Devyn Netz and Allie Skaggs are not typical Tucsonans.
Netz calls herself a California kid, a native of Sierra Madre who attended three years of highs school in Pasadena. Skaggsβ accent comes out when she mentions the name of her hometown, βLoo-uh-ville.β
Neither Wildcat grew up in Tucson, yet the city is still home to them. Netz and Skaggs both relocated to Tucson for their senior years of high school at Ironwood Ridge. Now, theyβre forging their own path as part of a Wildcats team thatβs playing in the Womenβs College World Series. Arizona opens play in the double-elimination tournament on Thursday with a 6:30 p.m. game against No. 7 seed Oklahoma State. The Wildcats have yet to lose in the postseason, winning the NCAA Regionals in three games and sweeping through the Super Regionals in two.
Six locals play on this seasonβs Arizona team. Skaggs and Netz are joined by redshirt junior Izzy Pacho (Ironwood Ridge), sophomore Carlie Scupin (Tucson), sophomore Blaise Biringer (Cienega) and βsuper seniorβ Bailey Thompson (Canyon del Oro). This yearβs squad has the most locals on it since at least 1986, when Mike Candrea took over the program. Candreaβs squads always featured at least one Southern Arizona player, however.
The Wildcatsβ local vibes are most noticeable in the infield, where three players β Scupin at first base, Skaggs at second base and Pacho at third base β played at least one season of high school ball here. Shortstop Sophia Carroll played high school ball at Phoenix Shadow Ridge.
βI always laugh because I just call myself, like, (a) fake Tucsonan,β said Skaggs, who grew up in Louisville and attended Ballard High School before moving west. βIβm the odd one out, but I still feel so welcomed and people think of me as a Tucsonan. I feel like Iβm the one of four (in the infield) who is not a real Arizona kid, but itβs been incredible. I feel so at home β they make me feel so welcomed and I feel like Iβve been there for so long. β¦ I think itβs cool just to have kids from the same area grow up and go play on that big stage together. I think thatβs just incredible just because I feel like itβs such a hard thing to do is to go play in college at a big school and the fact that itβs kids that grew up together that are playing together now at that level. It gives me goosebumps.β
Skaggs and Netz both moved to Tucson β and just down the block from each other β after committing to Arizona. The UA was always close to their hearts. Skaggsβ parents, Jim and Michelle, are UA alums. Netzβs father, Dan, grew up in Tucson; her brother, Dawson, pitches for the Wildcatsβ baseball team.
That doesnβt mean the UA was everybodyβs dream school. Devyn Netz initially thought the UA was βa cool school, but itβs in the middle of nowhere; like, who wants to go to Tucson to go to school?β
She warmed up to Arizona after looking at YouTube videos of the Wildcatsβ coaches. She noticed Candreaβs coaching style,and marveled at howe Lowe and fellow assistant Taryne Mowatt-McKinney interacted with players. Netz went to a UA camp and was smitten. She emailed director of recruiting Stacey Iveson to tell her she wanted to be a Wildcat.
Netz was certainly qualified. A two-time first-team all-state player at Pasadena Maranatha, Netz was listed by Extra Innings as the No. 6 recruit in her class. In 10 games at Ironwood Ridge β the rest of the 2020 season was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic β she posted a 0.75 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 28 innings. Netz also hit .452 with two home runs and two doubles.
Skaggs, meanwhile, didnβt even think she could play collegiately until she was in eighth or ninth grade. Thatβs when Skaggs received an email from Radford University, showing interest.
Devyn Netz played at Ironwood Ridge after transferring from Maranatha High School in Pasadena, California.
Skaggs always attended Arizonaβs camps. She was in the batting cage one day when Iveson pulled her aside to say Candrea wanted to watch her. She would eventually visit the UA and commit to the Wildcats.
At Louisville Ballard, Skaggs was named the 2019 Gatorade Kentucky Player of the Year and was listed as the No. 13 recruit in her class by Extra Innings. Over three seasons, she set school records in career slugging percentage (.955), on-base percentage (.561), batting average (.492), hits (220), home runs (41) and doubles (50). She hit .483 with five home runs and 15 RBIs in an abbreviated senior season at I-Ridge.
A conversation at a UA camp led Skaggs and Netz to team up for the Nighthawks.
βI was like, βHey, you should come to Ironwood. Thatβs where Iβm going. You want to come?ββ Skaggs asked. βThen, boom! It happened. β¦ Itβs obviously unfortunate that we only got 10 games, but still, even in those 10 games is like man, you get a little bit of a glimpse into the competitiveness that we both bring to the table. It would have been fun to see where our team could have ended up, but I mean, weβre here now, I think Iβm finally over it.β
Now both players have a chance to put their stamp on this WCWS. Both Skaggs and Netz were both on the roster in last seasonβs appearance, but they were slotted behind βsuper seniorsβ at their positions β Reyna Carranco at second and Alyssa Denham and Mariah Lopez in the circle.
This year, βwe get to go play in it,β Skaggs said. βThat is the absolute coolest thing. Like youβre telling me that Iβm going to be the three-hole for the Arizona Wildcats at the World Series. What? It makes me emotional. β¦ Just getting to the World Series is amazing, but we get to play in it. We are the people who are going to make an impact and weβre going to do our best to take the team as far as we can. It makes me so excited. I just look to my left and to my right β these are the people that I want to go compete with.β
Arizona first baseman Carlie Scupin played at Tucson High, one of six locals who now play for the Wildcats.
Inside pitch
The Wildcats say they arenβt feeling any extra pressure, even though both Skaggs and Netz are playing for such much more β representing their families and the community.
βObviously, itβs tradition to come to the World Series β UA does that β but I feel like this team is so different,β Skaggs said. βWeβre trying to pave our own new path. We want to keep coming back to the World Series but weβre doing it with the people that just want to go play softball. Thatβs the thing thatβs got us through so far is weβre not stressed about having to live up to Arizonaβs expectations. Weβre just like, βLetβs just go see if we can win a game. No one expects us to, so why not just try it?β β¦
βI donβt know how many people counted on us to be one of the final eight teams. Now that weβre here itβs pretty much like, βWhoa, weβre back for the second year in a row?β And with this team, too. We graduated a lot of great players. Now that itβs the people that were waiting their turn and like we did it again, I think thatβs my favorite part about it is like the new people, weβre getting to show what we had and weβre showing that we are competing just as much as previous Arizona teams have.β
