Arizona softball kicked off the season with a 3-2 Candrea Classic, a roller coaster opening weekend of ups and downs.
The Wildcats had the highs of a couple of run-rule wins and a no hitter on Opening Day and then a comeback win over No. 3 Oklahoma. Then, after losing to the Sooners by a football score on Saturday, the Wildcats nearly held on to win the series.
Here's what we learned from the Cats' debut as the season gets underway.
1. The Wildcats reloaded
After last season’s heartbreaking elimination in the Tucson Regional by Ole Miss, the immediate future looked dire for Arizona.
The Wildcats also lost 13 letter winners, seven pitchers, four position starters, two All-Americans and four All-Big 12 selections. Among those was UA’s top pitcher and batter, Big 12 Player of the Year Devyn Netz.
However, after nearly winning a three-game series against No. 3 Oklahoma, the Wildcats look poised to at least host regionals again. The Sooners are third in all four major rankings, behind only defending national champion Texas and incoming transfer happy Texas Tech.
UA’s series loss to OU came by one run when it was missing a pitcher who could end up being its ace.
Sunday’s 5-4 defeat came after the Sooners pounded the Wildcats, exacting revenge after Arizona beat them 11-6 on Friday.
“I thought we put ourselves in really good positions to win the series and a couple, a few moments we want back and I think had chances to score and put up some more runs,” said UA head coach Caitlin Lowe, “and I think that's going to fuel us for the rest of the season.”
Arizona stranded seven runners on Sunday but UA has only committed 1 error so far this year and that was by a pitcher.
On Friday, senior Arizona infielder Tayler Biehl hit a grand slam off sophomore pitcher Miali Guachino, who recorded two saves in the Tucson Regional last year for Ole Miss. Last season, Biehl hit one home run the whole year.
Arizona shortstop Tayler Biehl (2) runs over to celebrate the Cats' comeback win, 11-6, over Oklahoma, Feb. 6, 2026, in Tucson.
Biehl has been hitting fifth for the Wildcats this season, batting .333 with 6 RBIs in the first five games.
“I've seen her really step up, just really going in on her swing,” said UA senior utility Sydney Stewart. “Obviously her defense is really good … it's really cool to see her racking up those RBIs and just producing, it’s really cool to see.”
2. Pitching depth could be an issue
Arizona’s new-look pitching staff got an incomplete in its first test, holding its own against Oklahoma at times, getting drilled by the Sooners at others and including a historic start.
The Wildcats have four pitchers on the roster compared to eight last year and all their hurlers are solely pitchers. Last year, their top two pitchers, Netz and Miranda Stoddard, alternated between the circle and first base.
Eligibility ran out for Netz (152⅓ innings pitched) and Stoddard (105 IP) and four others transferred. UA’s only returning hurler is sophomore Sarah Wright, who pitched 4⅓ innings, going 1-0 in four appearances with a 8.08 ERA.
To make up for the seven losses, UA added transfers Jalen Adams, a senior from Iowa, and sophomore Jenae Berry from Indiana. Adams had a 2.26 career ERA for the Hawkeyes, going 25-6 with a 2.18 ERA and 130 strikeouts last season, earning All-Big Ten honors.
Berry, of Queen Creek, led the Hoosiers’ pitching staff with a .258 batting average against and a 4.39 ERA.
Rounding out Arizona’s pitching staff is freshman Rylie Holder, who was the 10th ranked recruit in the Line Drive Media's Elite 100. Holder didn’t debut over the weekend but did dress out.
Lowe said Holder was out with an injury.
“She’s day to day,” Lowe said. “She's just coming back from something.”
Without Holder, UA’s pitching staff battled but the Sooners’ potent offense was too much. Wright gave up five home runs and 13 earned runs and Berry finished the weekend with a 11.20 ERA.
Arizona starting pitcher Jalen Adams (12), on in relief, cranks up a throw in the early innings against Oklahoma, Feb. 6, 2026, in Tucson.
Adams went 1-1 against the Sooners but with only three pitchers, she had to throw on all four days and after holding Oklahoma to three runs through six innings, took the loss in the seventh on back to back home runs after the Sooners’ prolific offense got to face Adams for the third day in a row.
Though she lost Sunday’s rubber match, Adams impressed, shutting down Oklahoma’s offense on Friday after the Sooners scored four runs in the first inning. Adams gave up a home run to the first batter she faced but led the Wildcats to the upset win.
“I think it was just a pitch too far over the plate, I think you come in and you try to get ahead right away, so that was the original goal,” Adams said, “but I think after that I kind of settled in I was like, ‘you know what? I'm not gonna strike everybody out, that's not the type of pitcher I am, need to trust my D' and once I did that, they had my back and we got all the outs we needed to win the game.”
Adams debuted with a 5-inning no hitter in Arizona’s first game on Thursday. She was a hit by pitch away from a perfect game and is the first UA pitcher to throw a no hitter in her first game.
Then on Friday she gave up two earned runs to Oklahoma, which scored 21 on Saturday.
“Oh, it was amazing, you know? I don't think I can really say much more than that,” Adams said on Friday. “I love this team and I love this environment and this community and I'm excited to see what we can do this year.”
3. Starting with a bang
The Candrea Classic was originally slated to be a standard early season tournament but became a couple series after teams canceled.
On Thursday, the Wildcats played Southern Utah in a doubleheader, welcoming back SUU associate head coach, Taylor McQuillin, a former Wildcat star, and Sabino alumni pitchers Riley Nielson and Avery Nielson.
That was followed with hosting Oklahoma on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for what was basically a regular series.
Normally the softball season leads off with a bunch of run-rule wins over directional or cold-weather schools.
A fan catches an Arizona home run during Game 1 of the Candrea Classic against Southern Utah at Hillenbrand Stadium, Feb. 5, 2026.
The early season tournaments are more likely to get the “fans can sit anywhere” announcement due to empty seats in the main grandstand rather than a sellout, like Saturday’s game was.
On Friday and Sunday the atmosphere felt like an NCAA Tournament game. Though fans didn't get much to cheer about on Saturday when OU went up 5-0 in the first inning, the vast majority stayed until the end.
According to an Oklahoma radio broadcast, OU head coach Patty Gasso felt the crowd rattled the Sooners on Friday.
“It's great, I love it, I don't think it really gets better than this,” Adams said. “The support's amazing and I think we really leaned into that, especially in those big moments.”
Lining up a single big opponent for the season opener, however, has it's challenges. The issue is getting to 56 games since the UA is not near that many other Division I softball teams.
“The toughest thing, honestly, with softball is that we have 56 games we're trying to get in the schedule and we don't have a lot of midweek opponents, so we have to fill our schedule with five or six games a weekend,” Lowe said. “So that's the tricky part ... It’s getting people to come here and it's making sure you get all the games you need, all the matchups you want.”
