A few days ago, the NCAA published a list of “Seven Softball Stadiums You Need to See,” including Oregon’s $17 million Jane Sanders Stadium and the best-ballparks-money-can buy at LSU, Auburn and Alabama.
It even featured Arizona State’s Farrington Stadium.
Who knew ASU even had a softball team?
A long time ago, Arizona and Hillenbrand Stadium wrote the book on “softball stadiums you need to see.” But over the last six seasons, none of which found the Wildcats at the Women’s College World Series, the Wildcats shockingly lost 52 home games.
Like all things Nike, the Ducks arrived at Hillenbrand on Friday afternoon as the nouveau riche power in college softball, and especially the Pac-12. The Ducks won the league title in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, something that the league’s softball pioneers, Arizona and UCLA have never done.
The Ducks opened the season 35-0 and incorporated the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class into a momentum-building powerhouse that a year ago humbled Arizona 2-0, 7-0 and 8-0 in what was probably the lowest point of Arizona softball in forever.
Well, nothing lasts forever in softball.
Once again, Mike Candrea’s Wildcats have the resources to match the Ducks or anybody. Arizona is 23-0 at Hillenbrand Stadium, and on Friday night you almost thought it was 1997 again.
After beating the Ducks 2-0 in what he termed “softball at its finest,” Candrea admitted he has thought back to that zero-zero-zero weekend at Jane Sanders Stadium “every day.”
“Hillenbrand tonight was like I remember it being in the ’90s,” he said. “I told the kids, ‘you’ll see it this weekend like you’ve never seen it before.’ ”
Every seat was full at Hillenbrand, 2,746, and in a tense and well-played game that required only 1 hour and 55 minutes — a game that was decided by a ground ball lost in the sun and the impeccable pitching of Danielle O’Toole — the Wildcats won a game they probably would have lost the last six years.
But the truth is that Arizona hasn’t won anything yet.
“There are two more games (in this series),” said O’Toole. “And the third day is the hardest.”
O’Toole did her version of baseball’s Greg Maddux. She limited the .323-hitting Ducks to five singles, performing some pitching science by hitting the corners with off-speed, mid-speed, and sinking pitches that produced nibblers, excuse-me-bouncers and infield pop-ups.
She only walked one, and that walk probably saved Arizona’s victory.
Trailing 2-0 in the top of the sixth, Oregon put runners at first and third. Ducks shortstop Nikki Udria, a .421 hitter who might be the top player in the Pac-12, or certainly close, stepped to the plate. It was the moment of truth, one of the few in Arizona’s last 6½ seasons.
A year ago in that shutout-sweep over Arizona, Udria hit two home runs, and on Friday, O’Toole was determined not to let Udria hit another.
Udria walked, which at first seemed odd because O’Toole is one of the leading control pitchers in softball. She had walked only 19 batters in 164 innings.
“I didn’t walk her on purpose,” O’Toole said. “But I walked her on purpose.”
The game changed. Instead of Udria swinging for the fences, .219-hitting Jenna Lilley bounced into a force-out at home. O’Toole then got a pop-up to end the inning. Game over.
College softball in late April and May isn’t the same game it was in February and March when the Wildcats and Ducks combined to open the season 70-1. There are no more Abilene Christians and Stephen F. Austins on the schedule. Those once-meaty batting averages that neared .500 are shrinking closer and closer to .350 against Pac-12 pitching.
A week ago in Salt Lake City, Arizona lost twice to Utah. The Utes celebrated their walk-off victory in Game 3 as if they’d won Game 7 of the World Series. Much like the old days, Arizona is again a target for all opponents.
“Games are a little different on the road now than they were many years ago,” said Candrea, meaning that Oregon and Utah in addition to longtime contenders Washington and UCLA have built new ballparks and fill the seats when a team like Arizona shows up.
Hillenbrand Stadium has seen better days; it needs $2 million (or $3 million) in touch-up work and fan amenities — Candrea long ago said he has his own architect’s drawing of a proposed makeover — but the Wildcats are still challenging to lead the NCAA in attendance.
At 2,138 per game, they trail only Alabama (2,351). In the Saturday-Sunday finish to the Oregon series, even in middle-of-the-day heat with ESPN2 broadcasting both games, it’s likely the Wildcats will draw another 5,000.
After 47 games, it’s as if the season begins now.
“Oregon’s not going to go away,” said Candrea. “This is as close to a College World Series game as it gets at this stage of the season.”
