TUCSON, Ariz. -- Fourth-ranked Arizona Softball hit three more home runs on Sunday, including a grand slam from
Sharlize Palacios, as
Devyn Netz picked up her first career win in the circle in a 10-1, five-inning win for the Cats over Southern Utah to close out the Hillenbrand Invitational.
Arizona finished off the weekend a perfect 5-0 with four run-rule wins, outscoring its five opponents 45-5 on the weekend.
Palacios's grand slam was one of three long balls for the Cats; freshman
Carlie Scupin hit the first of her career and
Malia Martinez added her third home run in as many days.
In the circle, Netz, a freshman pitcher from Sierra Madre, California, picked up the victory in her first career outing. She allowed one first-inning run and struck out five Thunderbirds. She was relieved by fellow freshman
Jessie Fontes, who pitched a scoreless fifth inning in her collegiate debut.
Southern Utah plated a run in the top of the first inning on a one-out double to put the Cats in an early hole.
In the bottom of the second, Scupin hit a two-run opposite field homer to give Arizona a lead it would not give up. UA added two more in the third on Martinez's two-run shot and then broke the game open with a six-run fourth.
With the bases loaded, both
Dejah Mulipola and Martinez singled to bring in one run each before Palacios crushed her first career grand slam over the right-centerfield fence and give the Cats a 10-1 lead. The four RBI are a career-most for the redshirt freshman. The grand slam was one of two homers on the weekend for Palacios.
Arizona (5-0) will host its second consecutive tournament next weekend when it welcomes BYU, Colorado State, Oregon State and Seattle University for the four-day Wildcat Invitational (Feb. 25-28).