It may not have lived up to the drama of Saturday’s comeback win over No. 4 UCLA, but No. 12 Arizona softball could use an easy day after that 10-inning marathon. The Wildcats got it with an 11-3 run-rule victory over No. 23 San Diego State. The game took six innings.
The victory put the cap on a 6-0 week. That record includes a 5-0 weekend at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif.
Devyn Netz threw all 10 innings against the Bruins, but that didn’t mean there was no place for her heroics against the Aztecs. The redshirt senior came through with a two-out single to walk off SDSU in the bottom of the sixth. She went 3 for 4 with two RBI in the batter’s box. She was also hit by a pitch.
Miranda Stoddard started a game for the third straight day and the fourth time this week. While the Wildcats used six of their eight pitchers this week, the bulk of the innings were thrown by Stoddard and Netz with the other four playing their roles in shorter outings.
The grad student gave up two earned runs on two hits and a hit batter. She pitched for two innings, striking out two. One of the two hits was a home run.
Ryan Maddox and Saya Swain also saw time in the circle. Swain picked up the win to improve her record to 3-1 this season.
Maddox gave up the other SDSU run on a hit, a walk, and a wild pitch. She went 2.2 innings, striking out three. The lone hit was a home run.
Swain pitched the final 1.1 innings of the game. She hit a batter but surrendered no hits, walks, or runs. She struck out two.
Arizona got multi-hit games from Regan Shockey, Emily Schepp, Tayler Biehl, and Netz. The Wildcats had 13 hits as a team. They drew six walks and had two batters reach via hits-by-pitches. They also benefited from three Aztec errors.
Stoddard started the game with a quick 1-2-3 inning and the offense responded in the bottom of the first. Catcher Sydney Stewart reached base with a two-out hit-by-pitch. Netz followed with a double to drive in the run from first base and put the Wildcats up 1-0 after one inning.
The Aztecs responded in the top of the next inning. Stoddard hit the leadoff batter but struck out the next two. She made her mistake with Grace Uribe. The SDSU right fielder drove the first pitch she saw out of the yard. It was the second of the season for the Texas A&M transfer.
The Wildcats picked up their pitcher in the bottom of the inning with a seven-run inning that put them in control.
Schepp got on via an error to lead off. Last year’s primary starting catcher served as the designated player on Sunday.
Jenna Sniffen laid down the bunt but it wasn’t a sacrifice. Arizona’s third baseman reached safely to put two on with no outs.
Biehl got the first of her two hits, driving in Schepp and moving Sniffen to third. The game was tied at two runs apiece.
Biehl stole second, giving Arizona two runners in scoring position. It was the 26th stolen base on 29 attempts for the team this season. The Wildcats had just 33 stolen bases on 44 attempts in 56 games last year.
Kaiah Altmeyer put the Wildcats on top again with a double that pushed both Sniffen and Biehl across home. Shockey kept it rolling with a single to put two on in front of Stewart.
The Washington transfer has been Arizona’s best home-run hitter this year with eight long balls. It didn’t go over the fence this time, but Stewart’s double drove in Altmeyer and put Shockey on third for two in scoring position with one out. It also ended the day of Aztec starter Dee Dee Hernandez.
It didn’t end the trouble for San Diego State. Freshman reliever Ava Schaffel hit Netz to put her first batter on and load the bases with one out. She followed by walking Paige Dimler to force in the fifth run of the inning. Arizona led 6-2.
Schepp stepped in for her second plate appearance of the inning. She got on for the second time. This time it was a single that drove in two more runs to give the Wildcats an 8-2 lead after two innings.
Stoddard did not return for the third inning, giving way to Maddox. The redshirt freshman allowed a runner to reach scoring position with a hit-by-pitch and a wild pitch, but the Aztecs couldn’t capitalize.
Arizona had opportunities over the next few innings. The Wildcats loaded the bases on two walks and a double in the third. They put two on via a walk and an error in the fourth. No one scored until SDSU’s Jazmin Williams hit a solo home run in the top of the fifth.
Arizona couldn’t get the three runs it needed to run-rule the Aztecs in the bottom of the fifth, but the Wildcats got another chance in the bottom of the sixth. Schepp led off with a solo shot. It was her fourth home run of the year and second in as many games.
A walk and a single put two runners on with one out. If Arizona could get them across, it would end the game.
Altmeyer’s fielder’s choice made it more difficult. There were two outs now.
Shockey came through, forcing the issue and reaching on yet another error to extend the inning. It drove in Biehl from third base and moved Altmeyer into scoring position.
Stewart loaded the bases with a walk, but there were two outs. Arizona needed a hit.
Kiki Escobar was due up next. She had come in to pinch run for Netz in the bottom of the fifth and played first base in the top of the sixth. Netz returned to the box instead, officially coming in as a pinch hitter but making her fifth plate appearance of the game.
It was the right move. The righty played the hero again with a single to walk it off in six innings.
Arizona is now done with early-season nonconference tournaments. The Wildcats will have a few mid-week nonconference games, but they finish the bulk of their out-of-conference slate with a 21-2 record.
Their results include a 6-2 record against teams ranked in the NFCA poll when the games were played. One of the games against a ranked opponent was an extra-inning loss to No. 1 Texas. One was an extra-inning win over No. 4 UCLA.
The Wildcats have done it despite missing their lone All-American, left fielder Dakota Kennedy, for most of the season. Kennedy has not played since February 9 against then-No. 22 Washington. She has been out with an injured finger for 17 of the Wildcats’ 23 games.
The team begins Big 12 play on Friday, March 7 when it hosts UCF (17-7-1) for a three-game series at Hillenbrand Stadium. The games will be streamed on ESPN+.
Lead photo courtesy of Arizona Athletics