The No. 12 Washington Huskies will see a familiar foe to open the Pac-12 Tournament in the No. 18 Arizona Wildcats. The teams met for a three-game series in March and the Huskies took two of the three, winning the Friday and Saturday contests by the 8-run rule.
Coach Heather Tarr’s team will look for the same power surge that saw them score 24 runs over the first two days before being shut out in the series finale. The Huskies saw Arizona ace Aissa Silva very well, tallying 11 hits and 8 runs off her in Tucson, and will look to carry that success into Stanford.
Washington’s offense hit 8 home runs against the Wildcats in the series, with 2 from Alana Johnson and Jillian Celis. Kinsey Fiedler, Olivia Johnson, Brooke Nelson, and Sydney Stewart also went deep and if the Huskies can find their groove at the plate, they should be one of the favorites to win the tournament.
In the circle, Ruby Meylan and Lindsay Lopez both had success against Arizona. Meylan allowed 9 hits, 6 walks, and 5 earned runs over 9 2/3 innings while striking out 16 batters. Lopez let up 3 hits and 3 earned runs across 6 innings of work with 5 strikeouts.
First pitch is set for 6:30 on Thursday night on the Pac-12 Network as the Huskies make a push to host an NCAA Regional matchup. [lawrence-related id=3298]