Arizona softball opened NCAA Regional play with a 13-5 run-rule victory over Santa Clara Friday afternoon. The game was tighter than the final score indicates, as the Broncos got on the board with an early lead and later fought back to close Arizona’s margin.
Arizona pulled away late in the game, with the Wildcats ultimately walking it off in the fifth inning. Arizona will face Ole Miss on Saturday at 1 p.m. PST after the Rebels beat Grand Canyon Friday night.
A recap of the game can be found here. Below is what Caitlin Lowe, pitcher Miranda Stoddard and catcher Sydney Stewart said after the game.
Lowe on Arizona opening the regional with a win: “Just big props to Santa Clara. That was a well fought game, I thought, beginning to end. And I thought our team did a great job of kind of chipping away at the lead and finding a way to figure it out once they did score. So just a great response, I thought. It always feels good to get that first win. And I thought we settled in very nicely. And, yeah, I think it’s going to be a grind. This entire regional is what’s going to prepare us for later, and we’re excited about the challenge of it. So, big props to these two to the left of me. I think Stu put excellent swing on it. I think Amber called from the dugout, but just a great job of chipping away and taking what they gave us at the plate today. So just excited for the game tomorrow.”
On pitching Stoddard and Maddox, and the difficulty of Stoddard returning to the mound later in the game: “I don’t think it’s difficult at all. 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 in the game. And I think they’re ready to do that all the way till the last game we play.”
Stewart on her power at the plate: “When I first transferred, one of my biggest goals was just to develop and to have a coaching staff that has history of being legends in this sport, and I think Coach Cait is one of the greatest of all time, which is awesome to see people that have gone through this program see how they have developed. And in the fall, I kind of set out with Coach (Amber Freeman), Cait and (Lauren Lappin) my goals of the season, and I told them that I wanted to slug more, I want to throw out more runners. So I think just dialing in on that and those goals and making sure that I put the work in. And I think having two seasons under my belt and now basically three, it’s just cool to see the journey, and like how I’ve grown through those each season.”
Lowe on Stewart’s development this season: “I think just her preparation is unmatched. She comes ready to work every single day, and has done nothing but get better since day one that she stepped on to this this field in Tucson. And you can see the confidence come from the preparation. And I think truly, that’s where it comes from, being able to know she can hit whatever part of the plate and in any moment, pressure filled or not, bases empty, not, and I think she can hit at all of those moments. And I think that comes with just killer preparation. Her working with Amber, setting goals, but then actually going to work every single day throughout a grind of a season is a different thing. And just it wasn’t words, it was action.”
Stoddard on the mentality when Santa Clara made it a one-run game: “Yeah, I think that we know at this point in the season that every game, no matter who you’re playing, no matter what their seed might be, is going to be a gritty game. And Cait said this the other day, and I kind of echoed this, but there’s no style points at this point in the season. So a win is a win and we have faith in our offense that we can score more, right? They score five, we score six, and they score seven, we score eight. And so we knew that we would be able to compete on that side of the ball. And then, obviously, personally, for me, I knew that I was going to have the opportunity to kind of set the tone again and shut it down on defense, and trusting those behind me to do the same.”
Stewart on the walk-off grand slam: “I think I’ve been better this year about getting my pitch and not trying to make the at bat too much, and knowing my strengths and getting a pitch in my zone. So after the first pitch, it was my third at bat, so establish the strike zone also behind the plate. So I kind of have an idea of the strike zone too, but just being patient and not making the moment bigger than it is. I wasn’t thinking like I’m trying to hit a home run here, just trying to put the barrel on the ball the right pitch, and I got my pitch and I got extended. So yeah.”
Stoddard on leaving a game and later returning: “Christian (Conrad) does a really good job about communicating with us about that, and 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 just keep me locked in. And I think I’ve said this before, but any one of us is in that position where we have to have someone come in and kind of save us or shut things down. And so being able to do that for Ryan (Maddox) is is great, because I know that she has done and will do the same for me. So I think it’s just that whole bullpen mentality of being able to help each other out. It doesn’t feel like I’m bailing her out necessarily, just feels like I’m doing something for the team. And I know that we all have that same mindset. And so, yeah, just coming in and setting a tone, shutting it down so we can get back in the in the box and put some more runs up.”
Stoddard on playing in the late afternoon sun: “Cait said this during practice, but it’s one of our biggest assets of being able to play at home, is that we’re able to practice in that all week and all season. (Dakota Kennedy) made a couple of difficult plays in left field and obviously she’s an incredible athlete, but I do think that it helps to have been able to practice in that and know how to do what you can, to just stay on the ball for as long as you can. And, yeah, left side is definitely difficult. Even on the pitcher’s mound for the first couple of innings, there’s kind of a glare. But you just do what you can. You have, obviously, this time of year, it’s a little bit different. But yeah, it’s definitely a benefit to be able to practice on our field all year and prepare for that.”
Lowe on the afternoon sunlight: “We plan our live situations for 4:30pm so it’s something that kind of phases in throughout conference season to get to that point. It usually gets pretty bad right now, regional time. And we always, it never fails, that when we host and we’re at home, we’re always playing kind of at this time, whether it be the first game or the second game, whatever it might be. So we treat it like our biggest home field advantage, if we can. And just understand that there will be sun, it will be in your eyes, and you got to figure it out. And (Kennedy) made a diving play in practice where she looked like a belly flop, but she just waited till it came out and figured out a way. And it takes someone, and it takes all of them, to buy into the preparation of that, that it’s going to be uncomfortable, that they’re going to figure it out. And I think that goes for all of softball, too.”
Lowe on having two-way talent in Stoddard and Devyn Netz: “Well, it’s huge, and I’m actually so glad they have each other too in those moments. And I think the coolest thing that they’ve done this year is not let one side of the ball affect the other, and they constantly feel like they can contribute in several different ways. And that’s their power, their superpower, very much so. And I think the coolest thing about our pitching and our plan is that we can always keep them live, and it’s just something that we have in our back pocket, and at the same time, they’re packing a punch right there in the middle, and nobody wants to face them back to back, and especially with Stewie right there in the mix. So it’s exciting for us. It’s, it’s cool to be able to use different combinations against hitters. And at the end of the day, I think they just provide our team with such a just a punch of confidence throughout the lineup knowing that they’re they’re right there.”
Lowe on the atmosphere: “I mean it’s great. It’s always great. Tucson shows up for softball. It is a softball town, and couldn’t be more proud of our fan base and the way they show out for us and the way they’ve showed up for us all year long, quite frankly. It’s like no other feeling just having this place packed, and definitely feels like we have just an extra person out there. And, yeah, I think we play a little bit better when we dig deep, and we’ve got them chanting U of A behind our back.”
Lowe on the scouting process entering a regional: “We played Grand Canyon this year, so that was helpful to we’ve done the deep, deep dive on them so far. And right after this, my butt’s going to be right over there in the stands watching this game. And it doesn’t matter to us and our team. We’re going to play our game. But yes, we’re going to be prepped for we’ll have our normal routine throughout the day, breaking down pictures and plans and what we’re going to do, and it’s tough to have several different opponents and at the same time, these guys have played six different teams in a weekend before, so they’re very used to the prep of a lot of opponents.”