After dropping the series opener, Arizona softball won two in a row against No. 18 Oklahoma State to take its fourth straight series.
Led by senior pitcher/infielder Devyn Netz, the Wildcats beat the Cowgirls (23-11, 5-5 Big 12) 3-0 on Sunday. Arizona (33-7, 10-5) improved to 7-2 against ranked teams.
“I think it’s huge because it proves that we can beat any team in the country and I think we’ve proven that against Texas, against Stanford, top teams that we faced, especially UCLA,” Netz said. “So, I think that this series win proves that we can face any team two, three times, you name it and we can compete.”
Sunday featured a rematch of Friday’s starters in Netz for UA and junior Ruby Meylan (15-4) for OSU. Meylan transferred from Washington, where she went 3-2 against Arizona, though 1-2 last season.
Netz (15-4) pitched five plus innings, giving up 2 hits, 3 walks, no runs and getting the win, before graduate student Miranda Stoddard came into relieve her.
Arizona’s first baseman Miranda Stoddard (11), left, takes the circle in relief as she and starter Devyn Netz (34) swap positions against Oklahoma St. in the seventh inning of their Big 12 game, April 4, 2025, Tucson, Ariz., 2025.
In the third inning, sophomore utility Regan Shockey drove in Arizona’s first run, scoring junior infielder Tayler Biehl, who had just stolen her eighth base in eight attempts.
“Tayler Biehl was huge all weekend, I can point to a lot of her defensive plays that had become standard place in the scorebook but she makes them look easy and she’s awesome on the bases and I was most proud of her growth at the plate,” said UA head coach Caitlin Lowe. “She saw so many pitches this weekend and has really grown up in that regard and has been able to swing at what she wants to swing at.”
In the sixth, Oklahoma State loaded the bases but Stoddard got a strikeout and junior Aissa Silva came into pitch for the first time since Mar. 19 at GCU and induced a groundout to leave three Cowgirls on base.
“I think pressure is a privilege, a big privilege to have and to know that my team and my coaches trust me in those big positions is really good and I really like the pressure to be honest,” Silva said.
In the sixth, Netz hit a 2-run homerun over the batter’s eye.
Arizona shortstop Tayler Biehl (2) dives to snare a liner by Oklahoma St. batter Micaela Wark (12) that ended up a double play and got the Wildcats out of a bases loaded jam in the fifth inning of their Big 12 game, April 4, 2025, Tucson, Ariz., 2025.
In the seventh inning, Stoddard came back in to get her first save of the season.
On Saturday, Arizona evened the series with a 12-4 win in five innings, their fourth run rule win over a ranked team.
Oklahoma State struck first, after Warsop drove in a run and sophomore infielder Karli Godwin knocked in two in the first inning.
Arizona responded in the home half of the inning with an RBI double by junior utility Kaiah Altmeyer. Then in the second Sniffen scored on an error.
Junior catcher Amanda Hasler hit a solo homerun. Then in the bottom of that inning Sniffen hit a triple that drove in two runs to tie it up.
In the fourth, the Wildcats took the lead after Altmeyer drew a bases loaded walk, junior outfielder Dakota Kennedy scored on a wild pitch and junior utility Sydney Stewart hit a grand slam over the batter’s eye.
Then in the fifth, sophomore utility Emily Schepp hit an RBI single and Stoddard drove in another run after Altmeyer slid under the tag to get the walk off win.
Arizona centerfielder Kaiah Altmeyer (24) gets driven to the wall by a shot from Oklahoma St.’s Megan Bloodworth (55) in the seventh inning of their Big 12 game, April 4, 2025, Tucson, Ariz., 2025.
Freshman Ryan Maddox got the start in the circle, going 2 1/3 innings, giving up 4 earned runs on 6 hits and a walk. Stoddard relieved her, going 2 2/3 innings, striking out two while not giving up a hit or any runs. After her walk off hit she got the win, improving her record to 8-0.
The Wildcats dropped the series opener on Friday, 4-2, when Oklahoma State scored four unanswered runs in the seventh inning.
Arizona left 10 runners on base and went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
Altmeyer drove in Arizona’s first run on a sacrifice fly in the first inning. Stoddard got UA’s second RBI, drawing a bases loaded walk.
In the seventh inning, junior outfielder Claire Timm ended the shut out with a solo homerun. After Oklahoma State chased Netz from the game, Stoddard came in to relieve her and gave up a 3-run homerun by sophomore infielder Rosie Davis.
Netz got the start at pitcher, going 6 1/3 innings, giving up 9 hits, a walk and 3 earned runs despite throwing six innings of shutout ball. Stoddard pitched 2/3 of an inning, giving up one earned run on one hit.
Lowe said “it’s awesome” to see Netz have a good outing and hit a homerun like she did on Sunday but the fact that she doesn’t let one affect the other is what she’s most proud of.
“I think sometimes it does influence (her) in a good way, but at the same time she hasn’t let defeat in the circle really mess with her offensively, I think she’s done that maybe two games where it affected her,” Lowe said. “And I think younger Devyn would be proud of older Devyn right now because that’s growth and being able to help the team in any way she can matters because it’s not always gonna be there on one side, but when it’s there on both sides it feels pretty good.”
Up next for Arizona is their first-ever trip to Lawrence, Kansas to face the Jayhawks (17-17, 4-8). Kansas lost a series this weekend at ASU after they dropped the rubber match 4-3.
Extra bases
– Saturday’s game was Arizona’s 15th run-rule win. The last time UA lost by the mercy rule was May 24 last year when Oklahoma State beat them 8-0 in five innings in the Super Regionals.
– Sunday was Alumni Day for the UA. They honored softball alumna and former UA executive senior associate director of athletics Erika Barnes.
Former UA head coach Mike Candrea joined the alumni on his field.
