TUCSON, Ariz. – No. 18 Arizona opened 2026 with a pair of run-rule wins over Southern Utah at Hillenbrand Stadium.
Game 1 | No. 18 Arizona 8 (5 inn.)
The Cats won the first game, 8-0, in five innings behind a no-hitter from newcomer
Jalen Adams.
Adams struck out four Thunderbirds and did not allow a hit in her debut as a Wildcat.
Arizona scored eight runs on 10 hits and was led by
Sereniti Trice who went 3-for-3 with a single, a double, and a triple. Three Wildcats –
Tayler Biehl,
Regan Shockey, and
Jenna Sniffen – had two hits each while Sniffen blasted a solo home run.
The Cats plated one in the first inning on a throwing error from the Thunderbirds and Shockey drove in a run in the second inning with an RBI single.
Grace Jenkins had an RBI groundout in the third.
In the fourth inning, Arizona scored four runs to take a 7-0 lead. Sniffen opened scoring with her solo homer and Biehl scored on a wild pitch for the second run of the inning. Trice drove in a run with a double and Shockey took advantage of another wild pitch to score the fourth run.
Biehl drove in the winning run with an RBI single in the fifth to walk off Southern Utah.
Game 2 | No. 18 Arizona 8, Southern Utah 0 (6 inn.)
Arizona run-ruled Southern Utah, 8-0, in six innings in the second game of the doubleheader.
The Cats' offense was led by
Addison Duke who went 3-for-3 with two runs scored. Shockey and Trice both had two hits to help the offense.
In the circle,
Sarah Wright won up her first game of the season and
Jenae Berry picked up the save. Wright allowed three hits but kept Southern Utah scoreless through five innings. Berry entered in the sixth and faced just four batters.
Following four scoreless innings, Arizona scored three runs in the fifth. Trice drove in a pair of runs with a single to the right side and then scored on a fielding error by the Thunderbirds.
Arizona plated five runs in the sixth to run-rule Southern Utah. Duke brought in the first run with an RBI double and Shockey drove in the second with an RBI single. Stewart hit a sacrifice fly and
Kiki Escobar walked off the game with a two-run single.
Up next
The No. 18 Wildcats will face the No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners in a three-game series beginning Friday, February 6 at 4 p.m. MST at Hillenbrand Stadium.
