NCAA Softball Tournament: Arizona advances to Super Regionals to face Oklahoma State with win over Villanova (2024)

Throwing the first punch has been a theme for the Arizona Wildcats at the Fayetteville Regional. Sunday was no different.

Arizona scored in the first inning for the third straight day on its way to a 9-4 victory over Villanova. The win put UA into the Stillwater Super Regional where they will face Oklahoma State beginning Thursday, May 23.

“We were able to respond all weekend,” said Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe. “We didn’t play our best softball the entire weekend, but we responded to everything that happened and I think that’s when we are dangerous.”

It was a surprising regional final. Heading into the weekend, it seemed certain that Sunday would see a matchup between Arizona and the host from Arkansas, but the Razorbacks couldn’t keep up their end of the bargain. They lost to one set of Wildcats and then to another on the way to being dismissed from their home regional. It continued Arizona’s postseason success in SEC ballparks.

“I feel like a lot of it for us is just the pride that we have in the Pac-12,” said Arizona senior Allie Skaggs. “We like to go and represent our conference very well. So anytime that we get to go play an SEC opponent, it’s nice to go out there and kind of just show them what we can do in the Pac. And it just, it feels good to win for the conference. We’re pulling for all of the Pac-12 schools right now in the postseason. So, I think there’s just a little bit of a chip on our shoulder of we like to prove that our conference is one of, if not the, best in the country. So to continue that legacy is a fun thing to do.”

Those sets of Wildcats faced off in Bogle Park before a sparse crowd. Villanova made it interesting after Arizona opened up a 7-0 lead, but UA responded both in circle and in the batter’s box to secure the victory.

It wasn’t a big first inning, but it was still a solid start for UA. Arizona scored one run on a sacrifice fly from Skaggs. The team then put multiple runs on the board in the second, third, and fifth innings. It did not bat in the bottom of the seventh.

Skaggs had a solid offensive game. The senior second baseman went 1 for 4 at the plate with two RBI, a home run, and a sacrifice fly. The home run was her team-leading 14th of the season.

Three Wildcats had multi-hit games, including senior Carlie Scupin. She went 2 for 4 with a double.

The offensive story was the underclassmen, though. Freshman catcher Emily Schepp went 3 for 3 with a solo home run. Sophom*ore left fielder Dakota Kennedy was 2 for 4 with three RBI. Both hits were home runs.

“[Schepp is] so composed for a freshman, especially to catch the amount of innings that she has for us is unreal,” Skaggs said. “She’s been such a steady force for us back there.”

The ESPN commentators mentioned how underrated Kennedy is on the national stage. Lowe isn’t sure she is, though.

“I think people know her name,” Lowe said. “I know that the Pac-12 knows her name. They are getting to see how special she is and how special we get to see her be every single day of practice, along with our team. So, I don’t think she’s underrated at all. I think she’s a stud. And she puts in the work every single day to really just get back something from this game and she keeps pouring into it. So, just proud of her and the way she has led this weekend, too. I think she’s stepping into a new role that she hasn’t had before.”

If they don’t know her name, Kennedy certainly made it over the weekend on both offense and defense. In addition to going 4 for 8 with five RBI over the weekend, she was topnotch on defense. She made a critical diving catch in left field to end an inning when Villanova was trying to come back.

The team wasn’t always on point defensively, though. Two of Arizona’s strongest defenders—Pac-12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year Tayler Biehl and centerfielder Regan Shockey—had uncharacteristic errors. They didn’t dwell on that.

“We lock it back in,” Lowe said. “I think that’s the biggest thing. I think what I’ve been most proud of that kind of came to us in the middle of this season and we’ve stayed there is just how much we are so into competing one pitch at a time. But it feels like a collective group of 21 competing for one pitch at a time. And when we lose that mindset—when we get too far ahead of ourselves or we’re thinking about something else—we’re beatable.”

Arizona continued with its standard practice of pitching by committee. Miranda Stoddard got the start. She pitched 3.0 innings, giving up 2 earned runs on 2 hits and a walk. She started the fourth inning but ran into problems with command. She walked Villanova’s first hitter then hit the second.

That brought in Brooke Mannon. The freshman allowed the two inherited runs to score while she secured two outs. She left with an out to get in the fourth. Arizona’s lead had been whittled down to 7-4.

Aissa Silva entered the game and uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Tess Cites to advance to third. She buckled down after that and got the out the Wildcats needed to end the inning.

Silva got the final out of the fourth to keep Arizona’s lead at three runs. In the fifth, she sat VU down in order.

“I was very proud of our pitching performance this weekend,” Lowe said. “The way they work together. The way we’re able for Aissa to start and come in and close the game and still be ready, and look like she just absolutely wanted the ball. ‘Give it to me.’ And proud of the way Brooke responded and Miranda setting tone.”

UA has a habit of responding to an opponent’s offensive explosion. It took a little while in the regional final, but Arizona finally punched back in the bottom of the fifth.

Schepp led off with her solo home run. Two straight foul-outs brought Kennedy up with no one on base. She took a 3-2 pitch out of the park for her second home run of the game.

Villanova got two more hits over the final two innings, but the 9-4 score held for Arizona.

Silva picked up the win to improve to 22-5 on the season. Her ERA fell a few points to 3.03 for the season.