The Arizona Wildcats had their backs against the wall. A loss in their second game of the Tucson Regional had them one game from being eliminated from the postseason on their home field. Their pair of two-way players made sure that didn’t happen.
Miranda Stoddard and Devyn Netz hit their 14th and 19th home runs, respectively, to lift Arizona to a 4-1 victory over the GCU Lopes.
The two pitchers/infielders also teamed up in the circle to bring the win home. Stoddard started the game and threw six innings, scattering seven hits, to improve to 14-0 on the season. She walked one and struck out three.
Stoddard ran into trouble in the seventh inning and gave way to Netz in the circle. In her appearance against GCU earlier in the season, the redshirt senior gave up a home run that tied the game and forced extra innings.
“Honestly, that’s something that kind of, when you play team like that, kind of lives in the back of your mind,” Netz said.
There was no repeat. Netz came in with the tying run at the plate and no outs. She struck out all three batters she faced to earn her second save of the season.
The Wildcats got off to a slow start with runners in scoring position. Dakota Kennedy had a leadoff double for Arizona, which played as the road team. She got to third base, but Arizona couldn’t get her in.
Kennedy again got into scoring position in the third. Once again, the Wildcats left her there.
Stoddard finally put an end to the stranded runner issue in the fourth. She came up with two outs and no one on base. She worked her way into a full count, then put Arizona on the board with the long ball to right-center.
The lift in the stadium was palpable.
“We just try to take the momentum that comes from a big hit like that and carry it on to the rest of the game,” Stoddard said. “So, obviously, we’re not always trying to hit home runs, but when you do, it’s a great way to shift the momentum.”
GCU tried to strike back immediately. Second baseman Savannah Kirk led off with a single down the left field line. The Arizona coaching staff thought it was foul, but the call was upheld on review.
Mia Weckel followed with a single to move the speedy Kirk into scoring position, and Makaiya Gomez moved them both up with a bunt. Arizona was in a tough situation with two in scoring position and just one out.
Stoddard rose to the occasion defensively by snagging a hard liner back to the circle.
“Some of that is reaction, luck, safety,” Stoddard said. “But, yeah, I think that we practice that all the time…and it’s great when you can make a big play like that. And, again, another momentum shift on defense.”
Netz got her turn the next inning.
Tayler Biehl led off the fifth. She fell behind 0-2, but worked back to a 3-2 count. Her single gave Arizona a leadoff base runner. It looked like it might go to waste again when the next two batters went down, but Netz got some advice from a teammate.
“Regan Shockey was my hitting coach this game,” Netz said. “She said, ‘Why don’t you put your foot down a bit earlier?’ And that’s what I did…Thanks, Regan.”
The result was a two-run homer to put Arizona up 3-0. It also put Netz one home run away from being the fifth player in NCAA history to have 20 pitching wins and 20 homers. She has 22 wins this season.
The Wildcats loaded the bases in the sixth. They put one more run on the board but couldn’t get more out of it.
The 4-0 lead seemed safe enough, but the Lopes weren’t ready to let go. Kirk led off the bottom of the sixth with a single. She moved into scoring position on a groundout. A single by Gomez put the Lopes on the board, but that’s all they got out of it.
Arizona went down 1-2-3 in the seventh. GCU had three outs to try to extend its season, but couldn’t get the big hit off Netz this time.
Arizona now moves on to play Ole Miss on Sunday. The Wildcats must beat the Rebels twice to advance to super regionals. The first game starts at 4:30 p.m. MST. If Arizona wins, the two teams will play again at 7 p.m. MST.
“There’s no surprises tomorrow,” said Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe. “All the cards have been shown, so now it’s a matter of who executes. And we are ready. We know what they have. They know what we have, and we’re going to be the ones that get after it, and really are the aggressors.”