The No. 15 University of Arizona softball team opened up their season at home at Mike Candrea Field at Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium, hosting the 51st Candrea Classic. The tournament ran from Feb. 6 to Feb. 9. Arizona faced intense competition, hosting Michigan State University, the University of Alabama, the University of Washington and Western Michigan University.
The Wildcats secured five out of six wins throughout the weekend, putting on a great show for fans and setting a strong tone for the season.
Thursday, Feb. 6 – Arizona vs. Michigan State at 5 p.m.
The Wildcats opened their tournament play in a dominating defeat against Michigan State, scoring 15-0 in five innings against the Spartans. Arizona had 6 home runs with redshirt senior Devyn Netz hitting 3, junior Sydney Stewart hitting 2 and freshman Anyssa Wild hitting 1.
Arizona scored 7 runs in the second inning. Candrea Field erupted in cheers after Stewart’s first home run as a Wildcat. Having transferred to Arizona after playing for two seasons at Washington, she showed up for her debut game.
Juniors Tayler Biehl and Kaiah Altmeyer hit a pair of singles that drove in 2 more runs. Regan Shockey added another run after a sacrifice fly from Netz. Netz closed out the inning strong with a 3-run home run.
At the bottom of the fourth inning, Wild hit her first home run as a Wildcat. Netz hit her third home run of the game to score the Wildcats’ 15th run.
Graduate student Miranda Stoddard performed strongly on the pitcher’s mound, pitching 3.2 innings and striking out three Spartans. Freshman Ryan Maddox shined in her collegiate debut and threw 1.1 innings in relief, striking out one batter.
Thursday, Feb. 6 – Arizona vs. Michigan State at 7 p.m.
In the second matchup of the day, Arizona beat Michigan State 10-9. The Wildcats trailed in the beginning of the game with the Spartans leading with 2 runs in the first inning. Arizona was able to put a run on the board in the bottom of the first inning on a fielding error by the Spartans.
At the top of the second inning, Michigan State hit a grand slam, pulling itself ahead to 6-1.
The Wildcats took back control in the third inning. With two outs, Stewart doubled to drive in the first run, followed by Altmeyer’s double which brought in the second run. Freshman Emma Kavanagh hit a 3-run triple, bringing the energy back to the stadium and bringing the Wildcats within 2 runs.
Freshman Jenna Sniffen hit her first career home run to help Arizona tie the game 6-6. Logan Cole’s RBI single gave Arizona the lead and junior Dakota Kennedy drove in the seventh run of the inning after hitting an RBI double.
The Spartans fought back, hitting a 2-run home run and a solo homer to take back the advantage in the sixth inning. In the bottom of the inning, Kavanagh’s single drove in Stewart and Altmeyer, putting Arizona ahead 10-9.
Sarah Wright started the game and went 1.2 innings with one strikeout. Graduate student Saya Swain pitched 3.1 innings and struck out three Spartans. Netz pitched the final two innings, striking out two batters and securing the win for the Wildcats.
Friday, Feb. 7 – Arizona vs. Washington at 5 p.m.
The Wildcats had a slow start to the day, suffering a tough 6-2 loss against Washington. Shockey and Altmeyer secured 2 hits apiece.
Arizona struck first at the bottom of the first inning after Stewart singled to right field, earning an RBI. The Wildcats took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a sac-fly from Biehl.
The Huskies tied the game at the top of the third inning, hitting 2-run home runs. Washington then earned another home run during the top of the fourth, bringing in 3 more runs. Washington scored its sixth run in the fifth inning with an RBI single.
Netz pitched three innings, after which Swain took over, pitching four innings and striking out four Huskies.
Friday, Feb. 7 – Arizona vs. Western Michigan at 7 p.m.
Arizona bounced back in its second game of the night against Western Michigan. The Wildcats won 14-6 in six innings, winning by run rule.
The Wildcats scored their first run in the opening inning on a passed ball before, then added 3 more runs in the second inning with a sacrifice-fly and two RBI walks.
Western Michigan exploded for 6 runs in the fourth inning, capitalizing on an error, a 3-run home run and a wild pitch to take a 6-4 lead. At the bottom of the fourth inning, Netz hit an RBI single, bringing Arizona within 1 run.
Kennedy hit a 2-run home run, the first of the night, in the fifth inning to put Arizona back in front, 7-6. The Wildcats’ offense was on fire, with 7 runs in the sixth to mercy rule the Broncos.
A pair of RBI singles from Wild, senior Paige Dimler, a 3-run double from Kennedy and a pair of RBI fielder’s choice from Shockey and sophomore Emily Schepp helped the Wildcats win the game.
Maddox secured her first career win by pitching 1.1 innings. Stoddard started throwing for 3.2 and allowed only two hits.
Saturday, Feb. 8 – Arizona vs. No. 11 Alabama at 5 p.m.
Arizona’s first ranked matchup of the season delivered the Wildcats’ most sensational performance of the weekend, with the Cats defeating Alabama by mercy rule.
The first two innings were a display of lockdown baseball as neither team managed to get a player on base until Kavanagh was walked to first before the end of the second inning.
The third inning saw the Wildcats score first; singles by Kennedy and Shockey along with a walk by Altmeyer loaded the bases. A hit by Stewart sent the first two home, giving Arizona an initial 2-0 lead.
Trouble came for the Wildcats in the fourth inning as the Crimson Tide got players on second and third base. The top of the fifth saw Alabama earn its only point of the game, making the score 2-1 by the middle of the inning. It was non-stop Arizona action for the rest of the inning and game.
With Altmeyer and Stewart managing to make it on first and second base, a hit by Netz sent both runners home. Alabama switched their pitchers out, but it wasn’t enough. Kiki Escobar hit a single. Then, Kavanagh’s hit sent Netz home and a mispitch by Alabama allowed Escobar to score, giving the Wildcats a 6-1 lead.
An intentional walk for Shockey loaded the bases and a missed catch off of an Altmeyer hit sent everyone home. With 8 runs over Alabama, the game was called and Arizona was declared the victor with a 9-1 final score.
Sunday, Feb. 9 – Arizona vs. Washington at 11:30 a.m.
The final game of the Candrea Classic was Arizona’s chance at redemption against Washington. Accomplished with a mix of stellar defense, stone-cold pitching by Netz and the dominance of Kennedy, the Cats earned a 4-0 win over the Huskies.
The first inning saw Kennedy hit a double and score off a hit from Altmeyer. Altmeyer, achieving her own double, was sent home by Stewart. The score stood 0-2 at the top of the third inning.
The bases were loaded at the bottom of the third inning and another hit by Stewart sent Kennedy home. Kennedy once again scored in the bottom of the fifth after stealing second and an Altmeyer hit. Although Kennedy was visibly uncomfortable after the steal and stopped play for a couple minutes, she later confirmed in a post-game interview that she was feeling fine.
Arizona had multiple impressive defensive plays including a first-base hit caught by Escobar sending both the hitter and player home.
Ultimately, the top of the sixth inning saw Netz strike-out all three batters. In total, Netz had nine strikeouts on the day. The Huskies only had 2 total hits in the game.
Her ninth and final strikeout would take place at the top of the seventh inning. Washington had one last chance to score, but a caught fly ball ended the inning and the game, securing revenge for Arizona. The Wildcats went on to cap off their Candrea Classic with a 4-0 victory over the Huskies.
When asked about the difference in the Wildcats’ second matchup against Washington, Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe said, “They came out and they expected to win and then they did their job to make that happen.”
Up next
Arizona will host the Bear Down Fiesta at Mike Candrea Field at Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium from Thursday, Feb. 13 through Sunday, Feb. 16. The Wildcats will welcome California State University, Fullerton, Ohio University and South Alabama University for the series.
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