first four innings, as Blue was able to work herself out of a few jams.

With two on in the third, UA catcher Dejah Mulipola launched a towering drive to center, but Tiara Duffy made a twisting catch at the wall to end the inning.

The Wildcats then loaded the bases in the fourth inning thanks to two singles and a walk, but Jessie Harper bounced out to end the frame.

Harper hit a sharp grounder to the right side, which deflected off second baseman Mackenzie Boesel and, fortunately for the Gamecocks, flew right to the shortstop who caught it and stepped on second for the final out of the inning.

Arizona found itself in an identical situation in the fifth inning, but this time South Carolina wouldn’t get a favorable bounce.

Like Harper, Hillary Edior, who was pinch hitting for Eva Watson, hit a sharp grounder to the right side which Boesel couldn’t field cleanly.

She scrambled to collect the ball and eventually made the throw to first, but Edior slid into the bag to beat it out.

The error put UA up 2-0 and Mandie Perez followed it up with an RBI single, extending Arizona’s lead to 3-0.

Perez hit a soft chopper down the first base line, which Blue didn’t attempt to field, thinking it was going to bounce foul.

It didn’t and Blue was subsequently relieved by right-hander Jessica Elliott, though that move didn’t pay off either.

Mauga immediately split the right center field gap to bring home two more runs.

With the win, Arizona stays in the winner’s bracket and will return to action Sunday at 4 p.m. for a chance to punch its ticket to Super Regionals.

The Wildcats will face South Carolina or the winner of the Saint Francis (PA)/New Mexico State game.

Saint Francis (PA) and NMSU will begin at 4:45 p.m. The winner will face South Carolina around 6:30 p.m.

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