Arizona isn’t used to playing elimination games at Hillenbrand Stadium. The Wildcats aren’t accustomed to being the visiting team in their own ballpark.
You wouldn’t have known it the way they performed against Ole Miss on Sunday.
Arizona pitcher Miranda Stoddard delivers a pitch vs. Santa Clara on May 16 at Hillenbrand Stadium. Stoddard notched wins vs. Grand Canyon and Ole Miss to set up a winner-take-all game against the Rebels in the NCAA Tournament’s Tucson Regional.
The Wildcats blitzed the Rebels for 10 runs in the first four innings en route to a 10-1 run-rule victory in the NCAA Tournament’s Tucson Regional. The victory set up a winner-take-all final game between the two scheduled to begin at approximately 7 p.m.
After allowing four runs in the first inning against Ole Miss in a 10-8 loss Saturday, Arizona flipped the script in the rematch. But the Wildcats didn’t stop after scoring four in the first. They added three in the second, one in the third and two in the fourth.
Sydney Stewart hit a three-run homer in the first, her second of the regional and team-high-tying 19th of the season. Kaiah Altmeyer hit a two-run shot in the fourth to make it 10-1 and put Arizona in run-rule territory.
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After struggling with runners in scoring position Saturday, going 4 for 22 in two games, the UA went 6 for 9 with RISP vs. Ole Miss on Sunday.
The Wildcats received another strong effort in the circle from senior Miranda Stoddard, who helped Arizona oust Grand Canyon 4-1 Saturday night. Stoddard pitched all five innings, allowing one run on five hits. She did not walk a batter and struck out two.
Arizona has failed to advance out of regional play only three times in 36 tries. The Wildcats have failed to advance only once in 26 regionals played in Tucson, in 2004.
Contact sports reporter/columnist Michael Lev at mlev@tucson.com. On X (Twitter): @michaeljlev. On Bluesky: @michaeljlev.bsky.social
