Arizona softball drops series against Oklahoma on late comeback in Game 3

If it’s possible to have a bounce back performance that still ends in a loss, the No. 17 Arizona Wildcats did that early Sunday afternoon in Hillenbrand Stadium. The team put a 21-3 shellacking in game two behind them and battled the No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners in a 5-4 loss. The result was a 2-1 series win for the visiting Sooners.

“I love the way they showed up today, the way they prepared,” said Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe. “They had a short memory, but also came out and went for it to win a series. I thought we put ourselves in really good position to win the series and…a few moments we want back, and I think had chances to score and put up some more runs. And I think that’s going to fuel us for the rest of the season.”

Senior right hander Jalen Adams got the start for Arizona after pitching six innings in relief on Friday evening and 0.1 innings in relief late Saturday afternoon. She helped maintain an Arizona lead until the seventh inning.

Adams faced all but two OU batters. She was lifted in the fourth inning with runners at the corners and one out. Arizona led 4-1 at the time.

Sophomore Jenae Berry entered the circle to face Kasidi Pickering and Ella Parker. The move was based on earlier performances and scouting, but it didn’t work out as hoped.

Pickering got the runner in from third base by grounding out to second, cutting the Arizona lead in half. Parker walked to put two runners on again. Adams re-entered the circle and finished the game from there.

“Jenae had some…matchups for her that she did well with all weekend, so we have full confidence in what she can do,” Lowe said. “And that’s the thing. We learned a lot about our pitching staff, what they can do…and, really, in what roles.”

Adams still had a two-run lead to work with when she got back into the game. She closed the door in the fourth, but the Sooners kept chipping away.

The visitors made it a one-run game in the fifth when Gabbie Garcia led off with a home run. It was the 12th homer of the series for the Sooners. It wasn’t the last—not even for Garcia.

Adams got back on track and her defense made some fancy plays behind her in the sixth. Parker flew out into foul territory on the left side and Abby Dayton got aggressive. She was thrown out at second base by left fielder Addison Duke. It wasn’t the first or the last time the Sooners’ aggressive baserunning would hurt them.

Arizona tried to add an insurance run or two in the bottom of the sixth. Kiki Escobar gave them a baserunner with a one-out single. Emma Kavanagh made it two baserunners with another one-out single. A fielder’s choice and a flyout to left ended the threat.

Arizona still only needed three outs to cement the series win over the other team that holds eight national titles, good for second in the history of the sport. It was well within its grasp, but the Sooners seemed to be seeing Adams better the longer the game went on. The seventh inning was set to be just over 13 innings of work against OU for Adams.

It was asking too much. Kendall Wells led off with a home run to tie the game in the top of the seventh. Garcia stepped in and hit her fourth homer of the series to give OU the lead. The next batter sent a single down the left field line.

OU’s aggressiveness kept them from adding more. Minor’s bunt with no outs should have been a successful sacrifice, but it turned into a double play. Adams got the strikeout to send her team to their final at-bats.

The Wildcats needed one run to get to extra innings and two to walk it off. They had the best possible hitters due to come up in the big situation. Sereniti Trice, who came into the game hitting .667, was set to lead off. Behind her was All-American catcher Sydney Stewart. Next came reigning Big East Player of the Year Grace Jenkins.

Trice did her job. She bounced the slap so high towards third base that there was no chance for OU to make a play. The tying run was aboard with no outs.

Oklahoma ace Audrey Lowry, who entered the game after a big fourth inning for the Wildcats, uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Trice to move up.

Stewart flew out to left field for the first out, then Arizona’s own aggressive baserunning got it into trouble.Jenkins hit a ball to short stop.Trice tried to advance to third.

Garcia made a throw to Nelly McEnroe-Marinas at third. The throw was wide, but McEnroe-Marinas swung around and applied the tag. Trice was initially called safe, but OU head coach Patty Gasso challenged the ruling. She was right, although Lowe argued a bit with the home plate umpire.

The overrule stood and Arizona was down to its last out. A baserunner in scoring position had been traded for one at first base.

Tayler Biehl stepped into the box with two outs. One of the heroines of Friday couldn’t repeat the magic. She swung at the first pitch. It was a groundout to second.

Adams took the loss for Arizona, but the senior proved a lot over the weekend. Her no-hitter against Southern Utah started it all, but her showing against Oklahoma was more important.

Adams carried the burden of being Arizona’s primary pitcher against some of the toughest competition in the world. She led her team to a win in one game and narrowly lost another. In the third game, she stepped in to get her younger teammates out of a jam like the bullpen leader the Wildcats needed. She also had praise for those younger teammates.

“They’re very mature, and I feel like they’re really eager, eager to learn,” Adams said about the other three pitchers. “I feel like I was the same way, and I still am always trying to learn something new. So that’s really promising. I’m really optimistic. Always. There’s always an opportunity for them to get better at something. So I feel like that’s the biggest thing. They really have open ears, and they’re always willing to learn something new.”

Stewart led Arizona offensively. Arizona’s biggest offensive weapon came into the game hitting .250 over the first four contests. After hitting 20 home runs and nine doubles last year, she didn’t have a single extra-base hit so far this season.

That changed in the second inning. Stewart came to the plate with the bases full of Wildcats. The team had already established a 1-0 lead on Duke’s bases-loaded walk.

A strike and a ball went by Stewart. She didn’t miss the third one. Stewart sent the ball the opposite way and motored around the bases. The triple cleared the bases. Arizona led 5-1 after two innings.

The loss dropped Arizona to 3-2 on the season. Oklahoma improved to 3-1.

The Wildcats will take the field again on Thursday, Feb. 12 at 5 p.m. MST to start the Bear Down Fiesta.