Sydney Stewart, left, and Devyn Netz celebrate after recording an out on Saturday. (Arizona Athletics)
Outside of one big inning, No. 13 Arizona had trouble gaining traction against NiJaree Canady, and a couple of late home runs sealed the deal in a 5-2 loss to No. 14 Texas Tech on Senior Day at Hillenbrand Stadium on Saturday.
Arizona and Texas Tech’s aces Devyn Netz and Canady started in the circle, just as they did in game one of the series when the Wildcats squeaked out a 2-1 win. But Arizona didn’t fare well against Canady in game two, tallying only four hits against her in a 10-1 loss in five innings on Friday.
Netz didn’t pitch on Friday, but her pitching on Saturday kept Texas Tech at bay until Arizona tied the game in the third inning. She would also give up two home runs in the sixth that put the game out of reach for the Wildcats.
While the Arizona offense stranded seven runners on base, it battled against Canady in several at-bats, causing her to throw 138 pitches.
“I’m really proud of the response tonight,” Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe said. “I think there were obviously some things we needed to clean up throughout the game, but the fight was incredible. They made her throw 138 pitches. I thought their defense made some really good plays to stop some rallies that we could have gotten into. We put ourselves in good situations to get the big hit. We didn’t always come through, but the fight was there.”
Lowe said she didn’t think the team was overmatched Saturday.
“They just got the key hit when they needed it,” she said of Texas Tech’s ability to pull off the win. “There’s some things that we need to clean up defensively, and a little bit offensively, and I think we’re a better team for it if we can do that.”
Caitlin Lowe said she’s proud of how the team responded tonight in a 5-2 loss to Texas Tech following a 10-1 loss in five innings in game two of the series on Friday. @AllSportsTucson pic.twitter.com/cuAscLovk7
— Kevin Murphy (@KevinMurfee) April 20, 2025
In the bottom of the third, Arizona (37-9 14-7 Big 12) scored for the first time in the series since the first inning on Friday.
The run came when Dakota Kennedy battled through a 10-pitch at-bat and hit a solo home run to left to cut Texas Tech’s lead to 2-1. Regan Shockey and Kaiah Altmeyer followed her up with back-to-back infield singles, both advanced on a wild pitch and Netz walked to load the bases. A sacrifice fly to right field from Sydney Stewart tied the game at 2-2.
DAKOTA KENNEDY HOME RUN!!!
Ko puts us on the board with her fourth homer of the season! pic.twitter.com/JzWmqmS8wP
— Arizona Softball (@ArizonaSoftball) April 20, 2025
Texas Tech (36-10, 16-2 Big 12) hit two home runs in the top of the sixth to regain the lead at 5-2. The first was a two-run home run over center field from Lauren Allred, the second came from Demi Elder. Saya Swain relieved Netz in the circle and recorded the final out.
Canady (19-5) retired each of the six Arizona batters she faced in the bottom of the sixth and the seventh.
She allowed two runs off five hits with three strikeouts and four walks in a complete game.
Lowe said the Arizona lineup had “some of the best at-bats that they’ve had all year.”
“To do that against someone who’s throwing 70 to 75 miles per hour with a dirty changeup like that is one of the highest levels you can get to as a hitter,” Lowe said. “So, for me, it’s okay, ‘how do we stay that locked in with every pitcher that we face?’ Because there’s not many that we’re going to face that are better than that.”
Texas Tech got out to an early lead Saturday. Mihyia Davis doubled off Netz to open the game, and she was brought home with one out on an infield single from Bailey Lindemuth.
The Red Raiders added a run in the top of the third off an RBI fielder’s choice from Lindemuth that scored Alana Johnson from third after Netz couldn’t connect with Sydney Stewart on the throw to the plate.
Netz (17-5) allowed three earned runs off six hits with four strikeouts and one walk in 5 2/3 innings in the loss.
Arizona plays New Mexico State in a doubleheader at Hillenbrand Stadium on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
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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