Devyn Netz controlled the circle for most of the evening and No. 11 Arizona took advantage of pitching errors, beating No. 20 Stanford, 4-1, giving the Cardinal their first loss of the season on Thursday night in the first game of a doubleheader in the Hillenbrand Invitational. The Wildcats beat UC Davis, 7-2, in the nightcap.
Stanford starting pitcher Kylie Chung hit three Arizona batters with pitches, and two of the Wildcats’ runs came on wild pitches.
“We had some unconventional ways of scoring tonight, but they found a way to win. Devyn provides that energy and competitiveness on the mound, and then we all work right behind her, and I think you can see that,” Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe said. “When a pitcher is in throwing strikes, pounding the zone and pitching into our defense, just like I thought Miranda (Miranda Stoddard) did a good job of that in the second game, we kind of feed off of that offensively which feel good. Devyn set the tone, and we followed suit behind her.”
Netz (5-1) allowed one run off five hits with seven strikeouts and no walks in a complete game against Stanford. As of Feb. 19, the Cardinal were second in the country in both batting average and scoring.
Netz said she was “taking it pitch by pitch, inning by inning” against Stanford. She said one of the things pitchers work on under Arizona pitching coach Christian Conrad is thinking about the next three or four hitters they will face and how to approach them.
“Each inning we try and make a quick adjustment if we have to, and we talk about game strategy. If they’re adjusting, then we have to adjust as well,” Netz said. “So, it’s more of a thinking strategy, and I thought that Christian and I, and especially my defense, did really, really well tonight.”
Devyn Netz talks about her approach in the circle in a complete game win over No. 20 Stanford. @AllSportsTucson pic.twitter.com/oXu9GsAZDC
— Kevin Murphy (@KevinMurfee) February 21, 2025
Lowe said Netz trusted in her approach against a potent Stanford lineup.
“They are a great hitting team. I think you see that statistically. She just went right at them. She had her good stuff and trusted her stuff more than I’ve seen, really, this season and just kind of went at them,” Lowe said. “She didn’t have to use everything. I think she just attacked the weaknesses. Christian did a good job of calling the game as well.”
Caitlin Lowe says Devyn Netz set the tone in the win over No. 20 Stanford. @AllSportsTucson pic.twitter.com/7vttdwDg1D
— Kevin Murphy (@KevinMurfee) February 21, 2025
Arizona began to pull away from the Cardinal in the bottom of the fourth when an RBI triple down the right-field line from Kaiah Altmeyer scored Logan Cole, who had singled, extending its lead to 3-0. Altmeyer would score on a wild pitch to put the Wildcats up by four runs on Stanford (10-1).
Regan Shockey then singled and Sydney Stewart was hit by a pitch, prompting a pitching change for Stanford. Zoe Prystajko relieved Kylie Chung and recorded the final two outs of the inning, leaving Shockey and Stewart stranded on base.
Allie Clements spoiled Netz’s shutout with a towering two-out solo home run to left in the top of the seventh, and Kyra Chan singled but Netz struck out Joie Economedes to record the complete game win.
Arizona loaded the bases in the bottom of the first after Altmeyer was hit by a pitch, reigning Big 12 Player of the week Stoddard was walked and Netz was hit by a pitch, but the Wildcats came up empty.
Jenna Sniffen hit a leadoff double in the bottom of the second and Tayler Biehl walked. With one out, Altmeyer’s sacrifice bunt scored Sniffen to give Arizona the first run of the game.
Arizona added a run in the bottom of the third to take a 2-0 lead when Netz scored from third on a wild pitch. Netz had reached base on a fielder’s choice and Paige Dimler moved her to third with a two-out double to right center field.
Brooke Mannon started in the circle against UC Davis, but after walking two of the first four batters to put runners on the corners, Stoddard came in to relieve her and got Arizona out of the jam by striking out Marley Panziera.
In the bottom of the first in game two, Arizona (12-1) took a 2-0 lead over UC Davis (5-6) with Stewart’s deep two-run home run into the left field bleachers.
The Wildcats added four runs in the bottom of the second. After Dimler singled up the middle and Biehl reached on a fielding error, Cole tripled to right field, scoring them both. Altmeyer then singled through the right side, bringing Cole home. An RBI groundout by Stewart made it 6-0.
Sydney Somerndike relieved Stoddard in the circle to begin the fifth inning. After allowing a walk and a single, Ryan Maddox replaced her.
Emma Kavanagh hit her first career home run —a solo shot to center— in the bottom of the fifth to stretch Arizona’s lead to 7-0.
Three errors led to UC Davis scoring two runs in the top of the sixth. Altmeyer dropped a routine pop fly off the bat of Gia Felice, and Sophia Eftekhari reached base on a muffed throw by Kiki Escobar at first. Grace Kilday then reached on a fielder’s choice and following a throwing error by Cole at second, Felice scored. Gilday stole home when pinch runner Alyssa Dethlefson was caught stealing second.
Maddox walked Sydney Polli with one out before retiring the next two batters to seal the deal for Arizona.
Stoddard (3-0) allowed no runs, hits or walks with four strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings.
Arizona plays a doubleheader against UC Davis and Colorado State (4-6) on Friday at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Hillenbrand Stadium.
FOLLOW @KEVINMURFEE ON TWITTER! ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com writer Kevin Murphy was born and raised in Tucson, and has followed Arizona Wildcats athletics since childhood. Murphy is a journalist product manager with the Green Valley News & the Sahuarita Sun. He has a bachelor’s degree from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at ASU.
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