Arizona will face host Arkansas in the next round of the Fayetteville (Ark.) Regional after routing Villanova 14-3 in a mercy-rule five-inning victory Friday.
Arizona (35-16-1) will play Arkansas (37-16) at noon Saturday on ESPN2. Arkansas beat Southeast Missouri 3-2 Friday in the other opening-round game Friday. The winner between Arizona and Arkansas advances to the championship round Sunday.
Dakota Kennedy and Tucson High graduate Carlie Scupin each hit home runs and four Wildcats drove in two runs each. Scupin went 3 for 3 and Kennedy scored three runs to help Arizona beat Villanova.
Arizona scored eight runs in the first inning to take a demanding lead over Villanova.
Scupin scored Kennedy from second base with a single to left field. The second run scored after Blaise Biringer (Cienega) drew a bases-loaded walk.
Emily Schepp hit a sacrifice fly to bring in the third run of the inning. Tayler Biehl hit a two-run double and Kaiah Altmeyer drove in a pair with a single to right field. Kennedy rounded out the scoring with a two-run home run – her 11th of the season.
Scupin extended Arizona’s lead to nine runs with a leadoff home run in the second inning.
In the fourth, Villanova scored three runs on a bases-loaded walk, a bases-loaded groundout, and a sacrifice fly.
Arizona plated five in the bottom of the fourth to take a 14-3 lead.
Allie Skaggs (Ironwood Ridge) opened the scoring with a two-RBI double and Olivia DiNardo plated the third run of the inning with an RBI single. Biringer scored Skaggs from third with a single and an RBI groundout from Schepp scored the final run of the inning.
Miranda Stoddard pitched the first three innings, allowing just one hit and striking out two to hold Villanova scoreless and pick up the win to improve to 6-8.
Brooke Mannon entered the circle to relieve Stoddard in the fourth and gave up three runs in four batters faced. Aissa Silva pitched the final two innings and kept Villanova scoreless on one hit.
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