The Arizona Wildcats came into the postseason with 22 straight wins in the regional round. They had not lost a game in the opening round of the NCAA postseason since 2015, when they went 3-1 in the Tucson Regional. If they’re going to advance this season, the Wildcats will need to do the same after dropping a 10-8 game against Ole Miss on Saturday.
This year’s regional at UA was the top regional for defensive runs saved. Arizona was a big reason why. It didn’t show in the early going, and that made all the difference for a team that relies on its pitchers using the defense.
The Wildcats gave up four runs in the opening inning. Two were unearned. It started with an errant throw on a short ball back to the circle. While Jaden Pone was motoring and likely would have made it anyway, Devyn Netz was assessed an error on the throw.
The next batter was a problem, too. An easy ground ball to second baseman Logan Cole turned into the second straight error when Cole threw the ball away.
That brought up Aliyah Binford with two on and no outs. She sent it back up the middle that bounced off Cole’s glove and went into centerfield. Regan Shockey’s throw to Jenna Sniffen at third wasn’t clean, but it wasn’t ruled an error. It did allow Binford to end up on second, though.
In the end, it didn’t matter if Binford was on first or second. Persy Llamas drove Binford and Lair Beautae in with a three-run home run. Ole Miss was up 4-0, and there were still no outs.
Having the base paths clear seemed to settle the Wildcats. Netz induced two outs in the air and got the third via the strikeout to get her team in the dugout.
Arizona struck back immediately. Dakota Kennedy’s triple down the right-field line got things going. Shockey drove her in with a slap that bounced high into the air. That brought up Netz.
The Arizona pitcher put the defensive struggles behind her. She took the 2-0 pitch out to left-center. Ole Miss centerfielder Taylor Malvin gave it every effort. She jumped for it and had the ball in her glove. When she hit the wall, it bounced out and over the fence.
The home run pulled the Wildcats within a run at 4-3. It was the 18th of the season for Netz, tying her with Sydney Stewart for the team lead.
The positive feelings didn’t last long for Arizona. Angelina DeLeon stepped into the box and sent the first pitch out to left field for her fourth home run of the season. Ole Miss was up by two runs again.
Netz and her defense stopped the bleeding, but Arizona was still in a hole.
After giving up three runs in the first inning, Ole Miss opted not to send starter Brianna Lopez back to the circle. Designated player Aliyah Binford took over as pitcher.
Binford gave up two walks, but she put up the first zero for any pitcher in the bottom of the second. She couldn’t repeat that in the third.
Back-to-back doubles by Stewart and Kaiah Altmeyer to lead off the third pulled Arizona within a run at 5-4. Altmeyer moved up on a passed ball, putting herself in position to score on a groundout by Emily Schepp. The Wildcats had come all the way back to tie it.
Altmeyer had struggled late in the regular season but has bounced back during the postseason. She had a big hit against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament, then went 2 for 3 against Santa Clara in the opening game of the regional. She went 2 for 3 with a walk again on Saturday against the Rebels.
The ‘Cats did even better in the fourth. Netz threw up another zero in the top of the inning. The Arizona offense followed, adding two more runs on two hits, a walk, and two wild pitches. The Wildcats had their first lead of the game, going up 7-5 after four.
They couldn’t hold it, though. Netz got two outs in the top of the fifth, then Llamas hit her second home run of the game. A single by Brady followed, ending the outing for Netz for the time being.
Saya Swain came in to relieve but hit the first batter she faced.
That brought Taylor Roman in to pinch hit for Ashton Lansdell. Roman hit the fifth Ole Miss home run of the game to put three more runs on the board. The Rebels were up 9-7.
Aissa Silva came in to relieve Swain and finally got the final out of the inning. Silva stayed in for the sixth, putting up a zero to get Arizona back into the dugout.
The sixth was a heartbreaker for the Wildcats. Shockey hit a one-out single, then Netz walked behind her. That brought up Stewart as the go-ahead run.
Stewart is not prone to strikeouts. She came into the game with 47 walks and 17 strikeouts. However, the zone seemed to shift after Miali Guachino came in to pitch for the Rebels. At the very least, Arizona was unable to judge what was a strike or a ball from her hand.
Stewart got into a 1-1 count, then had a ball way inside called a strike. That seemed to throw her off, and she swung through the next pitch to strike out. Before she walked back to the dugout, she turned and looked in the direction of the home plate umpire for a while.
Arizona still had chances. Altmeyer walked, bringing up Schepp with the bases loaded. Schepp appeared to hit a bases-clearing double to go up 10-9, but it was ruled foul. Replays showed it was the right call in a game of inches. It wasn’t a reviewable play, anyway, so Arizona had no recourse but to accept it.
Netz returned to the circle in the top of the seventh only to give up her fourth home run of the game. The Rebels were up 10-7 when Miranda Stoddard took the circle as Arizona’s fourth pitcher of the day. Stoddard kept the score there.
The Wildcats still had opportunities. Paige Dimler got a pinch hit single to lead off the bottom of the seventh. Sniffen walked to bring up Tayler Biehl. Biehl got into a 3-0 count. Arizona’s short stop didn’t appear to agree with the next two calls, which put her in a full count. It ended in fielder’s choice, putting Arizona two outs from the loss.
Kennedy followed Biehl with a fielder’s choice that pushed Dimler across. The score was 10-8. Shockey walked to put two on and bring up Netz.
The redshirt senior already had one home run in the game. She represented the winning run. She swung at the first pitch. Popup. Game over.
Arizona will play either GCU or Santa Clara on Saturday night. The game was scheduled for 6 p.m. MST, but the length of the Wildcats’ game against Ole Miss pushed the schedule back.
Lead photo by Ryan Kelapire