No. 12 Arizona fell behind by three runs in the first inning against No. 18 Oklahoma State before recovering to score 10 unanswered to run-rule the Cowgirls 12-4 in five innings, evening up the series on Saturday at Hillenbrand Stadium.
“I thought we were setting tones throughout the game, which felt really, really good. To give up the three-spot in the beginning and kind of chip away at that — that felt really good,” Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe said. “Because I think we could have easily gone the other way, and we didn’t.”
Lowe was particularly impressed with how Miranda Stoddard controlled the game in the circle after taking over for starter Ryan Maddox in the third inning with the bases loaded and Arizona down 4-2. Lowe also praised the game plan from Arizona pitching coach Christian Conrad and Arizona’s defense.
“She was dominant. She knew what she wanted to do. I thought she wasn’t throwing, she was pitching today very strategically, and that felt great,” Lowe said. “I thought Christian called a great game. I thought our defense played well behind her.”
Caitlin Lowe talks about Jenna Sniffen’s big night, the team’s execution and evening the series with Oklahoma State. @AllSportsTucson pic.twitter.com/PUktQFgTif
— Kevin Murphy (@KevinMurfee) April 6, 2025
Stoddard (8-0) picked up her eighth win of the season in 2 2/3 shutout innings, allowing no hits with two strikeouts and no walks. It was a redeeming performance after giving up a game-winning three run home run in a relief appearance in the seventh against the Cowgirls Friday.
“It’s really good to have a good day after yesterday,” Stoddard said. “That was disappointing. Just knowing that I have a defense behind me that if I put the ball somewhere, if they can make a play, they will, makes it so much easier to come into big high pressure moments like that. So it felt great to come out and win that game.”
Jenna Sniffen talks about the team’s approach at the plate. Miranda Stoddard steadied ship in the circle for the Wildcats against Oklahoma State. @AllSportsTucson pic.twitter.com/W4tnBuqgar
— Kevin Murphy (@KevinMurfee) April 6, 2025
Oklahoma State made a pitching change to open the bottom of the third, with Katie Kutz relieving starter RyLee Crandall. After Kaiah Altmeyer walked to lead off the inning, Devyn Netz doubled to center moving Altmeyer to third. Kutz recorded two strikeouts before Jenna Sniffen hit a blooper triple to right field, scoring Altmeyer and Netz to even the score at 4-4.
Sniffen had consistent success at the plate all game, going 3 for 3 with two RBIs, but Lowe was most impressed with her game-tying hit .
“She came up, had a great at-bat, put a good swing on it, and she’s just been chipping away at her swing and grinding it out and against good pitching,” she said. “They have a great bullpen. So, proud of her today, and mostly because she went in watching two strikeouts in front of her, and she had a different mentality.”
ALL TIED UP!!@jennasniffenn drives in a pair to tie it up in the third! pic.twitter.com/DMqMcfE777
— Arizona Softball (@ArizonaSoftball) April 6, 2025
After loading the bases against Kutz on a single and two walks in the bottom of the fourth, Kyra Aycock took the circle for Oklahoma State and walked Altmeyer to give Arizona its first lead. Arizona then pulled away from Oklahoma State, with Dakota Kennedy scoring a run off a wild pitch before Sydney Stewart hit a towering grand slam to give Arizona a 10-4 lead.
ABSOLUTELY ELECTRIC @sydneyyystewart sends it to the moon!! pic.twitter.com/IFauRFRXCu
— Arizona Softball (@ArizonaSoftball) April 6, 2025
An RBI single from Emily Schepp in the bottom of the fifth extended Arizona’s lead to 11-4, and the game ended in a walk-off RBI single from Stoddard.
Maddox got Arizona into a jam, giving up three runs in the top of the first. After hitting leadoff hitter Tallen Edwards with a pitch, Edwards stole second, and an RBI single from Tia Warstop brought her home. With one out, Karli Godwin extended the Cowgirls’ lead to 3-0 with a two-RBI double down the right-field line.
Arizona (32-7, 9-5 Big 12) scored a run in each of the bottom halves of the first and second innings to cut into Oklahoma State’s lead. In the first, it was a line drive RBI double to left field from Altmeyer that bounced off Warstop’s glove and scored Kennedy. In the second, a fielding error from Oklahoma State shortstop Megan Bloodworth off the bat of Kennedy brought home Sniffen from third.
Oklahoma State (23-10, 5-4 Big 12) extended its lead to 4-2 when Amanda Hasler hit a leadoff solo homerun to open the third. The Cowgirls then loaded the bases on Maddox with one out, leading to Stoddard replacing her in the circle. Stoddard got Arizona out of the jam, retiring the next two hitters with a strike out and ground out.
Arizona looks to take the series against Oklahoma State at noon on Sunday 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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