Arizona softball had not won a Pac-12 game since Saturday, Mar. 18 when the Wildcats defeated Utah 10-9 in nine innings. That was three days after UA lost Carlie Scupin to a broken forearm. With Scupin back for just her second game since that injury, Arizona was in danger of extending the conference losing streak to 15 games.
As rightfielder Paige Dimler squeezed the last fly ball off Frankie Hammoude’s bat in her glove, a cheer went up in Rita Hillenbrand Stadium that was about more than a 6-3 win over eighth-place Oregon State on a Saturday night in late April.