Pressure has never hindered Aissa Silva’s play; if anything, it’s only helped it.
In all seven situations throughout the regular season where Silva has pitched with her team tied or up by one run in the final inning, she has come through in the clutch resulting in an Arizona softball victory.
The sophomore left-handed pitcher, who lives for those all-or-nothing situations, has also shown this ability to close out tight games with even more on the line; she did it in helping the Wildcats edge out Arkansas 2-1 in the Fayetteville Regional last weekend and hopes to continue that trend in the Super Regional this weekend against Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
“She loves that moment,” UA head coach Caitlin Lowe said of Silva. “She loves coming into the game in a closing role. She gets better with those heated moments.”
Arizona starting pitcher Aissa Silva delivers to the plate during the first inning of the Wildcats' 2-1 win over host and No. 12 national seed Arkansas on Saturday.
Lowe added that Silva, who at times will bookend the start and end of the game, sometimes plays better in the second stint of the contest which is “cool to see” for the head coach who has watched the ace improve from a losing record with a 6.17 ERA as a freshman last season to boasting a 21-win, five-loss record, with a 3.03 ERA just a year later.
“She’s learning from what the game has shown her and then come in and just been ready to compete,” Lowe said.
“I have a lot of trust in Aissa to finish things out. “Just proud of her and proud of her growth throughout a year,” Lowe added. “She’s slowly developing into a leader in her own right with just how she comes out and performs.”
Not allowing a single run in a combined 8.2 innings in the Fayetteville Regional last weekend, Silva noted Thursday that she plays with a team-oriented “win mentality in my head” each game.
“Just be there for my team and back them up,” Silva said. “I’m just going to do as much as I can for them.”
Silva may face one of her toughest tests against Oklahoma State, but as the stakes increase, so do Silva’s chances of closing out and shocking the Cowgirls on the road; the winner of the Super Regional at Cowgirl Stadium will earn a trip to the Women’s College World Series just over 60 miles south in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma State's Lexi Kilfoyl pitches against Utah during the third inning of the Cowgirls' matchup with the Utes as part of the NCAA Women's College World Series on June 2, 2023, in Oklahoma City.
Cats ready for challenge against top OSU pitcher Kilfoyl
Facing a top-3 finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year this weekend in Lexie Kilfoyl, the Wildcats will have their hands full, but sticking to their plan that they have been working on in practice, as well as maintaining their confidence may aid them in the matchup against the Cowgirls’ ace, according to sophomore Dakota Kennedy.
Despite taking on No. 5 seeded OSU, which features Kilfoyl, Kennedy said that the Wildcats will not be taking on an underdog mentality, saying that her unit is “an elite team” who “know who we are as pitchers, as a defense, as hitters.”
“It’s gonna be great competition for sure,” Kennedy said.
One of the biggest challenges for Lowe this weekend is making adjustments off of Kilfoyle, who she considers to be one of the best pitchers in the country, along with making the most of their chances against her.
The third-year head coach noted that being able to capitalize with runners in scoring position will be crucial against OSU’s pitcher who currently holds a 1.08 ERA through 162 innings pitched.
“I think that’s the biggest thing for us is when we get into those moments, how we execute,” Lowe said.
Players, coaches and staff of the Arizona Softball team — in Stillwater, Oklahoma, this week for their own NCAA Tournament Super Regional matchup against Oklahoma State — were on hand to watch Wildcat men’s tennis player Colton Smith win both his second-round and quarterfinal matches. Smith, ranked No. 22 in the nation this season, has reached the Final Four of the NCAA Men’s Tennis Championships’ singles draw.
Wildcats spending downtime in Stillwater by supporting fellow Wildcats, wandering Walmart
With Colton Smith of the Arizona men’s tennis team competing in the NCAA Singles Championships in Stillwater this week at the same time as Arizona softball is preparing for the Super Regional there, members of the UA softball team worked around their schedule Wednesday, working out in the morning before catching the end of Smith’s second-round tennis match to show him and the UA tennis program.
Smith prevailed in that second-round matchup, and again Thursday in a quarterfinal win when some of the Wildcats were able to be on hand again — bringing not just cheers, but signs and poster boards they got from Walmart as well. But unlike softball where the players are cheering all the time for their teammates in the dugout, cheering in tennis matches is more about the timing of the situation, which was new to them.
“We had to learn the rules of ‘OK, this is the silent time, this is when we can cheer for Colton,’” Lowe said.
Lowe added that it was “cool” for her team to spend their time watching other Wildcats, getting in the “Wildcat spirit” and their “competitive mode in the process.”
Back in Tucson, the UA softball and tennis programs are geographically linked, too, with the backside of Hillenbrand Stadium butting up to the UA tennis program’s home facility, the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center.
In Stillwater, when the Lowe’s Wildcats were not rooting on the tennis team or practicing, Arizona players said they’ve spent time wandering in a nearby Walmart and getting some naps in, with Silva mentioning that there is not much to do. However, the lack of things to do may have been a blessing in disguise for the added chemistry of the team. Silva added that finding things to do with her teammates was the main source of their entertainment, which has brought the team closer together.
The Wildcats traveled from Fayetteville, Arkansas, where they defeated Villanova once and host and No. 12 national seed Arkansas, to Oklahoma without returning to Tucson, leading to extra downtime prior to their first Super Regional game against Oklahoma State. Lowe believes that her team is “fine and ready more than anything just ready to compete.”
UA’s first game vs. OSU will begin at 5 p.m. Friday and can be seen on ESPNU or streamed via ESPN+.
Though Arizona did play OSU in Oklahoma back in 2022, that was in Oklahoma City — not Stillwater — as part of the WCWS; the Cowgirls won, 4-2. This week’s trip to Stillwater, which will be a recurring visit starting next year for the Wildcats, was the first for any of the players and the coaches — raising excitement for Lowe and her team to get a feel for Cowgirl Stadium.
Already playing in an energetic environment last week in Fayetteville, Lowe said that Bogle Park was “a good warmup” for what they have next.
“It’s fun watching our players get to experience all these new cities and for us this one because we’re gonna be coming back on the regular,” she said. “So I’m just excited to compete and excited to get after it tomorrow.”
Following a super-busy weekend in the Tucson sports scene, the Star's Justin Spears, senior writer and columnist Michael Lev and sports editor Brett Fera return to talk about Arizona baseball winning the Pac-12 regular-season championship, UA softball winning in Arkansas, UA football adding multiple prospects in the transfer portal, and two ex-Wildcats in the conference finals of the NBA playoffs.
