No. 15 Arizona suffered a 6-2 loss to Coastal Carolina in the Bear Down Fiesta at Hillenbrand Stadium on Thursday evening.
Coastal Carolina was able to score five runs in the third inning after Jalen Adams loaded the bases that were later cleared by Brie Normandin hitting a double. Kelsey Sawvell singled allowing Normandin to score before scoring after Moria Baxter hit a double.
“It bites, you know? You hear the other team cheering on your home field, they just got the upset,” Grace Jenkins said about the mentality to win for the rest of the weekend.
“They beat us in all the ways tonight, and it’s our job to respond tomorrow,” Arizona coach Caitlin Lowe said.
Arizona (5-3) and Coastal Carolina (4-4) played well defensively before the Chanticleers were able to break it open in the third.
Adams was relieved by Jenae Berry before she came in to close out the side when Coastal Carolina rallied for five runs in the third inning.
“Knew that the defense was going to figure it out and have my back behind me,” Berry said. “Jalen’s had our back for the last week and a half. Tonight wasn’t her night. Tonight it was my duty to have hers.”
The Wildcat bats stayed in a lull until the fourth loading the bases and scoring two, Sereniti Trice and Jenkins, but stranded two in the process.
After a quiet fifth inning by both teams, the Chanticleers got on the board again with Emma Skorvan scoring from second as a pinch runner for Georgia Hood in the sixth thanks to a single from McKennah Metzger.
The Wildcats could not make a comeback as they did in the first game of the Bear Down Fiesta against Drake on Thursday.
The rematch between Arizona and Coastal Carolina is Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
“The great thing about our team is that we do better with more information,” Lowe said about facing off against Coastal Carolina again. “We need to show up and be ourselves (and) learn from what we just saw.”
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