On an average day, the outfielders for No. 19 Arizona softball are consistent. On special days, they are jaw-dropping.
It’s especially impressive for a group that is almost entirely freshmen and sophomores. While senior Jasmine Perezchica has started 26 times in the outfield this year, on many days it is patrolled by sophomore Dakota Kennedy in left, freshman Regan Shockey in center, and sophomore Kaiah Altmeyer in right.
The young players showed how special they are as recently as this past weekend. Arizona swept the three-game series against rival Arizona State by scores of 3-2, 13-3 (in five innings), and 9-8. The first and last games ended in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the seventh.
With UA trailing 8-6 in the top of the seventh inning of game three, Altmeyer robbed a solo shot over the right-field wall. It would pay dividends for the Wildcats in the bottom of the inning.
“Oh, it was so sick,” Shockey said. “I was so excited. But that stuff she does at practice, too. So, when you see it in the game, it’s just all more exciting. And then it really made that game, it was a big part of it.”
In the bottom of the inning, UA was down one run with two outs. Altmeyer and Shockey were on the corners. Carlie Scupin hit a single to left-center, which allowed Shockey to use her speed to get under the ASU catcher’s tag and score the game-winning run.
It was the second time over the weekend that Shockey’s speed was the difference. In UA’s run-rule victory on Saturday, she scored the team’s final run on a wild pitch.
The big moments didn’t just happen on Sunday. In Friday’s game one, Altmeyer hit her first-ever walk-off home run to start the weekend of victories for UA.
The late-game success is often made possible by the heroics of Kennedy early in games. The sophomore has started in left field for two years. This year, she leads UA in WAR at 3.11.
In Arizona’s run-rule victory in the middle game of the series, Kennedy got the team started on the right foot with a lead-off home run. It set the tone for the game as the Wildcats proceeded to score 13 runs against the Sun Devils. She also scored the 11th run for UA, putting it in position to end the game after five innings.
Arizona’s defense has been on par all season. It has allowed them to win more close games this year than last.
UA is currently in a two-way tie for third in the nation in fielding percentage (.981) and its defensive plays have kept it in games all season.
“They talked about me and Scup’s hits, but they didn’t talk about if Kaiah didn’t rob that home run, I wouldn’t have been the winning run,” Shockey said. “So, that’s also the things we look at. We look at our defense, the double plays being made, the home runs being robbed. It’s really just a game of inches. So, we take a lot of pride in getting those inches and taking advantage of those inches.”
Perezchica, who has spent the last four years at Arizona, has made the lives of the young outfielders easier by taking them under her wing. She’s been especially helpful to Altmeyer, who has shared the starting position in right field with her.
“She’s super smart,” Altmeyer said. “She knows how to play the game. She’s like our kind of leader in the outfield. I look to her even when I’m in right field sometimes. She helps me with positioning and all that. I give her all the credit and I think me and her switching between right, I wouldn’t rather be anyone else because she’s super helpful. And we both have each other’s back. So, I’m really grateful I get to learn from her.”