Arizona coach Caitlin Lowe and UA assistant and pitching coach Christian Conrad know that having a full eight healthy arms in the circle is an advantage.
It’s such an advantage that the Wildcats are about to embark on a season where they can push the limits of innovation, which is exactly why Conrad was hired two years ago.
This new look for the Wildcats will be showcased starting in the preseason using a pitching-by-committee approach, plus even more analytics than before.
Arizona starting pitcher Miranda Stoddard (11) winds up in the first inning against Michigan St. on the opening night of the Candrea Classic in Tucson on Feb. 6, 2025. The Wildcats run-ruled the Spartans 15-0 in the opener and squeaked by in the nightcap 10-9.
It’s true that last season, with only four pitchers — Devyn Netz, Ryan Maddox and Sydney Somerndike were out with injuries for the entire season — the Wildcats took steps towards this new process, however, now, it will look like both coaches originally intended it to look.
Last season Aissa Silva and Miranda Stoddard were called on to burn through the bulk of the innings, along with help from Brooke Mannon and Ali Blanchard.
Now, one of the first things fans will notice is that all eight pitchers — Silva, Stoddard, Netz, Maddox, Somerndike, Mannon, Sarah Wright and Saya Swain — will make appearances over the preseason weekend tournaments.
“We're going to try to get more pitchers out there when we have to win six games in a weekend,” Conrad said. “Just like showing up to an MLB ballpark, you're going to have either a true starter or an opener. Then, we’ll have closers. We have two or three pitchers that I feel like will be everyday closers for us. You might see someone go out there, go get one out or go get three righties or lefties in a row, and then that's what they're doing for those games.
Arizona starter Sarah Wright (9) deals in the second game of the night against Michigan St. in Tucson on Feb. 6, 2025.
“If you're into major league baseball right now, I think you're going to see a lot of similarities with how we're doing it. I talked to (UA baseball assistant) Kevin (Vance) a few times to pick his brain about how he manages the pitchers. That's going to be a little more of what we're doing, not so much of the ride or die (with one pitcher). My biggest thing is using the preseason to develop the pitchers and to see what we're made of. That way, when we get to Big 12 play and to postseason, we're winning championships.”
Lowe said that part of this is also keeping certain pitchers fresh for later on in the season, as well as giving different looks to their opponents so they don’t get used to say, one pitcher the third time around the lineup. It also makes it harder to scout Arizona because teams have to prepare for eight different pitchers instead of two or three.
“I think (our pitchers) are just chomping at the bit to see what it looks like,” Lowe said. “Tell you what, there are six games in a weekend and it’s nice to have a full staff that is just ready to get after it. I know as position players, they look at that, too, and they’re excited about the tools we have to compete against people. I think that’s just been a whole reinvigorating feeling, is having them all healthy and ready to go.”
Conrad is at the forefront of bringing this new look to softball, along with using new technology and analytics. He started his career as a graduate assistant at Oregon under coach Mike White. Then, he moved onto Florida State to work with Lonni Alameda. What attracted him to that program was how they “were really maxing out their potential of their players, and like they were winning with maybe some people that weren't top recruits in their class. They literally won a national championship that way, too.”
The magic started happening during COVID after the world shut down. That’s when Alameda and Conrad started zooming with Nate Walker from Diamond Solutions every day to learn what went into the Tampa Bay Rays philosophy and analytics around using multiple pitchers during a game, including openers.
They figured if it worked for the Rays, why wouldn’t it work for them?
And it did — even if Conrad wasn’t around to see the results up close. By then, he had moved on to coach at LMU. One example of how this worked was Florida State’s Kathryn Sandercock, a three-time second-team All-American. In her senior year, she pitched six innings or more, nine times in 48 appearances. Her ERA went from 1.86 in her junior year to 1.44 in her senior year.
“When you see her maybe not start a game, and she's coming in to close, and you're like, ‘What are you doing? That's your best pitcher.’ It's like, ‘the data is telling us to do this,’” Conrad said. “It worked for them and it's going to work for us. Trust us. Allow these girls to work through it. Allow them to fail and recover. That's the beauty of our sport. That's why I love softball. We're not like football, where you have to win every game to make postseason and to make a run at a national championship. We just have to make sure that we are performing at our best by the time we make it to postseason. That's why I love that we can play 50 games and work and improve and keep building, keep troubleshooting.”
Arizona pitcher Ryan Maddox comes on in relief against Michigan State on the opening night of the Candrea Classic on Feb. 6, 2025, at Hillenbrand Stadium.
Walker is still consulting with Conrad now that he is at Arizona.
Getting to those analytics. A few of the tools the Wildcats use are Synergy and Yakkertech. They can see pitch-call tendencies of other programs and in Yakkertech, they can input a pitcher’s numbers, etc., and hitters can hit off that opponent. Arizona is one of a handful of programs in the country who have the Yakkertech technology.
With this, the Wildcat hitters can take many at-bats before they face pitchers like Texas Tech’s NiJaree Canaday and Oklahoma State’s Ruby Meylan. It’s not just watching film, it’s actually like taking real at-bats against these pitchers.
This technology and the numbers help Conrad break down everything from what a pitcher needs to work on to spin rate, spin efficiency and spin direction. Conrad said that you need two of those three things to create quality movement in your pitch.
While all eight pitchers are improving, Conrad said that Netz has elevated her game, and there may be a surprise, but he wouldn’t give all the secrets away just yet.
The analytics also helped Stoddard add a rise ball after years of being told she couldn’t throw one.
It’s also aided in recruiting — not only in identifying specific skills but in seeing things that are often overlooked. Conrad noted that the grad student, Swain, was “a steal.”
“I wish we had her for all four years,” he said. “I’m so glad she’s in our bullpen this year. She’s going to be a huge difference maker for us.”
Every Arizona pitcher bought into this new approach right away. It wasn’t hard for Conrad and Lowe to sell them — whether they were new to the program or returnees.
Arizona starting pitcher Devyn Netz gestures to her teammates as she rounds the bases on her three-run homer in the second inning against Michigan St. on Feb. 6, 2025, in Tucson.
“Numbers don’t lie,” Conrad said. “We're finding them opportunities to have success. I feel like all our pitchers are role players. Even Devyn is a role player. That's why I think they all have value to the program. (It’s about) showing them what that value is and really celebrating that. A pinch hitter out could be the reason why we win the game, and that could be a reason why we win a conference championship. In that high-leverage moment, we’re relying on them.
“They're also seeing that we're having success with it. Despite the injuries we had, we still were two wins away from a World Series bid (last year). I think it’s easy for them to lean into that.”
