Arizona’s bats went cold in chilly Southern California as the Wildcats had to settle for a series split with San Diego State.
On Saturday, No. 13 Arizona (40-10) fell 1-0 to San Diego State (30-16) to split the two-game series at SDSU. The Wildcats only managed three hits.
Going into the week, Arizona was ranked in the top 20 in the country in 14 offensive categories. Then the Wildcats scored 16 runs in a doubleheader against New Mexico State on Tuesday.
Saturday’s loss snapped Arizona’s three-game winning streak.
In the first inning, San Diego State sophomore outfielder Julie Holcomb got on base with an infield hit with one out, but junior catcher/utility Sydney Stewart threw her out when she tried to steal second base.
Freshman Ryan Maddox (3-1) started in the circle for Arizona. The Fresno, Calif., product won the 2023 California Gatorade Player of the Year.
Maddox went 4 1/3 innings, giving up four hits, three walks, an unearned run while striking out three, taking the loss.
Arizona’s Devyn Netz pitches in relief in the fourth inning against UCF in their Big 12 game March 8, 2025, at Hillenbrand Stadium.
In the second inning, Aztec senior catcher Cali Decker drew a lead-off walk. San Diego State advanced her to second with a sacrifice bunt and senior pitcher/utility Grace Uribe drew a walk but Maddox got a strikeout and then fly out to end the threat.
In the third, Holcomb hit a bloop single that Arizona junior left fielder Dakota Kennedy dove to try and catch, but just missed. However, the Wildcats threw Holcomb out at second as she tried to stretch it into a double.
Uribe (9-1) started at pitcher for San Diego State. She went six innings, giving up two hits and no walks. Sophomore Cece Cellura came in to get the save after UA senior pitcher/infielder Devyn Netz defeated her on Friday.
After three straight three-up, three-down at-bats to start the game, in the fourth, Kennedy broke up the no-hitter with a single. Kennedy advanced to second after a sacrifice from sophomore utility Regan Shockey, but she was stranded in scoring position after a strikeout and pop out.
In San Diego State’s fourth inning, sophomore infielder Jazmin Williams hit a lead-off double, but the Wildcats got a fly out, strike out and ground out consecutively to leave her on base.
In the fifth, San Diego State had runners at the corners with one out after a walk and single followed by a fielding error but UA junior right fielder Kaiah Altmeyer to knock Maddox out of the game.
Graduate student first baseman/pitcher Miranda Stoddard threw out the lead runner.
The Aztecs, however, scored their first run of the series when Holcomb hit an RBI infield single where Stoddard committed a fielding error and was unable to throw out the runner at home.
Netz relieved Maddox, pitching 1 2/3 innings, giving up a hit and no walks or runs. In the two-game series, Netz pitched 8 2/3 innings of shutout ball, giving up four hits.
In the top of the sixth, Kennedy got her second hit of the game and the Wildcats’ second knock. In the seventh, Netz got the Wildcats’ third hit but the Aztecs finished off Arizona with a double play.
Led by Netz and Shockey, UA opened the series with a 1-0 win on Friday.
Netz homered and pitched a complete game while Shockey went 2 for 3 and robbed a San Diego State home run.
Arizona got on the board vs the Utes on Sunday, when junior left fielder Dakota Kennedy, seen here on Saturday, March 15, drove in a run.
Netz (19-5) struck out five and allowed three hits and no walks to get the shutout. Cellura (12-7) lost the pitchers’ duel after a complete game where she gave up five hits and no walks in addition to the round tripper while striking out three.
With the game still 0-0, Shockey jumped up and caught what would have been an Aztec home run in the third inning.
Then Netz hit the game winner, her 17th home run of the season, to lead off the seventh inning. In the home half of the seventh, she struck out the last two San Diego State batters to get the win.
Up next for Arizona is its first-ever trip to the University of Houston for a three-game series to close out the regular season.
The Cougars (22-20, 4-14) split the first two games of their series at UCF this weekend, winning 10-4 on Saturday with the rubber match set for Sunday.
Extra bases
— Arizona finished its nonconference schedule 26-3. The Wildcats are 11-3 in road games.
— Arizona split the series at SDSU but won the season series against San Diego State 2-1. The Wildcats beat the Aztecs, then ranked No. 23, 11-3 in six innings in the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif., on Mar. 2
— The Wildcats had won eight in a row and 16 of their last 17 against San Diego State. Arizona is 3-3 at the Montezuma Mesa, having played there twice in 1985 and once in 2001 and 2015.
— Like Arizona (behind Texas Tech in the Big 12), San Diego State is in second in the Mountain West, trailing only Nevada.
