There will be a lot for the No. 19 Arizona Wildcats to process this weekend. Not only do they send out a group of five seniors and face in-state rival Arizona State, but it will be the final Pac-12 softball series held in Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium.
“It’s gonna be a fun weekend,” said Arizona senior first baseman Carlie Scupin. “I mean, it’s always fun playing ASU but it’s even better when we get to play them at home. And then obviously looking forward to Sunday celebrating our seniors.”
The Wildcats will celebrate Scupin, Allie Skaggs, Blaise Biringer, Jasmine Perezchica, and Ali Blanchard on Sunday. In the process, they hope to stake their claim to the state by beating the Sun Devils.
“I was reminiscing about it this morning on my drive because I think this was probably the first class—just early recruiting—that I was really involved in as far as when I was an assistant and had seen them all play since they were in eighth grade,” said Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe. “I remember watching Jasmine in eighth grade, Scup in eighth grade. I think Scup was the same size she is now in eighth grade. Easy decisions to make on those guys and just can’t say enough about how they’re leaving as just great women and humans and just great role models for the community, along with very many just accolades and physical tools. Just really proud of them as people.”
All five of the seniors have been Wildcats for at least two years. Three of them have spent their entire college careers in Tucson in an era when that’s becoming less common. It’s a tough thing to let go of.
They won’t get the opportunity given to most athletes who are in their senior year during the 2023-24 school year. Athletes who play fall and winter sports are still allowed to play another year due to the pandemic. The explanation for giving them an extra year was that their freshmen years would not be normal and that some might not play at all if it counted against them.
That didn’t apply to the spring athletes. In spring sports, the extra season was given to players who were seniors in 2019-20 with the rationale being that they didn’t get to compete their entire senior seasons. However, that also applied to some winter athletes who were seniors that year. For example, gymnastics was still in its regular season but those seniors were not granted an extra year.
As it turned out, spring athletes didn’t have normal freshmen years, either. There were no fans at all or just a few family members in the stands even for outdoor sports like softball. The players were required to stay in “pods” that lived and trained together. The pods were not allowed to mingle, meaning team and relationship building were difficult during their freshman year.
“I know this isn’t going to be Devyn’s senior day, but I remember Devyn Netz coming in her sophomore year and saying, ‘I went to my first in-person class,’…because everything had been online freshman year,” Lowe said. “And I remember the time in the fall of their freshman year where they had to enter through one side of the stadium, exit through the other side of the stadium, so they didn’t cross paths with any of the other groups that were practicing that day, and it just it boggles my mind to go back to that time. But they started here with very few fans in the stands, and they’ve ended this way, which is just so cool to see. And I think it makes you just appreciate things so much more. You know, being able to be part of that team, being able to have 3,000 people in the stands and have them cheering for you. We have a whole lot of video of cardboard cutouts that were in our stands before and I’m like, ‘What were we doing?’ It’s just so crazy to even think about now. But then you think about last weekend and the stands were packed…and it just makes you appreciate it so much more.”
Most of the class also found their roles very different than they might have expected. The class of eight freshmen came in expecting to compete for playing time. Instead, that large senior class remained and only Scupin saw regular time on the field.
Despite all the things she and her teammates didn’t get to have as freshmen, Scupin isn’t bitter that most of her peers in Arizona Athletics have an extra year and she doesn’t.
“Sometimes I do you think like, what if I had a fifth year, but at the same time, I know you only get four years of eligibility,” Scupin said. “So, it kind of just is what it is. But I mean, it’d be great to stay another year, but unfortunately, we can’t do that.”
She doesn’t look back on the things she and her fellow seniors lost during their freshman year. Instead, she’s grateful for what she did have, especially after the hurdles she faced her junior season.
“It’s gone by so fast,” Scupin said. “And I also think that even last year being hurt and everything, that really put things into perspective. Having the game taken away for a little bit just made me appreciate it that much more.”
What is a bit weird for her is the fact that senior day comes so early this year. Arizona ends the regular season on the road at UCLA. Because the Pac-12 finally introduced a softball tournament last year, the regular season ends a week earlier than it once did to accommodate the tourney.
“I don’t think it’s hit me yet,” Scupin said. “And I think it’s just because this senior day is falling a little bit earlier in the year than it normally would. But I don’t think it’s gonna hit me until I walk out there for senior day and it’s kind of a last go around with the five of us.”
When the tournament ends, it will be the end of Pac-12 play for good. The teams will scatter to other conferences next season.
Arizona, ASU, and Utah are headed for the Big XII. UCLA, Oregon, and Washington are off to the Big Ten. Stanford and California will go to the ACC. Oregon State will compete in the WCC for at least two years until the Beavers and Washington State decide on their long-term plans.
Scupin and her teammates want to close out Arizona’s Pac-12 tenure on a high note.
“It’s just our last ride,” she said. “We just want to end on a good note and just leave it out on the field, have no regrets because this is our last year.”