TUCSON, Ariz. -- Danielle O'Toole threw her third shutout of the season, a four-hitter with seven strikeouts, helping sixth-ranked Arizona defeat Texas 3-0 in the first game of a three-game series at Hillenbrand Stadium.
 
O'Toole improved to 9-1 on the year and lowered her conference-leading ERA to 0.34 on the year. It was her seventh complete-game effort of the season.
 
The offense supported O'Toole with three runs on six hits, as Texas starter Tiarra Davis (2-4) dueled nearly toe-to-toe with O'Toole; Davis allowed one Wildcat run through the first five innings before UA tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the sixth. 
 
Mo Mercado remained hot at the plate, posting her sixth straight multi-hit game. The reigning national and conference player of the week is now 13-for-her-last 16 at the plate. Mercado had a pair of doubles and scored two of Arizona's three runs.
 
Mercado was also instrumental on the defensive side of the ball. The shortstop had a team-high four assists, including triggering a nifty 6-3 double play to erase a leadoff Longhorn single in the fifth.
 
In three plate appearances, Tamara Statman went 1-for-1 with two RBI. She started the scoring with an RBI single in the second and added insurance with a sac fly in the sixth.
 
In the second, Mercado recorded her 12th hit in 14 at-bats, a one-out double to right field and scored on Statman's two-out single down the right field line to give Arizona the early advantage.
 
The Cats plated two runs of insurance in the bottom of the sixth. Alyssa Palomino walked to lead off the inning and moved to third on Mercado's second double of the game. Jessie Harper followed with an RBI single and Statman drove in her second run of the game with a sacrifice fly to left.
 
Up Next: The Cats and the Longhorns continue their three-game series on Saturday at 6 p.m. MST.
 
Follow Arizona Softball: For further coverage of Arizona softball, visit ArizonaWildcats.com and follow the team's Twitter and Instagram accounts (@UA_Softball).