After a 2-0 start to the season with a sweep of Southern Utah, Arizona softball was looking to move to 3-0 with No.3 Oklahoma coming to Tucson.
In the first game of three, Arizona used a 6-run sixth inning to come back in a 11-6 win to beat the Sooners. It was a Tayler Biehl grand slam that ultimately got Arizona to the finish line as the Wildcats rallied from down 5-2 in the second.
Following a groundout, Oklahoma got on base first with a Kendall Wells single to left field. Jenae Berry got her first strikeout
of the night to get the second out for UA, but the success was not sustained.
Then Oklahoma got the scoring started with a two run homer over the right field wall from Nelly McEnroe-Marinas. The Sooners added to their lead with another homer, this time to the opposite side of the field from Kasidi Pickering to give OU a 3-0 lead.
Berry got her second strikeout to end a rough first inning, and the Wildcats had work to do going into the bottom of the first. Regan Shockey got right to work with a single to left infield getting Arizona on base.
Sereniti Trice followed her up with another single which got Shockey to second. Sydney Stewart was walked and the Wildcats got the bases loaded, putting themselves in a good position to cut into the Sooners’ lead.
Grace Jenkins grounded out to second but it brought in Shockey to get Arizona on the board. Biehl reached on a fielder’s choice but Trice was thrown out at home. A wild pitch from Oklahoma brought in Stewart, bringing Arizona within one run from a tie.
Jenna Sniffen grounded out to end the first inning but it was a nice response from the Wildcats.
The struggles for Berry continued as Gabbie Garcia added another run for Oklahoma with a homer to deep center field, and that ended Berry’s day early. Jalen Adams returned to the mound to try and stop the bleeding for Arizona.
However, that did not stop the Sooners from adding to the scoreboard. Allyssa Parker hit a homerun to deep right field, putting the OU lead back to three.
After Arizona got its first out of the second inning, Oklahoma got right back on base with a single to left field from Abby Dayton. The second out came from a fly out to center field, but then Ella Parker got on base with a single to center field, advancing Dayton to second.
Adams walked McEnroe-Marinas to load the bases for the Sooners, putting Arizona in an extremely precarious situation. Adams got her first strikeout to get the Wildcats out of the hole, but UA found itself back down three runs at the end of the top of the second.
Kez Lucas did not get Arizona off to a good start to start the bottom of the second as she grounded out to left infield. Then Emma Kavanagh nearly got Arizona back on the scoreboard, but her hit ended with a single to center field off the wall.
Oklahoma nearly got a double play when Kavanagh was thrown out at second, but Addison Duke was able to get to first. Shockey was able to get on base again, and on a field’s choice error by the Sooners, Duke was able to get to second.
A Trice single to left field was able to bring in Duke to cut back into the Oklahoma lead, but Stewart followed with a ground out to end the second inning with the Wildcats trailing 5-3.
The Sooners continued their nice afternoon in the batter’s box with a single from Sydney Barker, who then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Adams got her second strikeout but then walked another OU hitter.
The second out for Arizona came on a pop up to Adams and then that was followed up with a line out which did not allow Oklahoma to add to its lead going into the bottom of the third.
Both Jenkins and Biehl flew out to left field to start the bottom of the third for Arizona, and Sniffen grounded out to second base for a very quick three up three down inning for the Wildcats.
Shockey caught a very high pop out to center field for the first out of the top of the fourth inning. Parker got back on base after being walked and McEnroe-Marinas was hit by a pitch to get two Sooners on base.
Pickering singled to center field and brought in Parker to put the OU lead back to three. Another high pop up from Oklahoma got Arizona its second out, and the third out came from a line out.
Lucas flew out to left field to start the bottom of the fourth and Kavanagh followed up with a pop out to left field. Duke was able to get to first on a walk, but was tagged out on a fielder’s choice off of a Shockey pop up.
Parker flew out to start the fifth inning, as the Sooners were looking to add to their lead. However, Agbayani and Dayton flew out to right field to hold the Oklahoma lead at three.
A ground out from Trice started the bottom of the fifth for Arizona. Stewart was able to get on base for the Wildcats after being walked. That’s when Jenkins lit up Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium with a homer to left field.
Jenkins’ home run brought the Wildcats within one run and put pressure on Oklahoma to keep its lead. The Sooners kept its lead after Biehl and Sniffen both popped out to move the game to the sixth inning.
Jenkins followed her homer by catching a fly out from Wells right at the wall. After Parker was walked and McEnroe-Marinas singled to left field, Biehl was able to catch a laser for the second out.
After 17 pitches from Adams, she was able to get Barker to pop up to Trice and Arizona went to the bottom of the sixth only down one run.
Anyssa Wild made her first appearance of the night but it was a short appearance as she flew out left field. Kavanagh was walked to first base and Duke proceeded to get on base off of a fielding error from Oklahoma.
On another wild play, Duke was thrown out at second, but Kavanagh advanced to third while Shockey got to first. Trice loaded the bases after she was walked and the Sooners’ lead was in jeopardy.
Another walk from the Sooners tied the game at seven when Stewart advanced to first and Kavanagh was brought home. The Wildcats took their first lead on yet another walk which brought in Shockey to give Arizona a 7-6 lead.
Arizona poured onto its lead when Biehl hit a grand slam homer to center field which brought in Trice, Stewart, and Jenkins, putting the UA lead at 11-6. Sniffen grounded out to first but the Wildcats did major damage in the sixth to take the lead going into the seventh.
Oklahoma’s potential comeback started with a single to center field by Garcia. A pop up to Biehl got the first out for the Wildcats, and the Sooners’ comeback did not come to fruition.
A double play from Biehl to Trice and then to Lucas gave Arizona the game one win over Oklahoma. Trice finished the game with hits while Jenkins and Biehl both brought in four runs.
Berry and Adams both finished with two strikeouts. Now Arizona heads into the second game with a win already under its belt. The Wildcats and Sooners will be back at it tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. for game two.
