UA softball falls to ASU in Big 12 tourney quarters; Wildcats likely headed on road in NCAAs

The Wildcats and Sun Devils dueled until the final out in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Softball Championship on Thursday night in Oklahoma City.

No. 6 ASU hung on for a 2-1 win, advancing to the semifinals and sending No. 3 seed Arizona back to Tucson.

The Wildcats’ third consecutive loss all but guarantees that they will not be a regional host when the NCAA Tournament field is announced Sunday. Arizona (35-16) was 19th in RPI entering Thursday and likely would have needed to advance to the Big 12 championship game, at least, to move into a host position.

ASU (39-16) moved on to face No. 2 seed Oklahoma State in the semifinals Friday evening. No. 1 seed Texas Tech faced No. 5 seed Kansas in the other semifinal.

Arizona received a stellar pitching performance from senior right-hander Jalen Adams, who allowed two runs on seven hits in seven innings. But counterpart Kenzie Brown one-upped her, yielding just one run on five hits in seven frames.

“I thought Kenzie threw a hell of a game. So did Jalen,” UA coach Caitlin Lowe told reporters afterward. “It was a pitchers’ duel from the very beginning, and they were fighting their tails off.”

Brown, the Big 12’s leader in strikeouts, did not allow a hit to the Nos. 2-5 batters in Arizona’s lineup. That included Big 12 Player of the Year Sydney Stewart, who failed to reach base via a hit, walk or hit-by-pitch for the first time since April 5.

Brown won the final battle against Stewart in the last at-bat of the game. Arizona loaded the bases with one out on a single by Kez Lucas, a walk by Addison Duke and a single by Regan Shockey, who went 3 for 4.

After Sereniti Trice struck out, Stewart flew out to right field on a 2-0 pitch — Brown’s 131st of the game.

“We were in so many situations that I want to keep being in in the rest of the postseason,” Lowe said. “It's how we learn and grow from this that's gonna make us better. ...

"I thought Kez did a great job of starting that inning and putting us in a good place to win a ballgame. And ... put us in a position with, quite frankly, our hottest hitter at the plate. I trust that she's going to execute in every single moment after this. She still put a good swing on it; we hit it right to somebody.

"Being able to put those swings on it from the get-go is going to be important once we start postseason."

Arizona heads into the NCAA Tournament in a rare offensive slump. The Big 12’s second-best hitting team during the regular season has scored just four runs in its past three games. The Wildcats average 7.3 runs per contest.

Their lone run Thursday came on Grace Jenkins’ solo homer to left-center in the fourth inning. Jenkins’ 12th home run of the season tied the score at 1-1.

Playing in Oklahoma City — site of the Women’s College World Series — has “always been a dream” for Jenkins, she said.

“And it wasn't even just the 5-year-old dream in me. It was the 20-year-old dream,” said Jenkins, who spent her first three seasons at UConn. “To be able to transfer here and put the Block A on my chest, it's just a dream within itself.

“I think our mission isn't over yet. I really want to be here in a couple weeks.”

The Sun Devils broke the tie in the top of the seventh on Brooklyn Ulrich’s solo homer to right, her seventh of the season.

ASU took a 1-0 lead in the second on an infield single that could have been ruled an error. Shortstop Tayler Biehl charged Yazzy Avila’s two-out grounder and threw a catchable ball to first base. But Lucas stretched too far to her left, and the ball ticked off her glove. Former Wildcat Emily Schepp, who had led off the inning with a double, came around to score.

Arizona had runners on base in the second, third, fifth and seventh innings but went 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position. The lone hit was Shockey’s infield chopper that loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh.

“We did a good job — an excellent job — of setting the table today,” Lowe said. “With two outs, runners in scoring position, it's all of the things you practice for, right? Kind of settling into who we are as individuals and just being gritty in those moments.

“She (Brown) did a good job of being gritty tonight. It's our job to kind of look at this: How can we do better next time? How can we execute the game plan next time?”

The Wildcats reached the Big 12 championship game last year before losing to Texas Tech. They were the No. 13 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament but failed to advance out of the Tucson Regional, falling to Ole Miss.