ESPN’s Holly Rowe posed the same question to both Arizona coach Caitlin Lowe and Oregon State coach Laura Berg before Friday night’s win-or-go-home game in the Women’s College World Series.
“Who is the best outfielder to ever play college softball, Lowe or Berg?”
Lowe refused to answer. “No way, absolutely not. We loved playing outfield together.”
Berg’s response: “Caitlin Lowe. I’m serious. The speed, the range, the arm ….”
The two played college softball a decade apart, Lowe for UA and Berg for Fresno State. Lowe and Berg then roamed the outfield together for the 2008 Olympic silver-medal winning team coached by former UA boss Mike Candrea.
In reality, their relationship goes back even further.
“It started when I was little — she’s been my idol as an outfielder, as a softball player, as a human being and I was lucky enough that she played for so long that I got to play with her,” Lowe said. “She is one of my favorite teammates that I’ve ever had. I know she’s a great coach. I know her players look up to her, and she does things the right way.”
So who really was the best outfielder to ever play college softball?
Berg was a four-time All-American who ranks second all-time with 396 career hits. She was the only Bulldog to collect 300 or more hits and also go error-less in 160 consecutive games. She holds hits, runs and triples marks, as well.
Berg is also the most decorated USA Olympic softball athlete ever, owning three gold and one silver medal.
Lowe was also a four-time All-American as well as the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year and Pac-10 Player of the Year. She remains the UA’s career leader in stolen bases, ranks second in batting average and in the top 10 in hits, triples and runs. Lowe is one of only a handful of players to have more than 300 hits, 200 runs and 100 stolen bases while batting .400 in her career.
Lowe also won gold at Pan American Games and World Cup with USA softball.
In 2020, ESPN and fans voted on the greatest college softball team ever. Lowe edged out Berg in the voting, 14.39% to 12.78%.
As coaches, the two are now tied.
Berg’s Beavers took the regular-season series, winning two of three games. Lowe then led the Wildcats to a 3-1 win in Friday’s Women’s College World Series game.
When the teams gathered on the field after Friday’s game, Berg was wearing a mask. She tried to fist-bump Lowe; Arizona’s coach would have none of that.
“She’s a little under the weather. She didn’t want to hug me at first. But then I was like, ‘Come on, Bergy.’ So, I went in for it,” Lowe said.
More defensive gems
All postseason long, the Wildcats have made stellar defensive plays.
Friday night was no different. In the third inning, right fielder Paige Dimler ran in and dove for a catch to record the second out of the inning.
In the fourth inning, Janelle Meoño tracked down a fly ball at the center field wall. And in the seventh inning, Izzy Pacho added another catch to her highlight reel, going to her left to catch a hot smash.
“Paige Dimler was huge — not just for the out but for the energy that it provided us,” Lowe said. “… I thought Izzy Pacho at third base was lights out. Those could have been (hits) easy. Even Sophia Carroll almost throwing out the runner (in the second inning) … I just thought the momentum was there all day (Friday), and it fed us into our offense.”
Bats — and hats — on fire
The Wildcats sported rally caps in Friday’s fifth and sixth innings, and were rewarded with two runs. Then Arizona brought out something new — plastic red firefighter hats that were worn by Hannah Martinez and Allie Skaggs.
“Honestly, we got Firehouse Subs for before the game. They gave us fireman hats with the Firehouse Subs,” Lowe said. “Our bats were going to be on fire (Friday), so we just rolled with it.”
The Texas-Arizona connection
Bella Dayton transferred from Arizona to Texas after last season to be closer to her Wylie, Texas, home, and to get playing time. The outfielder was a freshman in the pandemic-shortened season in 2020 and saw action in 20 games. In the 2021 season, she played in 44 games. She was named the No. 15 recruit in her class by Softball America — the same class as Arizona’s Sharlize Palacios and Meoño.
Dayton is hitting .271 as a regular outfielder for the Longhorns. In Texas’ opening round upset of No. 5-seed UCLA Thursday, she went 2 for 4 and crushed a two-run homer.
She did not reach base in Saturday’s 7-2 loss to Oklahoma.
Inside pitch
The Pac-12 rolled into OKC with three teams, the most of any conference. Two of them — Arizona and UCLA — remain with the field cut down to six teams. UCLA sent Northwestern packing on Friday; then Arizona took out Oregon State.
“It just doesn’t shock me because our conference, it’s hard, and every single team is good, every single weekend. We have great competition,” Lowe said. “No game is going to be easy going into that conference. … Never surprised by the Pac-12 conference because we really do have some of the best teams in the country.”
Three unseeded teams (Texas, Arizona and Oregon State) made the WCWS for the first time in the history of the tournament. Last year, James Madison was the first unseeded team to make the semifinal round. Texas or UA will be the second.
