Just a few weeks ago it looked like Arizona softball would be hosting games in Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium well into May. The Wildcats looked primed to host their second straight regionals as they hovered just outside the top 10 of the RPI, KPI, and DSR. As April comes to a close, it appears more likely that senior day will be the final softball game held at Rita this season, although there’s still remote hope.
Arizona will end up as one of the 32 seeded teams in the first year of expanded seeding.
However, that has no impact on hosting. The committee still needs to see a team as one of the 16 most deserving squads, and the Wildcats haven’t given much indication that they are down the stretch.
UA had two big opportunities over the final four weeks of the regular season. One was a three-game nonconference series at LSU. The other was the final Quad 1 series on its schedule at Oklahoma State. Arizona only managed two wins out of the six games.
While all six were played on the road in the midst of a nine-game road trip, the inability of the bats to come through in either series has the Wildcats clinging to the inside of the top 20 now.
Heading into senior weekend against Houston, Arizona sits at No. 18 in RPI, No. 18 in KPI, and No. 20 in DSR. If any lessons were learned, it’s that home games may be far more valuable than trying to get road wins late in the season.
Neither KPI nor DSR, both of which consider location of games, gave Arizona much of a boost for going on the road for two straight top 25 series. Those systems have Arizona equal to or below RPI, which doesn’t consider game location.
As for playing conditions on the road, the soft, slow fields in Stillwater and Baton Rouge almost assuredly had an impact on Arizona’s hitting. In the end, playing mid-majors at home and notching the wins might have been better for the Wildcats’ postseason profile.
Although other teams could conceivably help Arizona get back into that top 16 conversation, recent events make it less likely. That makes the weekend mostly for honoring a group of seniors who have had a big impact on Arizona over their time in Tucson.
Four-year starter and Swiss Army knife Tayler Biehl, All-American Sydney Stewart, ace Jalen Adams, selfless slugger Grace Jenkins, adaptable Kiki Escobar, and hometown player Camila Zepeda will likely play their final games in Hillenbrand this weekend.
Biehl is the final member of her freshman class still in Tucson, but it should come as no surprise to anyone that she stuck it out for four years. She came to Tucson in 2022-23 during a time of transition, but she always knew she was going to be a Wildcat. Her aunt wore the uniform. She grew up around the program. It was home long before she put on the Block A and took the field.
“My time has been a dream here,” Biehl said. “I’ve had the best four years I could imagine, and I’ve been able to play with a ton of different girls…It’s been incredible to play with so many people and make memories.”
She was a lifesaver in more ways than one her freshman season. Arizona suffered significant injuries. Players sat out for mental health reasons. One left the team during midseason. Biehl stepped in wherever she was needed.
She was mostly a shortstop, but she popped up everywhere. She played right field. She even suited up as a catcher when the Wildcats were low on available players at the position. The team’s 35-year postseason run was broken that year, but it wasn’t because Biehl didn’t do everything she could to get them there.
Stewart, Escobar, and Zepeda arrived as transfers in 2024-25, but their paths were very different. Zepeda was a local star at Tucson High and Pima College. Stewart was a standout at Washington who just hadn’t reached her full potential. Escobar helped Oregon State get back to the Women’s College World Series as a freshman in 2022 then left after the dissolution of the old Pac-12.
Up Next for Arizona Softball
Who: Houston Cougars (20-28, 3-15) @ No. 19 Arizona Wildcats (31-13, 12-6)
When: Friday, Apr. 24 @ 6 p.m. MST, Saturday Apr. 25 @ 3 p.m. MST; Sunday, Apr. 26 @ 12 p.m. MST
Where: Hillenbrand Stadium in Tucson, Ariz.
Streaming: ESPN+ (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Radio: 1400 AM (KTUC)
Stats: Arizona Live Stats (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Zepeda has spent the past two years working with the other infielders at practice. If she gets into the game, it’s to pinch run. But she’s reached the goal most of Tucson’s softball-playing little girls have. She wears Arizona across her chest in her hometown.
“Growing up, I came [to Arizona games] a lot,” Zepeda said. “For me, it’s just crazy that now I’m the one with the uniform. It’s a full-circle moment that little girls watch us play.
Stewart was a very good player during her first two years at Washington. However, after her sophomore year, she was one of many who decided to leave Seattle. It has worked out in her favor. She’s become a star at Arizona.
The player who had seven home runs in two years as a Husky hit 20 last year. This year, she has 16 with six regular-season games and an unknown number of postseason games to go.
Her reputation is such that pitchers are super careful with her even with the bases loaded. They’d rather walk in one run than give up four on one swing of her bat.
She has been walked 34 times this season. She has two or more walks in eight games. Oklahoma and Baylor both walked her three times in a single game. Baylor and Arizona State both walked her six times in three games.
Those close to her say the rise to All-American who’s heading to the pros is not just about on-field development. She’s been happy at Arizona, and it has made all the difference. Stewart backs that up.
“I think it’s just the environment,” she said. “I’m having so much fun, just having the people around me. I get to have fun at practice everyday, have my teammates around me, my coaches around me, and then transitioning that into the games. At the end of the day, the game’s a game. We get to have some fun. Not getting so serious about things.”
The fans are just as happy to have her in Tucson, although some of them may take games a bit more seriously. She already knew how they embraced their Wildcats.
“Playing here when I was at my previous school, it was the craziest experience ever,” Stewart said. “Just the atmosphere in Rita and the community in Tucson and the fans, it was unlike anything I ever experienced before.”
It wasn’t hard to get a level of comfort.
“The transition, I feel like the people made it super easy,” Stewart said. “The coaches made it super easy. Just welcomed me with open arms. Everyone did.”
Escobar’s experience falls somewhere in between Stewart and Zepeda. She was the starting second baseman for the Beavers, but she has played everywhere during her two years at Arizona. She primarily played second last year, platooning with former Wildcat Logan Cole, but she also got some time in at first base.
This year, Sereniti Trice took over at second and Kez Lucas has seen most of the first base innings, but Escobar has still found her way onto the field. She has played a few games at first but most of her contributions have been in the outfield where Arizona lost a big chunk of production after last year.
“It’s been fun for me, honestly, just really embracing where I am for my senior year,” Escobar said. “I’ve just been happy to be wherever my team needs me.”
Jenkins and Adams arrived before the season for their final year in college. Like Biehl, Jenkins was willing to do what was needed. Arizona needs her bat and lost two significant outfielders after last season. Jenkins had been a catcher throughout her college career, but there was already an All-American catcher at Arizona. So, right field has been her place.
Head coach Caitlin Lowe said earlier this year that she was upfront with Jenkins about where they planned to play her. It wouldn’t be a “good experience” to do otherwise, Lowe said. Not only did Jenkins give up playing with her sister Hope, who pitches for Ole Miss now, but she also gave up her position on the field to be a Wildcat.
“It’s obviously nerve racking entering the portal knowing you only have one year left, but I think I made the best decision,” Jenkins said. “Even in the fall, every single day, there was just another reason why I made the right decision.”
Adams also gave up a lot to come to Arizona. She had played her entire life in her home state of Iowa. It was time for something else on a little bit bigger stage.
“It was definitely not an easy decision,” Adams said. “I love my teammates back in Iowa and I miss them, but I also think I just wanted to take a step forward and put myself out there. Kind of just see how I did against the best of the best.”
Adams has taken a big step forward in the kind of competition she’s facing. Last year at Iowa, her toughest games were one at Alabama and two against UCLA. This year, she appeared three times against Oklahoma, twice against Texas, once against Stanford, twice against Texas Tech, twice against ASU, twice against LSU, and three times against Oklahoma State—and those are just the games against teams in the top 25 of the RPI.
Her ERA is up and she doesn’t have as many wins, but Adams has challenged herself by coming to Arizona. Half of her 30 appearances have come in those 15 games against teams with top 25 RPI.
Now, it’s time to put it all together for at least one more go-round at Hillenbrand—and to hope against hope that there’s a way to come back in mid-May.
