TUCSON, Ariz. – No. 22 Arizona (28-17, 5-8 Pac-12) celebrated the 20th birthday of Rita Hillenbrand stadium in style with it walked off with an 8-6, 10-inning victory over 18th-ranked UCLA (28-15, 5-11) on Thursday night in Pac-12 softball action.
Trailing by a run and down to the last out in the bottom of the 10th, Wilson blasted the first pitch of her at-bat to deep left-field with runners on first and second to help Arizona take the first of a three-game series against the Bruins. The home run was Wilson’s sixth of the year.
Arizona took an early lead with a five-run second inning, but UCLA capitalized on two Arizona errors for five unearned runs in the fourth, including a two-out grand slam by B.B. Bates. The two teams then traded zeroes until UCLA's Ally Carda led off the 10th with a solo homer.
Mandie Perez knocked a one-out single in the bottom of the inning, and Courtney Rodriguez reached on a fielder's choice to set up Wilson's game-winning blast off the scoreboard in right field.
Shelby Babcock (15-6) got the start in the circle for the Wildcats and went the distance, allowing just one earned run on eight hits. She recorded a season-high 10 strikeouts.
