Arizona’s first season in the Big 12 will include an opportunity to win a conference tournament championship when the Wildcats play regular-season champion Texas Tech and ace NiJaree Canady on Saturday morning.
The second-seeded Wildcats (45-10) overcame No. 3 Iowa State 6-3 on Friday to earn the spot to face the Red Raiders (44-12) at Oklahoma City at 9 a.m. Saturday on ESPN.
Texas Tech won two out of three games at Hillenbrand Stadium against Arizona from April 17-19.
Canady, the former Stanford standout, allowed two runs in the 11 innings she pitched in the two wins — 10-1 in five innings and 5-2 that weekend. She was not particularly overpowering in those two games, combining for six strikeouts and four walks.
In the 2-1 loss to Arizona to start that series, Canady allowed five hits and two runs with two walks and seven strikeouts in six innings.
“They’re a great team,” Arizona coach Caitlin Lowe said of Texas Tech in Friday’s postgame press conference. “They pitch well. They have one of the best arms in the country. They hit well … They play good defense. Any time you face a really good pitcher, and a good pitching staff, it’s all about executing in games.”
It took Arizona’s lineup a while to execute in Friday’s win over Iowa State, but similar to Thursday’s win over UCF after the Knights took a 3-0 lead, Arizona rallied back for the win against the Cyclones.
The Wildcats overcame a 2-0 early deficit by scoring six runs over the third, fourth and fifth innings.
Devyn Netz and Sydney Stewart led the Wildcats with two hits each. Stewart drove in three runs to lead the team and Netz recorded two RBIs.
Stewart hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning, giving Arizona a 6-3 lead. It was the 17th home run of the season for the Washington transfer.
“Sticking to our plan, taking it pitch by pitch,” Stewart said of her approach after she grounded out and hit an infield single in her first two at-bats. “After my first at-bat, I came up with a plan and adjusted.”
Iowa State struck first with a two-run home run in the second inning.
In the bottom of the third, Arizona tied the game at 2 when Netz drove in the pair of runs with a single to center field.
The Cyclones regained the 3-2 lead in the top of the fourth with a solo home run.
Arizona then tied the game again in the bottom of the fourth.
Jenna Sniffen hit a sacrifice fly to score Kaiah Altmeyer from third to make it 3-3.
Stewart then hit the go-ahead three-run home run in the fifth.
The Washington transfer mentioned that playing for Lowe is “amazing.”
“She brings out the best in you, not only as a player but as a human being,” Stewart said. “She truly wants what’s best for us. Ever since being at Arizona, I feel like I’ve developed so much.
“My softball IQ has grown. She’s truly allowed me to see the bigger picture of things and how to be a leader on the field. Even though I’m 6-1 (tall) when I’m on the field, I struggled with leadership my freshman and sophomore years. She’s kind of helped me come out of my shell to embrace the leadership role.”
Netz (22-5) earned the win, pitching 5 1/3 innings. She allowed five hits and three runs while striking out three and walking one.
Aissa Silva entered in the sixth inning to face one batter and former Iowa State pitcher Saya Swain followed, facing five batters and retiring three.
Netz re-entered in the top of the seventh to retire the final two batters and secure the victory.
Because Arizona did not play Iowa State in the regular season, Friday’s game was the first time Swain got to face her former teammates.
“It was fun,” Swain said. “I was kind of bummed that they were not on our Big 12 schedule this year, not because I have anything against them or anything like that. They are such a fun team to play against. They bring my competitive spirit out of me.
“It was fun playing them.”
Arizona’s first experience playing in the Big 12 tournament at Oklahoma City’s Devon Park — site of the Women’s College World Series — has included sparse crowds, unlike when the Pac-12 tournament was played at campus sites.
“I love playing here,” Lowe said. “I think our team loves playing here because they want to play here at the end of the year. It’s a really big deal for us to be on this field, learning what the routine looks like warming up and transferring to the big field.
“Obviously, we love 3,000 people in Tucson, Arizona, cheering for us, but that’s not what we’re going to win a championship doing (at Oklahoma City).”
FOLLOW @JAVIERJMORALES ON TWITTER!
ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
Recommended for you
