Jalen Adams has a lot of accomplishments in her three years as a college softball ace. Her first game as an Arizona Wildcat added another.
The senior threw a five-inning no-hitter in the first game of Arizona’s doubleheader against Southern Utah. The Wildcats won the opening game 8-0 in five innings and followed it with an 8-0 win in six innings.
“I was just trusting what [pitching coach] Christian [Conrad] was calling and really just throwing into our defense,” Adams said. “Our defense does a really good
job of shifting to our pitches. So I think just trusting in that really helped set up the game.”
Adams gave up just one baserunner on a hit batter. It was the 99th no-hitter in Arizona program history but just the first thrown as a solo effort in a pitcher’s debut appearance. It was the second of Adams’ career.
“I threw one my sophomore year [at Iowa] against Michigan State,” Adams said.
Sophomores Sarah Wright and Jenae Berry combined to throw a four-hit shutout in the second game. Wright got the win and Berry got the save.
It was a good day for several of Arizona’s transfers. In addition to Adams, the Wildcats got major contributions from Sereniti Trice, Grace Jenkins, and Addison Duke. Last year’s transfer Kiki Escobar also came up big.
Trice went 3 for 3 in the first game with a double and a triple. She had an RBI and scored two runs. After the triple, she did a unique dance.
“My favorite dance,” Trice said. “It’s been my celebration for triples for I don’t even know how long, so just keeping it the same.”
In the second game, Trice added two more hits, two runs, two RBI, and a stolen base. On the day, she went 5 for 7 with four runs, three RBI, and one stolen base.
Jenkins had an RBI and two walks, then added a double in the second game. She went 1 for 4 with two walks and one RBI during the doubleheader.
Up Next for Arizona Softball
Who: No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners @ No. 17 Arizona Wildcats
When: Friday, Feb. 6 @ 4 p.m. MST; Saturday, Feb. 7 @ 5 p.m. MST; Sunday, Feb. 8 @ 11 a.m. MST
Where: Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium in Tucson, Ariz.
Streaming: ESPN+ (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Stats: Arizona Live Stats (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Duke scored two runs on a hit, a walk, and a stolen base in the early game. In the second, she went 3 for 3, scored a run, and had an RBI. Over the course of the day, she was 4 for 4 with a walk, a run, an RBI, and a stolen base.
It was a huge showing for the left fielder, who played very little at Ole Miss last season and battled with several others for the position during Arizona’s fall scrimmages. Hitting coach Amber Freeman received praise for guiding the young outfielder.
“She’s done nothing but get better,” Lowe said. “I mean, quite frankly, I think she uses her drag to open up her swing move, and her swing’s definitely gotten better. She’s put in a lot of work with Amber. And then just figuring out, like, what is her game going to be? You know what I mean? Because she came in with a bunt, slap, swing. And really settling into who she is as a hitter, I think is going to be really important for her, and I thought she did a great job with that tonight.”
In the first game, Arizona steadily chipped away at Southern Utah. The Wildcats scored in each of the five innings, but they only had one big inning. In the others, they scored one run each time out.
The big inning came in the fourth. Jenna Sniffen led off with the Wildcats’ first home run of the season.
A double and two wild pitches pushed three more runs across. Biehl’s RBI single in the bottom of the fifth ended the game.
Adams went into the circle each inning and calmly went about her business. She threw 53 pitches in five innings. Only 11 of them were balls. She struck out four
Things were even more difficult in the second game. UA didn’t score at all for the first four innings. Tucson native Riley Nielson kept the Wildcats under control by throwing up zeros in front of her family and friends until the fifth inning.
Duke started the bottom of the fifth inning with the bunt on a 2-0 pitch to give Arizona a baserunner. Regan Shockey followed with her own bunt, pushing Duke all the way to third. Shockey advanced to second on an E5, giving Arizona two in scoring position. Trice drove them both in with a single, putting the first runs for either team on the board.
Trice stole second with Sydney Stewart at the plate. Stewart sent the ball flying to right field, but Thunderbird outfielder Michaela Salvatierra made the play. Trice used her speed to advance to third and scored when second baseman Aubrie Burgos couldn’t field the relay.
That was all the scoring for Arizona, but Nielson didn’t come back out for the sixth inning.
Jenae Berry—yet another Wildcat transfer—relieved Arizona starter Sarah Wright in the top of the sixth. She threw up another zero for the home team.
The Wildcats poured it on in the bottom of the sixth.
“One rough inning can make or break a game for you sometimes, and it happens,” said former Wildcat pitcher and current SUU associate head coach Taylor McQuillin. “And I think that when we look back at it, we’re not so much about what we’re lacking in the circle. It’s what we need to do offensively to get things going and show that we’re being competitive on the offensive side in games, to help our pitchers out instead of making our defense feel pressed a little bit.”
Tayler Biehl had a leadoff walk, then Kez Lucas reached on a fielder’s choice in which no out was recorded. Arizona had two on.
Duke drove in Biehl and pushed pinch runner Camila Zepeda from first to third. Shockey’s bunt scored Zepeda and allowed Duke to reach third, giving Arizona runners on the corners. Trice followed with another bunt to load the bases.
Stewart came up with the chance to end the game with one shot. She almost did, but the fly ball ended up as a sacrifice fly. Still, Arizona was now up 6-0 and had two runners in scoring position.
Jenkins had an opportunity to end it. She popped up to the pitcher, bringing up Escobar with two outs.
The diminutive infielder got it done with a single through the right side. Shockey and Trice crossed home plate to end the game an inning early.
“I was just looking for something that was in my zone, not trying to get too big in the moment, just trying to stay calm,” Escobar said. “And that’s exactly what I got. I got a pitch I wanted, and just was able to deliver.”
Arizona is 2-0, but tomorrow starts a gauntlet. The Wildcats will begin a three-game series against No. 3 Oklahoma.
The two teams last played at the Mary Nutter Classic on Feb. 26, 2022. The Sooners were ranked No. 1 at the time and showed why by run-ruling Arizona 10-2 in five innings.
Arizona leads the all-time series 27-18 but is 3-7 against OU in the last 10 meetings. The Wildcats are on a three-game losing streak against the Sooners.
“They’re ready for the challenge of it,” Lowe said about her players. “I think it’s going to be a World Series type atmosphere here for a three game series. You know, it’s going to feel like the postseason already in February—and beginning of February—and that’s what we need. We need to be challenged. We need to see where we’re at. And I want to see them go for it.”
