Devyn Netz can do it all. She proved it against BYU on Thursday afternoon, throwing a perfect game and hitting a home run in a five-inning run-rule victory. The No. 11 Arizona Wildcats defeated the Cougars 8-0 at Gail Miller Field in Provo, Utah.

Netz commanded the zone and got some strong play from her defense behind her. Freshman third baseman Jenna Sniffen was a machine all game, starting the 5-3 putout time and again.

The best play was the final one, and it came from second baseman Kiki Escobar. BYU pinch hitter Keila Kamoku hit a hard ball toward Escobar, who knocked it down. The question was whether she could get it and throw to Miranda Stoddard at first in time. Escobar kept her cool and made the play just in time.

Netz was the star of the show, though. Arizona had a combined perfect game thrown by Brooke Mannon and Ali Blanchard last season, but the last time a pitcher threw a solo perfect game was in 2017. Michelle Floyd performed the feat against Hartford that year. The last to do it in conference play was Kenzie Fowler against Oregon State in 2010.

Netz became just the sixth Arizona pitcher to throw a solo perfect game in program history. Eight pitchers have achieved it either solo or combined. Thirty-one Wildcat pitchers have now thrown a no-hitter, either solo or combined.

Netz is a complete player. It didn’t stop at her pitching performance. She also made strong plays on defense and showed her prowess in the batter’s box.

Arizona came into the top of the fifth with a 6-0 lead. They needed two runs to be in position to close the game out in five innings in the bottom of the inning. The redshirt senior provided the RBI to reach the eight-run plateau.

Kaiah Altmeyer walked on four straight pitches to lead off. Netz took one ball then smacked the next pitch over the fence.

Arizona’s all-around dominance took a little while to get going. While Netz was locked in as a pitcher from the beginning, the offense took a few at-bats to take over.

The middle of the order had a tough time in their last game at Arizona State on Sunday. That wasn’t the case in Provo.

While Netz struck out to end the first and had a foul-out in a prime scoring opportunity in the third, the four through seven hitters did a ton of damage overall. Five-hole hitter Sydney Stewart walked to lead off the second inning. No. 6 hitter Stoddard took two strikes before knocking the ball out of the park to give Arizona a 2-0 lead in the second.

The scoring in the third inning was a prime example of scoring runs any way you can, which head coach Caitlin Lowe talked about before the team left for BYU.

It started with a single by Dakota Kennedy. Regan Shockey put two on with no outs with an error on the shortstop that could have been ruled a hit. Kaiah Altmeyer moved both into scoring position with a flyout to centerfield.

That brought Netz up just needing to repeat Altemeyer’s at-bat to get another run across. The foul-out made it more difficult for Arizona to tack on some runs.

Stewart’s infield single pushed Kennedy across and moved Shockey to third. Stoddard walked to load the bases with two outs.

It was on freshman Anyssa Wild to make something happen. It was a big occasion for Arizona’s designated player. She was once committed to play for BYU but took the field for her hometown Wildcats.

Wild grounded out in her first at-bat. This time, she knocked a ball all the way to the wall, driving in three runs with her first career double. It put the Wildcats up 6-0 and set up the fifth-inning heroics of Netz.

Netz threw just 45 pitches to 15 batters in five innings. She struck out two.

The Wildcats’ offense had six hits, including a double and two home runs. They also took advantage of five walks and one BYU error.

All eight RBI came from the four through seven hitters as did five of the six hits. Stewart was 2 for 3 with one RBI at the plate. Stoddard was 1 for 2 with a walk and a home run. She had two RBI. Wild led the team with three RBI while going 1 for 2 and drawing a walk.

Arizona improved to 30-5 on the season and 7-3 in Big 12 play. BYU is now 20-7 overall and 4-3 in league play.

Lead photo courtesy of Arizona Athletics