It was a new thing for almost all of the Santa Clara softball team. Grad transfer Hope Alley had been to the postseason with California, but it was the first time for the program and most of the players. The Broncos put up a fight, but it was the more experienced Arizona Wildcats who held on for the 13-5 victory in five innings in the opening game of the Tucson Regional.
As she has so many times this season, Arizona catcher Sydney Stewart came up in a big situation. The junior stepped into the batter’s box with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth. Arizona needed four runs to end the game. Stewart took one strike, then hit an opposite-field grand slam to give her team the victory.
“I got my pitch, and I got extended,” Stewart said.
The home run was Stewart’s 18th of the season, giving her the team lead. She went 1 for 2 with two walks and four RBI on the day.
It took a while for the Wildcats to get there, though. Alley was ready from the first inning.
Arizona starter Miranda Stoddard got to full counts against the first two Bronco batters before getting them out. Alley didn’t wait that long, hitting the first pitch she saw out to left field to give Santa Clara a 1-0 run.
“I think that the coaches prepared us really well for this atmosphere, and they gave us good tips on what to expect and how to be here,” Alley said. “And I think that being here in the past kind of gave me a lot of confidence that I was able to pass on to my teammates, but they give me that confidence back every single day.”
One of the coaches preparing the Broncos for the occasion was former Arizona State star Maddi Hackbarth.
“She told us that the atmosphere is going to be pretty loud, pretty intense,” said Bronco first baseman Lauren Bryson. “But Arizona is a great team, so we’re just trying to stay on the same playing level, and I think honestly we played a pretty good game with them.”
The Wildcats got the run back in the bottom of the first inning and kept adding each inning. It didn’t help the Broncos that freshman pitcher Cari Ferguson had some unusual issues in the circle.
Ferguson had two pitches get away from her, both landing behind her. One resulted in a walk issued to Stoddard. The other allowed Dakota Kennedy and Regan Shockey to score when the ball ended up in center field. The runs were part of a four-run second inning for the Wildcats.
“I don’t think it was pressure that got to her,” said Santa Clara head coach Gina Carbonatto. “I think she was in a really good place. I thought she was confident. I thought she was prepared and had settled in. To be honest, I think that we’ve not played in as much heat, where your hands are a little bit sweaty, and so losing a little bit of grip is something that can really impact where the ball goes. And you should be loose in the backswing so that it’s not surprising. It’s unfortunate, and she’ll be better tomorrow, because we know what it’s going to feel like and what she’s going to need to do. Because we’re going to need her.”
Ferguson gave up five runs (three earned) on three hits, five walks, and a wild pitch. She pitched 1.1 innings.
Stoddard got through the first two innings, then gave way to redshirt freshman Ryan Maddox. It’s a pattern that Arizona has used several times this season with varying degrees of success. One of the things that makes it possible, according to head coach Caitlin Lowe, is the fact that both Stoddard and Devyn Netz are in the lineup. They’re also used to it, she said.
“I don’t think it’s difficult at all,” Lowe said. “I think the greatest thing about her and Devyn hitting in our lineup is that we can use them back and forth. And if you remember, last year, we had quite a few Miranda sandwiches, and Aissa [Silva] sandwiches, and she’s used to the sandwich. So, I think they had lefties strung together, righties strung together, and it was a great opportunity to have both [Maddox and Stoddard] in the game.”
Maddox had a relatively strong third inning after a rough outing in the Big 12 title game last weekend, but she had some issues finding the zone. She sat the Broncos down in order, but got into a 2-0 and a full count before retiring two of them.
Like her outing in Oklahoma City, the second inning of work was more difficult for Maddox. She hit Alley to lead off and allowed her to move up on a wild pitch. Maddox then walked the next two batters to load the bases with no outs.
The third batter was Robynn Balmediano. A double down the right field line scored two. That ended the outing for Maddox. She gave up four earned runs in one inning on one hit, two walks, a hit batter, and a wild pitch.
Stoddard had to re-enter the game with two in scoring position and no outs. She allowed the two inherited runners to score, cutting the lead to one, but got the Wildcats back into the dugout with a lead.
Pitching coach Christian Conrad had prepared Stoddard to come back in if necessary.
“Christian does a really good job about communicating with us about that,” Stoddard said. “Just if he wants us to stay ready, for how long he wants us to stay ready. And to Cait’s point, as well, being able to be in the game, in the lineup hitting, just helps to keep me locked in.”
Arizona responded to the Bronco’s four-run inning by putting three runs on the board in the bottom of the frame. That pushed the lead back out to four runs. Stoddard restored order by throwing up another zero in the fifth, bringing Arizona up to bat just four runs from the run rule.
Back-to-back singles by Kennedy and Shockey put two on with one out in front of Devyn Netz. Netz walked to load the bases, bringing up Stewart. It almost felt inevitable, and there was no doubt about it when the bat struck the ball.
Game over, but not before Santa Clara showed that it belonged in its first postseason tournament.
“We were a team today,” Carbonatto said. “We competed today. We battled back, which is really, really impressive. We had a lot of great quality at-bats, and it’s a really good softball team that we would have had to play a little bit better to stay in the game longer. And overall, I think we showed a lot of people that we can compete at this level.”
In addition to improving to 13-0 in the circle, Stoddard hit her 14th home run of the season to lead off the bottom of the third.
Arizona will face the winner of the game between Ole Miss and GCU at 1 p.m. MST on Saturday, May 17.
Lead photo courtesy of Arizona Athletics