Regan Shockey, with two outs and the bases loaded, chopped a single to the left side of the infield, scoring pinch-runner Kiki Escobar for the 9-8 win, evening the series against rival Arizona State at Hillenbrand Stadium Saturday night.
“It’s about damn time, honestly,” said Shockey, laughing about getting the game-winning hit after being hitless in her previous four at-bats. “Great timing, I guess, saved it for the last inning.”
The victory comes after being run-ruled in the three previous games, the most recent being a 16-5 defeat in five innings to Arizona State (23-8, 3-5 Big 12) on Friday night.
“It shows how much we can keep pushing; we have the ability to win, we just have to believe it,” Shockey said about breaking the three-game skid. “I think yesterday wasn’t a great demonstration of who we are. I think today was better.”
Arizona State crowded the base paths early. Jalen Adams walked leadoff hitter Kaylee Pond on five pitches, Yazzy Avila reached first on a fielder’s choice, and Ashleigh Mejia singled to left center on a missed diving catch by Addison Duke. Arizona State’s next two batters flew and grounded out, ending what could’ve been a disastrous inning for Arizona.
The Sun Devils made quick work of No. 11 Arizona (22-8, 5-3) in the bottom of the first. Meika Lauppe struck out Arizona’s first two batters looking, and Tayler Biehl flied out, ending the inning.
Sydney Stewart and Emma Kavanagh walked, and Grace Jenkins singled up the middle to load the bases with no outs to start the second. Kez Lucas doubled down the third base line, scoring two to get the Wildcats on the board first. Kavanagh scored on a fielder’s choice to short by Jenna Sniffen, giving Arizona a 3-0 lead after two.
The Wildcats added two more runs in the third before Arizona State could record an out. Biehl reached third on a bunt due to a throwing error by Avila, scoring Sereniti Trice from first. Biehl scored on a passed ball.
Two outs later, Kavanagh scored on a single from Lucas, giving Arizona a six-run lead.
After a single from Sniffen, Arizona State brought in former Wildcats pitcher Aissa Silva, also a Mountain View grad, in relief for Lauppe. Two pitches later, Duke doubled to right field, barely getting over Mejia’s head, scoring Lucas and Sniffen, extending Arizona’s lead to eight after three innings.
The Sun Devils’ bats came alive in the top of the fourth. Tiare Ho-Ching singled to center, scoring Corie Shull. Brooklyn Ulrich hit a three-run home run, putting the Sun Devils within striking distance.
Ryan Brown grounded out to second, scoring Salpointe Catholic graduate Yannixa Acuna, shrinking Arizona’s lead to three.
“We had to control what we can control, we can’t control the past. We had to keep pushing through, keep hitting and scoring,” Shockey said about the mentality of the team in the dugout after Arizona State started creeping back into the game. “If you keep dwelling on what happened the inning before, you’re never going to succeed going forward.”
Arizona State added two more runs in the top of the fifth. Katie Chester scored on a fielding error by Biehl, and Samantha Swan scored on a single by Ho-Ching down the left field line.
After Rylie Holder walked Ulrich, the bases were loaded for Arizona State with one out. The Sun Devils did not capitalize on the bases-loaded opportunity with a strikeout from Pond and Acuna getting out on a fielder’s choice.
On the first pitch of the sixth, Mejia hit a solo shot to center, tying the game up at 8.
“They didn’t let anybody or anything faze them tonight,” Arizona coach Caitlin Lowe said about some of the tough stretches her pitchers went through tonight. “They didn’t let any of the runs bother them; they just kind of went right at it.”
Still tied at 8 going into the bottom of the seventh with a chance to walk it off for the Wildcats, Jenkins got it started with a single to left center. Silva struck out Kavanagh for the first out. Lucas responded with a single to shallow left, putting two on base for Arizona. Sniffen flied out to right, getting the second out. Silva hit Duke with a pitch, loading up the bases for Shockey, who had the game-winning hit to even the series, setting up the rubber match between the two teams.
“Score starts 0-0, and we got to learn from Friday against the pitcher we’re going to face, and we have to be the best at executing,” Lowe said about Sunday’s rubber match. “Sunday’s the day of adjustments for both teams. It’s who goes out and who has the best at-bats with the information they have. I choose our team in that scenario.”
The series finale starts at 12 p.m. at Rita Hillenbrand Stadium.
