Top-ranked Washington softball won a thrilling conference home opener on Friday night, defeating #9 Arizona 2-1 in 8 innings.
With the win, Washington improves to 30-2 and 2-2 in Pac-12 play, while Arizona falls to 24-4 and 3-1.
Taran Alvelo (14-1) and Taylor McQuillin (16-2) each went the distance for their respective clubs. They matched each other through 5 scoreless innings, with Alvelo looking the more dominant of the two (no hits through 5 1/3). But Wildcat first baseman Alyssa Palomino pounced on a mistake out over the plate and broke the scoreless tie with a homer onto the access road beyond the left field wall.