Arizona's first trip to Iowa State was certainly a memorable one.
The Wildcats won a rescheduled series with a doubleheader sweep, mounted a couple of big comebacks, but ultimately dropped the finale on a walk-off home run.
A day after No. 13 Arizona (29-9, 11-4 Big 12) scored six runs to come back and win the series, Iowa State (22-15, 4-8) returned the favor with seven in its last at-bat to win the series finale, 12-10. The loss ended the Wildcats' eight-game winning streak and marked their first-ever loss to Iowa State.
In Game 3 on Monday, the Wildcats rallied from a 5-1 deficit but gave up seven runs in the seventh inning to get walked off.
Arizona senior utility Grace Jenkins started the game with an RBI double in the first inning. Then, in the fourth, senior outfielder Tiana Poole tied it up with an RBI single. In the fifth, Iowa State took the lead on a wild pitch and then sophomore infielder Kadence Shepherd hit an RBI double. The Cyclones scored on another wild pitch and followed by senior infielder Sydney Malott hitting an RBI single to make it 5-1.
In the sixth, Arizona scored nine runs, starting with one from an error and then an RBI double by sophomore infielder Jenna Sniffen.
Then, after scoring another run on an error, junior utility Regan Shockey drove in a run and the Wildcats took the lead on an RBI single by senior utility Sydney Stewart.
Next, Jenkins hit a three-run homer to give the Wildcats a five-run lead.
After holding the Cyclones scoreless in the sixth, ISU rallied in the seventh. First, they chipped away with RBI singles from sophomore outfielder Victoria Prado and senior infielder McKenna Andrew.
Arizona starting pitcher Jalen Adams deals to BYU in the third inning of their Big 12 season opener, March 5, 2026, at Hillenbrand Stadium. She went four innings with no earned runs in the 13-1 win.
Then sophomore utility Jessie Clemons hit an RBI double and senior outfielder Tatum Johnson got an RBI single before senior infielder Reagan Bartholomew hit the three-run walk-off homer.
Senior pitcher Jalen Adams (16-5), who is from Fort Dodge, Iowa, and transferred from Iowa, got the start, the third game of the series she appeared in. She went four-plus innings, giving way to sophomore pitcher Jenae Berry, who didn’t record an out but gave up two earned runs.
Freshman pitcher Rylie Holder replaced her and went 2⅔ innings, giving up five earned runs before Adams faced the final two I-State batters. Adams finished the game with five earned runs surrendered.
Berry and Holder threw the two wild pitches in the fifth.
In the second game on Sunday, the Wildcats scored six runs in the seventh inning to get the doubleheader sweep and take the series. Arizona has won three of its four Big 12 series, only losing the series at No. 2 Texas Tech.
Arizona struck first when Stewart drove in sophomore infielder Sereniti Trice with a sacrifice. Then, in the second, the Wildcats added another on a double by sophomore outfielder Addison Duke.
However, the home side responded in the bottom of the second with an RBI single by Andrews and a sac fly by Clemons to tie it up.
The Cyclones took the lead the next inning when sophomore utility Karlee Ford hit an RBI single. Then, in the fourth, Johnson and Ford each hit two-run home runs to give I-State a 7-2 lead.
In the seventh inning, Duke started Arizona’s rally with a two-run homer. Then senior infielder Tayler Biehl got an RBI double and Jenkins got a two-run double before freshman infielder Kez Lucas got the game-winning RBI single.
Arizona runner Grace Jenkins (8) manages to jar the ball from from the mitt of Arizona State catcher Samantha Swan (32) to score the second of two run on a hit by Kez Lucas in the fourth inning of their Big 12 game, Tucson, Ariz., March 20, 2026.
Jenkins’ double came with two strikes and two outs.
Adams got the win, with 3⅓ innings, giving up zero runs after she only lasted 2⅓ innings in the first game on Sunday, where she gave up five earned runs after starting the game. In game 2, Adams closed out the game after starter Holder left after 2⅓ innings when the Cyclones took the lead and Berry (3-0), who won game 1, lasted only 1⅓ innings, giving up four earned runs.
Arizona and Iowa State opened the series with a pair of games on Easter. UA won the first game 10-7 after jumping ahead 8-2.
The Wildcats struck first with four runs in the first inning. Stewart drove in a run on a sacrifice fly before Lucas hit a three-run homer.
The Cyclones responded with a two-run homer in the home half of the first by Shepherd.
Then Arizona added a couple more in the second when Trice hit an RBI triple and Biehl drove her in with a sac fly.
In the third, junior outfielder Tele Jennings and Sniffen each had solo homers.
However, Iowa State scored five in their third, off of three home runs. Bartholomew and Poole hit two-run homers and Malott had a solo shot.
Next, in the fifth, Stewart added an insurance run with a home run, and in the seventh, she drove in a score via a double.
The teams combined to hit eight home runs, four apiece.
The Wildcats continue their nine-game road trip with their final nonconference games of the season, a three-game series at No. 20 LSU (25-13, 6-9 SEC). The Tigers are the third SEC foe Arizona has played this year, after they went 1-2 against No. 3 Oklahoma and 1-1 against No. 1 Texas.
UA sophomore infielder Sereniti Trice hit her first home run of her college career vs. GCU March 24, 2026.
Extra bases
– Arizona is now 12-1 against Iowa State. The Wildcats are 2-1 against the Cyclones in Ames, 7-0 against them in Tucson and hold a 3-0 edge against ISU at neutral sites.
UA has also played them in Phoenix, Tempe, Las Cruces, New Mexico and Oklahoma City.
– Trice, who came to Arizona after one season at Iowa State, went 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs and an RBI in the first game, 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs in game 2 and 1-for-5 but scored a couple of times on Monday.
– Game 3 of the series was the Wildcats’ first Monday match of the season. Arizona is 6-2 on Sundays, 2-0 on Tuesdays, 0-0 on Wednesdays, 7-0 on Thursdays, 6-3 on Fridays and 8-3 on Saturdays.
