Road to the WCWS: Arizona can’t defend the long ball, Duke wins Durham Regional

The Arizona Wildcats needed to win one game on Sunday to advance to regionals. They couldn’t do it.

Next time someone says that balls fly out of Hillenbrand because of the “desert air,” point to the home runs in more humid, low-lying areas around the country. Like Durham, NC, where one Duke home run after another put a nail in the Wildcats’ season on Sunday by scores of 8-6 and 9-4.

Duke hit four home runs in the early game. The Blue Devils returned to hit four more in the late game. Durham is at 404 feet above sea level and was supposed to have humidity between 45 and 70 percent on Sunday. So much for the lazy broadcasters’ take of “altitude and dry air.”

There are three parts of a game. Both Duke and Arizona have had their difficulties with pitching. Both are very good offensively. So, defense can make the difference. Both teams made crucial errors in the opener, but Arizona’s turned out to be the deciding one. The officials also made some interesting calls that ended up having huge impacts in the game.

A critical obstruction call was not made in the bottom of the first that would have put runners on the corners with one out. Arizona chose not to challenge, and the inning ended with Duke leading 1-0.

The lack of the challenge evened out an earlier missed call when Sereniti Trice was out of the box but it went unseen. While out of the box isn’t open to challenge, obstruction is. Regardless, missed calls affected both teams in the opening inning and it wasn’t the last time.

A bigger missed obstruction call came in the second. Duke threw the ball away as Regan Shockey got to first, and she took off for second. In the interim, a run scored for the Wildcats.

Centerfielder D’Auna Jennings came in to cover second base, but completely blocked it. As Shockey tried to slide in, Jennings’ knee hit her shoulder. Jennings also lost the ball. Yet, Shockey was called out on the play.

Arizona’s baserunner on third took off when the ball came loose and crossed home plate. A score of 3-1 went up on the ESPN score bug. That’s when the challenges started.

Duke challenged that Shockey was out at first. That was obviously a futile challenge even when looking at the TV replay. The safe call was upheld.

Arizona challenged obstruction at second base. That call of out was overturned and obstruction called. Not only did Jennings slow Shockey down, but she literally left the Arizona centerfielder clutching her shoulder in pain due to contact. It was an easy call.

After that, Duke challenged again. This time, they said Arizona’s second run shouldn’t have scored because it didn’t cross home until after the second base umpire signaled Shockey out. The officials sent the baserunner back to third and took an Arizona run off the board. A 3-1 game became 2-1 in Arizona’s favor.

Arizona likely caught a break that got that run in the third, though. Tayler Biehl was hit on the finger by a pitch, but it looked like it happened when she was swinging. It was called a foul ball. Arizona challenged the foul ball ruling and it was overturned. Biehl took first on a HBP to put two on with no one out.

Biehl came around to score, putting Arizona up 4-3 after three innings.

The obstruction and contact with Shockey in the second had a bigger impact than one play or a couple of runs. Arizona’s centerfielder stayed in the game at the time, but she was obviously in pain. Her next at-bat was taken by Emma Kavanagh, who drew a leadoff walk in the fourth. Shockey then went in to run.

The fourth was the start of the defensive drama. Kavanagh’s walk was followed by a hit-by-pitch that put Trice on base.

Arizona slugger Sydney Stewart continued to press. She has struggled this postseason, chasing pitches that are obviously out of her “plan” and not taking walks as consistently when the pitcher doesn’t throw what she’s looking for. Her foul-out and Biehl’s strikeout left Shockey and Trice standing on first and second.

It looked even more dire when Grace Jenkins popped up onto the infield. What should have been a routine catch for Duke shortstop Jessica Oakland simply went off the end of her glove. While the ACC Network commentators kept talking about the sun, it was the exact location Biehl had been playing without sunglasses or a visor. It looked like Oakland simply let the moment get to her.

It was a big moment. Two runs scored and Jenkins motored into second base. Arizona tied the game at six runs apiece, but that’s all the Wildcats could get. They didn’t score again.

Biehl is an amazing shortstop who gets to balls that many others would not. She’s a former Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. She’s also prone to trying to make the spectacular play and having it go awry. That tendency hurt Arizona in the top of the sixth.

Freshman righthander Rylie Holder walked the first batter in the sixth, but she followed that with two quick outs. The third out proved elusive.

A double put runners on the corners with two outs. Aminah Vega then singled up the middle. Biehl stopped the ball just behind second base and tried to throw to first. It was obvious that the ball was never going to catch Vega. It not only wasn’t there in time, but it went sailing into foul territory. A second run scored, giving Duke an 8-6 lead.

Arizona made nothing out of its final six outs, although Shockey showed the Wildcat faithful some hope by reaching on a bunt single in her final at-bat. How much her shoulder is hindering her could be important in the next game.

Arizona used all three of its pitchers.

Errors at critical times were big in the late game, too. Duke scored its first run after a throwing error by Sniffen allowed Duke leadoff hitter Jennings to take an extra base to start the game. She moved to third on a fielder’s choice that had Sniffen fail to get a tag down at third. That wasn’t an official error, but it was one of the “miscues” that are just as damaging.

From there, a run scored on a sacrifice fly. Adams got out of it with only one run despite another error by her defense in the inning.

Once again, Arizona showed that blaming the desert environment for giving up home runs is an easy explanation for broadcasters and perhaps those who want to sell the line to pitchers when going up against Arizona on the recruiting trail.

Duke put up its second run off a solo shot to lead off the second inning. Two different Blue Devils had two-run shots in the fourth.

The four runs in the bottom of the fourth were especially difficult for the Wildcats. They had just cut Duke’s lead to one on RBI singles by Emma Kavanagh and Shockey.

Even worse, the first home run knocked Shockey from the game. That outcome was so close to happening in the first game when Jennings’ obstruction led to a collision at second base. This time, there was no way for Shockey to come back from it.

The Big 12 co-Defensive Player of the Year showed that it’s not just about skill but about heart. She did everything she could for her team, running towards the wall, timing her jump perfectly, and getting the ball in her glove. It looked like a tremendous out.

Then, Shockey collided with the outfield wall. First, it was her shoulder, then it was her face.

Shockey dropped the ball and fell to the ground with her face forward. The trainers and coaching staff huddled around her for an extended period, then walked with her back to the dugout. Shockey was holding her nose as if it was bleeding or broken.

The second two-run homer really put the Wildcats’ back against the wall. Duke was up 7-2 with only three more offensive innings to go for Arizona. That also meant three more offensive innings for the Blue Devils, and neither Arizona’s pitching nor its defense had been up to that task.

The loss of Shockey made a big impact on everything Arizona does. She was 2-for-3 with an RBI in both games on top of being the center of the outfield defense.

Arizona had to move Kiki Escobar to left field and move Addison Duke to center. Escobar started at first base, so Kez Lucas took over there. That also made Lucas the leadoff hitter in Arizona’s lineup.

The Wildcats cut the Duke lead to three runs in the fifth. The sixth would have presented a prime opportunity to cut further into that lead. Shockey should have been leading off the inning. Instead, the freshman first baseman who has been scuffling at the plate was in her place. Lucas got into a 2-1 count then swung at two pitches out of the zone.

Both Trice and Stewart went down without much trouble, as well. The 1-2-3 inning was the last thing Arizona needed.

Jenae Berry had her usual outings in both games. She threw a strong inning or so, but then the opposing offense caught up to her. The same was the case for Holder earlier in the contest.

Adams started the game and was brought back in during the bottom of the sixth to finish her career on the field. She surrendered the final Duke home run of the day.

The Arizona offense went down quietly, going 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh.

The game ends Arizona’s season at 37-18. With Biehl, Stewart, Jenkins, Adams, Escobar, and reserve Camilla Zepeda all completing their eligibility, next year will be another round of new faces trying to break through. With the portal opening soon, the Arizona faithful will also have to wait and see whether money, playing time, and more attention in bigger leagues lure away some of those they’ve come to love.