Arizona softball breakdown: Why the Wildcats are still optimistic amid 13-game skid

To say the last five weeks of the Pac-12 season has been a slog for the Wildcats would be an understatement.

Arizona is riding a 13-game conference losing streak. Not exactly how the Wildcats expected their season to unfold.

As they head into the final two home series of the season, Arizona coach Caitlin Lowe knows that they control their own destiny when it comes to seeding in the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament — which will be held in Tucson from May 10-13 — and the NCAA Tournament, with the regionals starting the following week on May 19.

“That’s powerful,” Lowe said. “I think us being able to have it in our own hands, us being able to play this last piece of the season just going all out and taking control over each of the moments. I think that’s powerful, and that’s something they’re not taking lightly. I know they wanted to start it on Sunday, but to me that was the team we needed, and it’s a team we need for the next six games.”

Arizona had an opportunity to claim its first win in league play in fives weeks on Sunday at Oregon, jumping out to a 4-0 lead, but couldn’t quite finish the job, letting the Ducks get back in and eventually losing 7-4.

This weekend presents another shot at getting back on track as Arizona (25-21, 3-15 Pac-12) hosts Oregon State (12-25-1, 3-14-1 Pac-12) for a weekend series starting Friday at 6 p.m. at Hillenbrand Stadium.

Some might say that the Wildcats are now battling a crisis of confidence, and that is the root cause of the losing streak. But spend a little time with these student-athletes week in and week out this season — whether they’re winning or not — and it seems that is not the case. They seem loose and are joking and smiling — not tense, feeling the pressure or down on themselves.

“We all care for each other, and we all know we want to win,” third baseman Blaise Biringer said. “And it’s a bad circumstance happening right now. We’re trying to get our groove back. I feel like a lot of these girls wouldn’t want to go through this battle without anybody else. Our chemistry is really strong right now, (and) we’re just going to keep fighting for each other.”

Biringer has been one of the steady leaders this season. She has a slash line of .364/.429/.448 and went 2 for 3 against the Ducks Sunday and drove in a run. She added that the team is looking at the positive side of things — that the group is “taking small steps forward” and not looking back.

Most of the games Arizona has lost have been within reach. A hit here or there, and the season would have looked completely different. Only three games were out of reach. Two were against No. 2 UCLA (8-0, 14-5) and the other an 8-0 loss in the opener at Oregon last weekend.

Lowe said that turning things around for this young team will take the “fire” she saw Sunday.

“It takes a bunch of those days strung together of belief and confidence that they’re going to go out and compete and get (it) done every time. You don’t just show up on game day and then it happens that day,” Lowe said.

“It’s just a consistent way of approaching life in softball every single day. They can’t get knocked down from what the Sunday result was because the Sunday team that I saw, it didn’t look like we had a record to be honest. It looked like the first game of the season with them chomping at the bit to get out there.

“And I think just being able to close the door. Close the door, but also take things into our own hands. Everybody has the power with their bat, with their glove, to change this game. And regardless of how many runs we give up, we can score just as many and they know that. I think that’s where their confidence comes from is they can beat anyone in the country. They know that, but we have to execute on both sides of the ball.”

Biringer added that the team lost sight of “winning each inning and not getting comfortable with a four-run lead because everybody in the Pac is really good.”

Looking at the numbers alone, you wouldn’t expect the Wildcats to be in this position.

The Wildcats have one of the most powerful lineups in the Pac-12 and the nation. Two players are in the top 10 in batting average in the league — freshman Olivia DiNardo (.408, third) and Jasmine Perezchica (.382, ninth).

Allie Skaggs is the Pac-12 RBI leader with 57 (tied for fourth in the nation), with Devyn Netz bringing in 35. Those two are also in the top 10 in home runs, with Netz at (12 for third place and Skaggs at 11 in a tie for fifth place. Skaggs is also tied for fifth in the nation with 1.24 RBIs per game.

As a team, the Wildcats have the fifth-best batting average in the nation (.335); they’re seventh in scoring (6.91 runs per game — most in the Pac-12); and have the 10th-best on-base percentage (.418).

They are also one of the best defensive teams in the nation, with the second-best fielding percentage in the nation (.983) — second only to Oklahoma (.988).

So why are they on this losing streak?

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There are a lot of things that have gone into it.

Best league in the country?

One is the Pac-12 is really tough. Five teams — UCLA, Stanford, Washington, Utah and Oregon — are ranked in the Top 25, with Cal (16), UA (8) and ASU (7) getting votes. Oregon State is the only school not receiving any votes.

Having a schedule with Utah, Washington, Stanford, UCLA and Oregon in consecutive weeks is rough. There might not have been a tougher five weeks played across the nation.

Injuries and absences

It’s made even harder with injuries and absences from players who have a big role on your team.

When Carlie Scupin broke her forearm, which required surgery and a recovery of about six weeks in the heart of UA’s schedule, that was a big blow. It coincided with the start of the losing streak. Not only was Scupin a big bat in the lineup (.347/.451/.800, nine home runs, 28 RBIs), Lowe said it’s the “protection” she provided her teammates. Opponents know that they can pitch a little differently to this team without Scupin in the lineup. The fab freshman class of DiNardo, Dakota Kennedy, Tayler Biehl and Logan Cole have stepped up, but it’s still hard to replace someone like Scupin, who is also a big voice on the field.

Lowe said that just her presence in a game is important to this team. Scupin is taking batting practice this week and is expected back soon.

Next, the absences of Izzy Pacho and Sophia Carroll weren’t easy. Both were gone for personal reasons, with Pacho returning a few weeks ago. Lowe said that Carroll will not be back with the team this season.

Lowe said that the hardest part was not knowing who was playing from week to week. Carroll was not on the last two road trips to Stanford and Oregon but played at home. All of those decisions seemed to be made day by day.

“It was more not knowing what was happening every week,” Lowe said. “Today we have clarity in a lot of ways about who is available and what team is going, moving forward, that they needed. … It just feels like they are clear about where we are going now and who we are going to take to get there.”

Pitching, pitching, pitching

It’s easy to point the finger at the pitching.

After all, the Wildcats haven’t had one of the best pitchers in the country since the days of Danielle O’Toole and Taylor McQuillin. And we know it takes a few of these top-notch pitchers these days to win a national title. The Wildcats might be on their way with this year’s early enrollee, Aissa Silva, who has produced good outings, and next year’s top commit, Ryan Maddox.

Turning back to this year’s staff, it’s a fact that missed spots here and there have led to runs that have sunk the Wildcats, like the three-run blast on Sunday against Oregon, another three-run homer against UCLA and others. Still, it’s not that simple.

Netz is a proven ace — especially after last season’s run in the postseason (1.22 ERA). This season she has struck out more batters (107) than last year (83) in about the same number of innings (133⅓ vs. 136); has given up fewer home runs (14 vs. 24); has walked fewer batters (27 vs. 46); and has had more complete games (11 vs. seven.)

Like last year when Netz and Hanah Bowen became one of the hottest pitching duos in the country during the postseason — leading to Arizona being one of the last five teams standing at the Women’s College World Series — it just might take time and more reps in the circle for this staff to cut down on giving up big hits. Also, knowing that Scupin will be back at first base and in the lineup might help the pitchers lock in more.

With only six regular-season games left, this is the time for everything to come together.