Sunday provided a reminder of why postseason softball is fun.
Stanford upset No. 6 seed Alabama and ace Montana Fouts in the win-or-go-home second game of the day. The last time Stanford went to the Super Regionals was in 2011.
Arizona was up next. Devyn Netz threw a two-hit shutout as the Wildcats beat No. 15-seeded Missouri 1-0 to advance.
Another Pac-12 team, Oregon State, had its way with No. 11 Tennessee. The Beavers dominated, outscoring the Vols 11-3 in both games to make their first visit to the Super Regoinals in 16 years. The Beavers will take on Stanford, assuring that at least one Pac-12 team is headed to the Women's College World Series. Two other conference teams, No. 5 UCLA and No. 8 Arizona State, also advanced.
Of course, none of the upsets may have been bigger than what Mississippi State — Arizona's Super Regional opponent — did to No. 2 Florida State. The Bulldogs beat the Seminoles twice on Sunday to advance to their first-ever Super Regionals.
Arizona is a nearly-annual participant in the Supers, having advanced in every full season since 2014. It might help explain why first-year coach Caitlin Lowe didn't get caught up in an any upset talk after Arizona beat the Bulldogs.
"I think this team has expectations for themselves," she said. "I don't think they take anyone else’s expectations into account … because I think if we play our game, we're going to be in good shape."
Arizona's Izzy Pacho throws to first base during the Wildcats' May 12 game against Stanford. The former Ironwood Ridge High Schools star hasn't committed an error since April 27.
Coming up clutch
Izzy Pacho’s defensive play on the hot corner has really bloomed.
Range of motion is something that Pacho has worked on since the fall, and it’s making opponents take notice. Pacho has snagged every bunt, ground ball, fly ball that comes her way.
Pacho carries a fielding mark of .995 heading into the Supers. The Ironwood Ridge High School graduate has committed only five errors all season — and none since April 27.
In the sixth inning of Sunday’s 1-0 win over host Missouri, Pacho ran to catch a foul ball up the line. She leaned against the wall into the stands, fell onto her back and got up holding her glove up to show she had the ball clearly.
"I thought Izzy Pacho was huge," Lowe said..
It was so huge that it made the top three plays on ESPN's "SportsCenter."
Playoff win 'special'
The Wildcats had an up-and-down regular season, in part due to injuries. Sophia Carroll missed time after suffering a concussion, while Janelle Meono was out for six weeks with a stress fracture in her foot and even Hanah Bowen missed games.
There were glimpses of their performances in the three wins in the Regionals, but only a few games all season when Arizona played as one.
From the outside looking in, making postseason and winning has been totally unexpected. Yet, Lowe said she saw it early on.
“It’s special. It’s special for these women,” Lowe said. “I've had a back seat and watching them work. And ever since the fall, I know we have the talent. And I think we've just been trying to prove to ourselves this whole time that we are the team that we believe we are. It doesn't really matter what other people think. We put in the work every single day. And I've watched them do that and go through some bumps along the way. But at the end of the day, they let it make them stronger. And I've never seen them closer than they (were on Sunday). So that was just exciting for me to see. And to know that all that work paid off for them.”
Old friends reunite
Allie Skaggs played her first three seasons of high school softball at Bullard in Louisville before moving to Tucson and enrolling at Ironwood Ridge for her senior year. One of her teammates at Bullard was Mississippi State’s Riley Hull. In their final season as teammates in 2019, Skaggs won Kentucky’s Gatorade Player of the Year while Hull won the state’s Johnny Bench Award, given annually to the best catcher.
Hull transferred to Pulaski County High School and went on to claim back-to-back Gatorade Player of the Year awards in 2020 and 2021.
Hull now plays mostly first base, though she has seen action in right field and behind the plate. The freshman is hitting .248 and has driven in 17 runs.
Skaggs, meanwhile, has hit 23 home runs, driven in 57 runs and is batting .374.
As soon as Skaggs learned that Hull would be her opponent in the Super Regionals, she tweeted out a photo of the two of them from high school. "Full circle moment!!!," she wrote. "See you in Starkville Riley Hull!”
Inside pitch
• Mississippi State right fielder Chloe Malau’ulu’s father, George, was a standout UA quarterback from 1989-1992. In his senior year, he threw for 1,210 yards and the Wildcats upset No. 1-ranked Washington. Chloe Malau'ulu made second team All-SEC and SEC All-Defensive team. Her younger sister, Thessa, plays at UCLA.
• Arizona and MSU last played in 2018, with the UA won 4-3 in an NCAA Regional game at Hillenbrand Stadium. Bowen and Hannah Martinez are the only Wildcats remaining from the 2018 roster, though neither played in the game. MSU's Mia Davidson played, hitting a solo home run off Arizona's Alyssa Denham in the first inning. Davidson enters the Super Regionals with 91 career home runs, the most in Southeastern Conference history.
• Prepare to see a lot of Mississippi State in the coming years. The Wildcats will host the Bulldogs in football on Sept. 10, then travel to Starkville, Mississippi, in 2023.
