Arizona softball handles No. 20 Oklahoma State, Long Beach State in Mary Nutter Classic

After a day of rainouts, the Arizona Wildcats opened the Mary Nutter Classic with two wins on Friday, beating No. 20 Oklahoma State and Long Beach State in Palm Springs to improve to 8-4 on the season.

Here are recaps of both games.

Arizona 3, Oklahoma State 0

Taylor McQuillin (3-3) tossed her second consecutive three-hit shutout Friday against No. 20 Oklahoma State. The lefty struck out 10 and only allowed two hits and two walks, retiring the last 11 batters she faced.

The Wildcats scored one run in each of the first three innings. Malia Martinez singled up the middle to plate Jessie Harper in the first, Ivy Davis scored on a fielding error in the second, and Rylee Pierce hit an RBI single to center in the third. It was the Missouri transfer’s first RBI as a Wildcat.

Arizona had four hits and coaxed four walks. Martinez had two hits.

Arizona 12, Long Beach State 3

Arizona scored four runs in three different innings in a rout of Long Beach State.

The Wildcats tallied 15 hits, getting contributions from up and down the lineup. Jessie Harper went 3 for 5 with four RBI. Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza and Reyna Carranco each had two hits and two RBI.

Dejah Mulipola, Malia Martinez and Joelle Krist each drove in a run, as did Tamara Statman in pinch-hitting duty.

Arizona led 4-0 in the third before Long Beach State plated three runs in the fourth to pull within one.

UA righty Alyssa Denham (4-1) allowed three runs on five hits before being relieved by Hanah Bowen to begin the fifth. The sophomore right-hander allowed three hits in three scoreless innings.

Arizona added four runs in the sixth to give it a five-run cushion, then blew the game open with four more in the seventh.

A good sign for the Wildcats: they did not make an error in either game and only scored two of their 15 combined runs via homer.

Arizona has a triple header in Palm Springs Saturday, starting at 8 a.m. against UC Santa Barbara, No. 4 Oklahoma, and Team Japan (exhibition).

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