NCAA Softball Tournament: Arizona softball learns the joys of Walmart and tennis in Stillwater (2024)

There are only so many hours of the day a person can commit to figuring out how to counter Lexi Kilfoyl. The Oklahoma State pitcher will be on the minds of the Arizona Wildcats soon enough, but until Friday, finding other ways to entertain themselves is also an important task.

In Tucson, being near the campus of the University of Arizona puts you in the heart of an urban environment. Fourth Avenue with its bars and shops is just a few blocks away. Campbell Avenue is lined with restaurants. You can stumble a couple of blocks from Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium to Dirtbags if you find that attractive. Maingate Square is just west of Old Main. At least parts of Sixth Street haven’t been purchased by the University and still feature places to hang out.

The hotel where the Arizona softball team is staying in Stillwater, Okla. offers no such urban niceties.

“There’s not much to do here, but we’re actually right across the street from a Walmart, so we’ve been setting quests inside of Walmart,” sophom*ore pitcher Aissa Silva said as teammate Dakota Kennedy giggled.

One of those quests was to find materials to make signs supporting Arizona tennis player Colton Smith. Smith is playing in the NCAA singles championships that are being held in Stillwater this week. When Colton was playing for a spot in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, the softball team was in the stands cheering him on—or trying to, at least.

“We tried to kind of work our schedule around that yesterday,” Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe said. “We are still in our very normal routine of, you know, we got a lift in yesterday morning and then we’re able to get to the end of men’s tennis, which I thought was really cool. And one thing we have to learn, though, is when we’re allowed to cheer. Our girls, they’re hyped in the dugout all the time and we have to learn the rules of like, okay, this is the silent time, this is when we can cheer for Colton. And so, I think one of their assistant coaches was like, ‘Okay.’ They gave us the thumbs up that it was a good time, so that was fun. I think a few of them are going over there today.”

Whatever they did, it worked. On Thursday, Smith defeated Murphy Cassone of Arizona State to advance to the semifinals.

Learning how to behave at a tennis match may help the players in the future, but getting used to playing in Stillwater definitely will. The two teams have faced each other 30 times with Arizona holding a 19-10-1 advantage. None of those games were played at Oklahoma State.

The Wildcats will be in Cowgirl Stadium regularly starting next season when they join the Big 12. Oklahoma State will likely be the team to beat in the new conference. Having some experience with conditions in their stadium can only help.

That’s something for another day, though. Right now, Lowe and her team are trying to fight their way to another Women’s College World Series.

“I think the most special thing about this team and I think one of the ways we’ve grown is that we’re just staying exactly where our feet are and we’re competing pitch to pitch,” Lowe said. “I think that when we get away from that mentality we’ve become vulnerable. And they’re just soaking up, living pitch to pitch, and competing in every pitch. And that’s why when you see us even down by some runs in some games, these girls are gritty and they’re fighting their tails off for every single out on defense to get back to offense and then try to find ways to score. That is just purely living in the moment, living and breathing the moments of each game.”