The Nevada Wolf Pack went 41-14 last year, but a loss to San Diego State in the finals of the Mountain West Softball Tournament was enough to dash their NCAA Tournament hopes. They looked like a team ready to make up for that in a 9-7 midweek loss to the Arizona Wildcats on Tuesday night at Hillenbrand Stadium.
“I think it was just a gritty performance by both teams,” said Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe. “Nevada is a very good team. They’re very well coached. And, you know, at the end of the day, you don’t get style points. I think a win is a win.”
Freshman righthander Rylie Holder got the second start of her college career, this time against a tougher opponent. She made it through four innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on four hits, two walks, and an error behind her.
“I thought she attacked hard,” Lowe said. “I thought they all did, and their hitters made some good adjustments. So we adjusted from here.”
Arizona used three of its four pitchers to get by a game Wolf Pack. Nevada scored runs against two of the three, but the Wolf Pack had multiple baserunners against all three. Jenae Berry came in to start the fifth and pitched 1.1 innings, surrendering three earned runs on three hits. Two of the hits went for extra bases.
Jalen Adams came in when Berry ran into trouble. She threw 1.2 innings, giving up three hits and hitting one batter but keeping the runs off the board.
Senior Sydney Stewart caught all three Arizona pitchers. She saw some positives and some things that they could work on.
“I feel like at some points we were getting kind of perfect with it, when we should just let it work and let the ball just play out into our shifts, knowing that our infielders can field the ball like our last play,” Stewart said.
Tayler Biehl and Stewart led the Wildcats’ offense. Arizona’s three and four hitters both went 2 for 4 on the day. Biehl scored three runs, had one RBI, and stole two bases. Stewart contributed five RBI. Both of her hits went for extra bases.
Stewart’s second base hit came with Biehl at first base and Sereniti Trice at second in the bottom of the sixth inning. Arizona trailed Nevada 7-5 and was running out of at-bats to win the game.
Stewart hit a long fly to centerfield. It didn’t have enough to get out, but it was to the wall. Trice didn’t get a great read, so she took off late. Biehl was hot on her heels as the two approached third base and assistant coach Lauren Lappin tried to give different instructions to each of them.
“I’m like, ‘go, Biddy, go!’” Biehl said. “Yelling from behind her, not touching her, because I knew that I would be out or whatever. And then I was rounding third, and Biddy was going and I saw Lap sending. I was right behind her, and Lap said, ‘Stay, Tayler!’ And I was like, I couldn’t even stop. I was full speed ahead. And then I was like, well, Biddy’s out, I’m also out. We’re a combo. And also the catcher, two people running at her, that’s not seen every day, which is kind of funny, because I was telling her, I’m right behind, you better go. And I think I landed on top of her, because I got a cleat right in the leg.”
The ball actually did beat Biehl to the plate, but the oncoming runners caused the Nevada catcher to lose the ball. Both were safe. The game was tied and Stewart stood on second base to give Grace Jenkins a runner in scoring position.
Jenkins came through with a single to score Stewart and give the Wildcats the lead. Kez Lucas added another RBI to give the team an insurance run.
It was enough, but just barely. Adams took the circle again in the top of the seventh to try and preserve the lead. After getting one out, she hit the second batter. A single followed to put two on with one out. Another single loaded the bases.
The defense, which hasn’t been as solid as Lowe would like, came through in a big way. A grounder to Biehl at short started the double play to end the game. Biehl flipped the ball to Trice while lying on her belly, and Trice sent it on to Lucas at first.
“Me and Biddy, you saw us celebrating, because right before that, we were saying that we want to set a record for double plays in this one season,” Biehl said. “So that’s another double play to add to our record book, which is exciting…in any situation, but especially tense ones like that. It’s like we’re telling Jalen, we have your back, don’t do too much. You’re just trying to do too much, and we got you.”
It wasn’t a comfortable game for either team. Arizona took the lead in the first on a two-run home run by Stewart, but Nevada cut the lead in half in the top of the second.
Getting one run back seemed to spur the Wolf Pack. A walk and a fielder’s choice that didn’t record an out put two runners on in the top of the third. The first of three runs scored on a fielding error by Lucas at first base. Two straight singles brought in two more runs, giving Nevada a 4-3 lead.
Arizona retook the lead in the bottom of the fourth with the help of one hit and two Wolf Pack errors. Things swung back in Nevada’s favor in the top of the sixth. A two-run homer and an RBI single gave the visitors their second three-run inning. They now led by two.
That’s when Arizona struck back with it’s biggest inning, putting four runs up in the bottom of the sixth.
After the game, both Biehl and Stewart spent considerable time with the players and coaching staff from Nevada. For Stewart, it included a lengthy reunion with Nevada head coach Victoria Hayward, who helped her get started in college softball.
“It’s really cool,” Stewart said. “Coach Vic is my old hitting coach when I was at Washington, and she’s really helped me with just, like, my mindset as a hitter and just as a player. So it’s really cool to be full circle playing against her.”