SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Softball dropped its series finale with No. 5 Arizona this afternoon, 13-2.
Hailey Hilburn did not allow an earned run through four innings and helped herself with a two-run homer but Arizona's bats broke out with nine runs in the fifth to secure the victory. Hilburn's round-tripper resulted in the first runs scored in the last five Pac-12 outings off UA pitcher Taylor McQuillan (14-5).
It was an unfortunate third inning for Hilburn as an error and single put a pair of runners on base before consecutive ground outs brought home the game's first run. Hillary Edior slapped a ball through the left side to score another and Rylee Pierce capped the inning with a two-run homer for a 4-0 lead.
With two down in the fourth,
Alyssa Barrera worked a walk and Hilburn connected on her fourth homer of the season to get the Utes on the board and back in the game.
A single and eight straight pitches out of the strike zone loaded the bases for the 'Cats and after a pitching change, Edior blooped one just beyond the shortstop's reach for the first run in the fifth. Another walk to Pierce brought in a second and the Utes made another alteration in the circle. After an out, Jenna Kean cleared the bases with a triple and scored on Reyna Carranco's sacrifice fly. Arizona reloaded the bases and quickly added three more runs on a Malia Martinez double for the final score.
In the process, Arizona outscored Utah 48-3 over the three games, setting a new school record for runs in a conference series since the Pac-12 moved to three-game series in 2010
Utah heads to Stanford for three games, starting Friday at 8 p.m. MT. The Utes are back home on Thurs., Apr. 18 for a Red Out against Washington.
