Arizona softball evens series with Oklahoma State in dominant run-rule fashion

The Wildcats also used a variety of tools at their disposal, especially leadoff hitter Regan Shockey. It paid off.

Before the team left for Stillwater, Lowe was asked about the challenges the slap-hitting Shockey faces when she plays on fields that don’t have hard infields like Hillenbrand Stadium. Would it be in her best interest to develop a more consistent power slap or even swing away on occasion when the team plays on softer fields.

At the time, Lowe said she didn’t want Shockey to be distracted too much by the tools she uses. Instead, the coach wanted her star centerfielder to focus on the job in front of her. Lowe reiterated that during her in-game interview with the ESPN2 crew when asked about Shockey’s success on a day-to-day basis.

“No matter what the circumstances,” Lowe said. “I think this is a soft field. We got a hard field at home. No matter what the pitcher is throwing, I think Reagan’s done a good job of just taking what the pitches are that they’re giving her and executing in her role for the day.”

It turned out that her role for the day was driving the ball and knocking in runs. She did it by going away from the bounce slap that’s her bread and butter.

Shockey led off with a very short infield hit that she legged out, but it was her only infield hit of the day. As OSU continued to employ the five-player infield shift, she found other ways to defeat the Cowgirl defenders.

In her second at-bat, Shockey faced an empty right field. Last season, she faced that situation on several occasions. Most of the time, the pitchers were at least successful in pitching her away to keep her from pulling the ball into the right-field corner. Kansas failed to do so on one occasion and she pulled it into the corner for the inside-the-park home run.

Shockey didn’t get the inside-the-park score this time, but the ball was far enough in that she could pull it into right-center. It was an RBI double in the second inning. In the third inning, she again pulled it into right field for an RBI single.

Shockey ended her day 3 for 4 with a double a day after going 0 for 5 at the plate. She had two RBI and scored three runs. The two RBI tied Tayler Biehl for the game high.

Shockey’s fellow speedster at the top of the order was also effective. Sereniti Trice went 2 for 3. She had an RBI and scored a run.

A day after hitting her fifth home run of the season, Biehl went 2 for 2 with a walk. Both hits were RBI doubles. She also scored a run and stole a base.

The stolen base is another tool that Arizona doesn’t use as often as its speed suggests it might. The successful attempt makes Biehl 9 for 9 this season. Her percentage leads the team. The nine successful attempts tie Shockey for the team lead. Shockey leads the team in total attempts with 10, but she has been caught stealing once.

Arizona put multiple runs on the board in each of the first three innings, but the first was its biggest offensive inning.

It started with back-to-back singles by Shockey and Trice. Trice’s single drove in Shockey from first base. That was compounded by Karli Godwin’s throwing error on the play that allowed Trice to round the bases and land on third. A sacrifice fly by Tele Jennings put Arizona’s second run on the board.

That brought up Biehl with Stewart standing on first base. The shortstop drove in her fellow senior with the Wildcats’ first extra-base hit of the day. They ended with three, all of the double variety. Two came off Biehl’s bat.

It snowballed when Oklahoma State tried to get Stewart at home. Not only was the big catcher safe, but Biehl moved up to third on the throw and there was still only one out.

It was a meaningful play. Grace Jenkins followed Biehl with a single, driving in the fourth run of the inning. Things ended with a double play, but Arizona had a big cushion for Adams before the pitcher ever took the circle.

Adams was commanding. She sat down the Cowgirls in order in the first. She also had 1-2-3 innings in the third and the fifth.

Arizona’s ace had brief flirtations with danger in the second and fourth innings, but they didn’t amount to anything. The second was the most risky. As in many innings when things go wrong for Arizona pitchers, Adams got the first two outs with relative ease. That brought up Tia Warsop.

Warsop had the walk-off hit in Friday’s game. This time, she worked the count full, then reached on a two-out single. Audrey Schneidmiller followed with a walk.

Adams didn’t let it rattle her. She slammed the door with a fielder’s choice.

The Wildcats had added three runs to their lead in the top of the second, so it was vital that their pitcher kept the momentum on their side. Adams did just that, preserving the 7-0 advantage.

The offense responded by scoring two more in the top of the third. For the third straight inning, Shockey was right in the middle of it.

A single, a fielder’s choice, and a wild pitch put Addison Duke on second with two outs. Unlike the Cowgirls in the previous inning, the Wildcats found some two-out magic.

Shockey’s single to right drove in Duke to make it 8-0 in Arizona’s favor. The run rule was now firmly on the table, but insurance runs would help.

The second wild pitch of the inning provided Shockey her opening to get to second base. Trice’s single scored her to put the Wildcats up 9-0 after three innings.

Arizona didn’t need more runs to end the game early. It did need to maintain its pitching and defensive intensity for nine more defensive outs, though.

That started with Adams sitting the Cowgirls down in order in the bottom of the third. It got a little shaky in the fourth when the Wildcats finally let OSU cross the plate.

Adams once again allowed two runners to reach with a single and a walk. She induced a flyout for the second out of the inning, but Oklahoma State found the two-out success that had escaped it earlier in the game.

Schneidmiller drove in a run for the Cowgirls to cut the lead to eight. One more run would force the Wildcats to either rediscover their offense or play out the contest. A groundout ended the threat in the bottom of the fourth.

There was no threat in the fifth. Arizona sat down 1-2-3. Oklahoma State had three outs to do something about it.

The Cowgirls did nothing about it. They were also retired 1-2-3. Game over and series tied.

The teams return to the field at 9 a.m. MST on Sunday for the rubber game. It will stream on ESPN+.

Arizona figures to see Meylan back in the circle. She threw all 10 innings of the teams’ game on Friday, ending with 160 pitches. She threw 133 pitches against Oklahoma earlier in the week.

On Saturday, OSU starter Rylee Crandall lasted 2.0 innings, giving up seven earned runs on nine hits and a walk. Reliever Preslee Downing went 3.0 innings. She gave up two earned runs on three hits and a walk. OSU was also charged with an error.

Crandall entered the game with a 4.69 ERA. When all was said and done, it had risen to 5.28. Downing’s ERA was 4.20 before the game and 4.24 afterwards. She has the top ERA after Meylan’s 2.32.

Arizona has a bit more flexibility. While the Wildcats seem less likely to use Rylie Holder after she went 8.1 innings on Friday, both Adams and Jenae Berry are reasonable options. Adams has pitched 6.0 innings this weekend and Berry has faced just two batters in 0.1 IP.

The Cowgirls hope to attract another record crowd for the series decider. Saturday’s game drew 2,093 fans. It was the second time this season that OSU has improved on the record.

Arizona will return to Hillenbrand to complete its final homestand next week. The series in Stillwater is the third straight road series for the Wildcats.