What will Arizona softball face against Ole Miss, GCU, and Santa Clara?
The Tucson Regional is set to go with the 13th-seeded Arizona Wildcats hosting Ole Miss, GCU, and Santa Clara beginning on Friday, May 16. What are the storylines and what does Arizona need to do to advance to Super Regionals for the third time in Caitlin Lowe’s four-year tenure as head coach?
The regional features two major things: familiar foes and strong pitching. On the other side, there’s one very new face in the regional this year.
According to 6-4-3 Charts, the Tucson Regional has the lowest overall ERA of any regional site at 2.61. It is also tied for the fifth-lowest batting average against (.240) with the Norman Regional.
The Santa Clara Broncos will make a couple of firsts in this tournament. They will play in the NCAA postseason for the first time in program history. They will get started by playing Arizona for the first time ever.
As for familiar foes, the Wildcats play GCU most years. It’s never an easy game, but it was especially tense this year. The Lopes took Arizona to extras before falling 7-4 in eight innings at GCU Softball Stadium on Mar. 19.
Then, there’s Ole Miss. The Rebels are regular visitors to Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium in the postseason. Their last visit was the last time Arizona hosted in 2021. The Wildcats swept the regional 3-0 with back-to-back wins over the Rebels by identical scores of 12-6.
The last time Arizona hosted Super Regionals was 2019. The opponent? None other than Ole Miss. The Wildcats swept that series 2-0 by scores of 5-2 and 9-1.
What else is there to know about the three teams standing between the Wildcats and a possible matchup with yet another familiar SEC foe in Arkansas?
No. 2 seed Ole Miss Rebels
Record: 37-17 overall, 11-13 SEC (11th)
RPI/Rankings: RPI No. 20, NFCA No. 18, USA Softball No. 21, D1 Softball No. 25, Softball America No. 21
Big wins: Clemson, Arkansas (2-1), Georgia (2-1), Florida (2-2)
How they got here: The Rebels are one of 14 SEC teams that got into the field. Only Missouri was left out. Ole Miss comes in as an at-large team that finished 11th in the nation’s top conference. They won at least one game against every team they played in SEC competition, but they did not face Texas, Texas A&M, or Oklahoma during the regular season. When they finally faced the Longhorns in the conference tournament, they lost in a narrow 7-6 decision. They advanced to the quarterfinals.
Players to watch for: Lexie Brady is the heart of the offense. She hits .321 and has an OPS of 1.193. She leads the team with 15 home runs, but is the only player for Ole Miss with more than eight on the season. Brady has also drawn 24 walks, one off the team lead held by Taylor Malvin. Brady’s 15 HBP lead the team by far.
On the pitching side, the staff is led by Brianna Lopez and Miali Guachino. Lopez has the better ERA (2.39 vs 3.31), but Guachino has thrown the most innings (137.2 vs 111.1). They both allow a fairly considerable number of baserunners with WHIP of 1.44 (Lopez) and 1.33 (Gauchino).
Staff pitching stats: The staff has an ERA of 2.99 and a WHIP of 1.41.
Team batting stats: Five of the Rebels’ regular starters hit .316 or better, and the team hits .306 as a group. They had 52 home runs this season, averaging 0.96 per game.
NCAA Tournament History: The Rebels have a 17-13 all-time record in Regionals with eight appearances. They are 0-4 in Super Regionals with two appearances. They have never advanced to the Women’s College World Series. Their most common opponent in the postseason has been Arizona with four contests. They have three each against Arizona State, Baylor, Louisiana, and UCLA.
History vs Arizona: Ole Miss has never beaten Arizona. The Wildcats lead the all-time series 5-0 with four of the five games coming in the postseason.
Opening game: The Rebels take on GCU on Friday, May 16 at 7 p.m. MST. The game will air on ESPNU.
No. 3 seed GCU Lopes
Record: 46-6 overall, 21-2 WAC (1st)
RPI/Rankings: RPI No. 32, NFCA No. 24, USA Softball No. 24, D1 Softball No. 22, Softball America No. 23
Big wins: Washington, Arizona State (2x), Iowa State
How they got here: The Lopes dominated their league’s regular season, then won their fourth straight conference tournament. They are the automatic qualifier from the WAC.
Players to watch for: The Lopes have four players with an OPS over 1.000. They also sport a player who hits over .500. That player is Savannah Kirk, who hits .505 and has an OPS of 1.088. Their top power hitter is Jada Cooper, who leads the team with 12 home runs and an OPS of 1.220. Not far behind Cooper is Emily Gonzalez, who has 11 home runs and an OPS of 1.181.
The coaches have spread their pitching innings out fairly evenly among three pitchers: Taryn Batterton (109.2 IP), Meghan Golden (91.1 IP), and Maggie Place (82.2 IP). All three have done well. Golden leads the group with a 0.92 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP, and a perfect 14-0 record. Batterton is not far behind with a 1.91 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP, and a 17-1 record. Place has a 2.03 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP, and a 10-3 record. The trio is a big reason this regional is statistically one of the best regions for pitching.
Staff pitching stats: The staff has an ERA of 1.74 and a WHIP of 1.10.
Team batting stats: Seven of the nine players who see regular time in the lineup hit .326 or better, and the team hits .349 as a group. They have an OPS of .962. They have hit 53 home runs while their pitchers have only surrendered 19 this year.
NCAA Tournament History: The Lopes are 3-6 in Regionals with their biggest win coming at UCLA in 2023. They have never advanced beyond the opening round.
History vs Arizona: The Lopes are 0-15 against Arizona all-time, with five losses at home and 10 in Hillenbrand Stadium. They gave the Wildcats a run for their money this year. Like all of their big games this season, it came at GCU Softball Stadium. The Lopes pushed the Wildcats to extra innings before falling 7-4 in eight.
Opening game: The Lopes take on Ole Miss on Friday, May 16 at 7 p.m. MST. The game will air on ESPNU.
No. 4 seed Santa Clara Broncos
Record: 32-20 overall, 11-4 WCC (T-1st)
RPI/Rankings: RPI No. 119
Big wins: None
How they got here: The WCC does not hold a conference tournament, but the Broncos tied Saint Mary’s for first in the regular season. They got the automatic qualifier based on winning the season series between the teams by two games to one.
Players to watch for: Cairah Curran leads the Broncos with a .429 batting average. Her 1.017 OPS is second on the team. She gets on base almost 50 percent of the time (.495). She won’t hit the ball out of the park, but she has seven doubles and five triples this year.
Curran is also going to test the Arizona defense in other ways. She has stolen 26 bases in 32 attempts this year. Her 31 stolen bases in 2024 were the second most in program history for a single season. Those 31 stolen bases as a freshman already have her tied for eighth in program history for a career.
All of the Santa Clara pitchers allow baserunners at a fairly high rate, but Cari Ferguson tends to keep those runners from scoring. She has a WHIP of 1.37, but her ERA sits at 1.92.
Staff pitching stats: The group of six pitchers has a staff ERA of 3.12. Their WHIP is 1.52 as a unit. They have surrendered 26 home runs while their offense has hit 16.
Team batting stats: The Broncos hit .311 as a team. They have an OPS of .819. They tend to run more than hit the long ball, with 80 stolen bases versus 16 home runs.
NCAA Tournament History: The Broncos are making their first appearance in program history.
History vs Arizona: Santa Clara has never faced the Wildcats.
Opening game: The Broncos face Arizona for the first time ever at 4:30 p.m. MST on May 16. The game will stream on ESPN+.