Wildcats outlast pesky Beavers 6-4 in 11-inning marathon

Eleven innings, 3 hours and 15 minutes later, the No. 1 Arizona softball team (45-4) defeated Oregon State 6-4 yesterday.

Catcher Mackenzie Vandergeest said she wasn't nervous leaving behind the comfort of UA's Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium for what will be a seven-game road trip before Arizona returns home.

The UA junior blasted a two-run, two-out homerun to ensure the Wildcats' third victory of the weekend and second straight win over the Beavers.

Arizona gave up 10 hits, making OSU the second team to compile 10 hits against the Wildcats this season.

Sophomore third baseman Jackie Coburn sparked the first UA run in the second inning with a two-out double.

Outfielder Crystal Farley chipped in with a single to left field to give the Wildcats a 1-0 edge.

The Wildcats fell behind 3-1 but came back.

A sixth inning single homer by Vandergeest brought the Wildcats within one run, then a Beaver defensive error in the top of the seventh inning allowed them to score their tying run and send the game into extra innings.

Arizona scored the first extra inning run, but the Beavers responded, sending the game into the ninth inning tied at 4.

Vandergeest blasted her second homerun of the day, this time vaulting UA to victory.

Freshman ace Alicia Hollowell clinched her 30th win of the season while striking out 12 batters.

Saturday's 10-2 UA landslide victory against OSU sent fans home early after five innings of play.

Junior pitcher Wendy Allen improved to 12-1, striking out two batters and allowing five hits.

Allen chipped in offensively with two runs and one RBI, going 2-for-3 on the day.

Vandergeest began the Arizona run in the first inning, sending a double to left field to score leadoff batter Autumn Champion, and then the Wildcats added another first inning run off an OSU error.

Oregon State scored its two runs of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning but it wasn't enough, and an inning later, the Wildcats capped the game with a five-run fifth inning.

The Wildcats started the weekend with a 8-0 win against No. 20 Oregon on Friday night.

Senior shortstop Lovie Jung blasted her sixth grand slam of the season in the top of the second inning, which put the Wildcats ahead 6-0.

Palomarez sent the crowd home in the top of the fourth inning with a two-run double to implement the eight-run mercy rule.

Hollowell pitched all five innings and allowed just two hits while striking out nine batters.

As the Wildcats head down the home stretch of their season, they'll make one final trip to Nor Cal, to take on the defending champions, California and then Stanford.

Arizona will then head home in a season-ending series against UCLA and Washington.