No. 7 Arizona opened Big 12 play and a new era in the conference with a 9-3 loss to UCF on Friday at Hillenbrand Stadium.
The Wildcats fell behind early, rallied in the sixth inning to get within a run, but ultimately couldn’t recover after the Knights scored five runs in the seventh.
Arizona had an uncharacteristically bad night on offense, tallying just four hits. The defense didn’t fare well either, allowing two unearned runs off four errors.
“I think they came out with a lot of energy, and we were flat,” Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe said of Arizona’s effort. “We’ve done this a few times this year and responded well the next day, but we have to learn that we are in control of our own destiny when we show up, and to show up with our best stuff for the day. That’s collectively. On the mound, defensively, offensively. We didn’t have any of it today. So, I’m really looking for a response tomorrow.”
Lowe said Arizona struggled at the plate because of a lack of preparation and the struggles were compounded when things weren’t going well on the defensive side.
“I just thought we weren’t ready to play, period. When you come out here and you’re not ready to play and you’re not ready to throw punches, then you get beat,” she said. “They were ready, had a good game plan and executed. I think momentum is a tricky thing in this game. If you have good momentum, you make plays and you get on a roll. Sometimes when that momentum is against you and you make a couple tough miscues it rolls the other way too.”
Caitlin Lowe said Arizona came out flat and collectively wasn’t ready to play in a 9-3 loss to UCF. @AllSportsTucson pic.twitter.com/vy4iGicNaI
— Kevin Murphy (@KevinMurfee) March 8, 2025
Devyn Netz (8-2) started for Arizona in the circle and pitched four innings. She allowed three hits, three runs with four strikeouts and a walk.
UCF’s first two batters Sierra Humphreys and Aubrey Evans reached base on a walk and a single, and the Knights went up 2-0 on a throwing error to home from Logan Cole that scored both Humphreys and Evans.
UCF added a run in the top of the second when Beth Damon hit a leadoff solo home run.
In the bottom of the second, Netz hit a towering solo home run to left to bring Arizona (21-3, 0-1 Big 12) within two runs.
Ashleigh Griffen extended UCF’s lead to 4-1 with a solo home run in the top of the fourth.
A two-run inning for Arizona in the bottom of the sixth began when Kaiah Altmeyer hit a leadoff solo home run to cut into UCF’s lead. With one out, Dakota Kennedy doubled to deep center field prompting a pitching change for UCF (18-7-1, 1-0 Big 12). Katelyn Felton came in to relieve Isabella Vega in the circle and walked Sydney Stewart. Netz then hit a routine fly ball to right field that slipped out of Stormy Kotzelnick‘s glove, and Kennedy scored to make it a one-run game heading into the seventh.
Kotzelnick redeemed herself in the top of the seventh by hitting a two-out, two-run home run to right field off Saya Swain that extended the Knights’ lead to 6-3. Aissa Silva relieved Swain in the circle and later gave up a two-RBI double to Madison Simon, who would score an unearned run on an error by Tayler Biehl.
Arizona plays UCF Saturday at 4 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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