Tucson natives Blaise Biringer, Bailey Thompson slide into home after starting careers elsewhere

When Blaise Biringer told her family members that she was transferring to the UA, they had questions — perhaps none bigger than this one.

Where could they buy season tickets?

The way the Biringers see it, they have to make up for lost time. Biringer, a Southern Arizona native and former Cienega High School star, spent last season in Oxford, Mississippi — a long way from Tucson and Nogales.

“They’ve never really watched me play at this level. I’m excited to have them see me do my best on the best stage,” Biringer said. “I feel like you can never go wrong coming back home. I did miss them a lot, and I was just ready to come back home.”

Biringer, an infielder, won back-to-back state titles at Cienega and was a three-time all-state player. Last season at Ole Miss, she hit .337 and posted 64 hits, five of them triples. She was named to the SEC’s all-freshman team for her efforts.

Biringer returned home this offseason to play for first-year coach Caitlin Lowe. She wasn’t the only one.

Former Canyon del Oro High School standout Bailey Thompson, a graduate transfer from Seattle University, is joining her. Thompson was a three-time all-conference honoree at Seattle, leading her team in home runs three times.

Thompson, a 6-foot catcher, grew up playing club softball against UA teammates Izzy Pacho, Carlie Scupin and Biringer. Expect all three to be fan-favorites this year given their local ties.

“I think it’s special,” Lowe said. “You can see it when they get announced — when Izzy gets announced and the whole crowd goes wild. It’s just a special bond that these fans have with them, and I think they feel it and sometimes they feel it as they need to be bigger than they are and it’s really being who they are in that given moment.”

Biringer has experienced the feeling — to a degree. Ole Miss visited Tucson in May for the NCAA Regionals, squaring off in a four-team tournament that included the host Wildcats. The left-handed-hitting Biringer stepped up in the moment, going 8 for 16 across four games while scoring four runs.

Biringer admitted to being nervous given that she was representing her family in Nogales and Tucson. But once she settled in, it felt right.

“I was super comfortable,” Biringer said. “I knew how the field worked. I knew like where the sun was. I knew everything. That was just an advantage for me. But it was just so much fun. Having my family right next to me is the most fun, honestly.”

Biringer has experience at second base and shortstop, and it seems likely that she’ll battle sophomores Allie Skaggs and Sophia Carroll and freshman Amber Toven for playing time.

Whoever steps in at either shortstop or second base will have big shoes to fill. Jessie Harper and Reyna Carranco were mainstays in Arizona’s middle infield for years, delivering both at the plate and defensively.

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Biringer said the pressure to replace them makes her work harder — especially he can play second just like Carranco, one of her favorite players.

“We’re kind of similar in hitting just because she can slap but she can also hit away,” Biringer said. “She also played middle infield. And you know, we are not the biggest kids on the field, but we both get the job done. I just looked up to her, the way she approached each at bat or how she was on the field.”

Thompson will split time behind the plate with Pacho and Sharlize Palacios. She said Lowe convinced her to come to Arizona by talking about the Wildcats’ great history — and what it means to local players.

“I was struggling whether or not I wanted to play anymore and Cait made me realize that this was a dream when I was a little kid,” Thompson said. “The biggest thing on her (Lowe) mind is always a national championship and moving to the next level, which is something that I never really had the opportunity to do before.”

Thompson started out as a pitcher, but by the time she hit middle school, she was catching.

“I really liked being involved in every play,” Thompson said. “I like touching the ball and having a say in what’s going on. But I don’t know, being a pitcher was very, very, very tough. Everyone’s looking at you and it’s not an easy position to be in. I like being the silent motivator behind the plate.”

Thompson views her height as an advantage. Balls don’t get past her; last season, she had a .989 fielding percentage.

She also adds some pop at the plate. Thompson hit .327 last season with nine home runs and 46 RBI while posting a .426 on-base percentage.

Still, “I’m more of a like line-drive hitter,” she said. “I really try to square up each ball, not too much as like a shot, skyrocket kind of thing. I don’t really have a lot of success doing that. I just try to put bat on ball and make stuff happen — have really productive at bats.”

Both transfers bring intangibles to the Wildcats’ roster. Biringer has a competitive fire that Lowe loves. Thompson brings maturity, which should help a Wildcats rotation that includes freshman Madi Elish and sophomores Jessie Fontes and Devyn Netz in addition to returning ace Hanah Bowen.

Both Thompson and Biringer say they can’t wait for Thursday’s opener — their first true games as Wildcats.

“I’m excited to represent the city and I’m excited to represent Arizona softball, and I’m just like, ‘OK I’m ready,” Biringer said. “Just to be able to have an A, it’s just how do you explain it? It’s more like I get to represent people who (came) before me. … Whether if I get to start or not — if I don’t, (I’ll) be the best teammate regardless and I’m just excited to be back at here in Tucson.”

Said Thompson: “At the beginning of the season, we had to talk about what it means to wear the ‘Block A’ and just how much of a privilege it is to be here. I think there’s no other place that I’d rather be right now. I think that this was just exactly where I need to be. I’m very, very happy.”