TUCSON, Ariz. – The 13th-seeded Arizona Wildcats run-ruled Santa Clara, 13-5, in five innings in the opening game of the Tucson Regional.
 
The Wildcats tallied 13 runs on 10 hits and Sydney Stewart led Arizona with a grand slam and four RBI. Three players – Kaiah Altmeyer, Regan Shockey, and Miranda Stoddard – recorded two hits and Stoddard also homered in the win.
 
Santa Clara scored one to open the game on a solo home run. Arizona answered in the bottom of the first with an RBI single from Devyn Netz to tie the game at 1-1.  
 
Arizona's offense exploded for four runs in the second inning to take a 5-1 lead. Shockey drove in the first two runs of the inning with a single through the right side to give the Cats the lead. The next pair of runs came across when Dakota Kennedy and Shockey scored on a wild pitch.
 
In the third, Stoddard extended the Cats' lead with a solo home run – her 14th of the season.
 
The Broncos plated four in the top of the third to cut into Arizona's lead. With the bases loaded, a two-run double allowed Santa Clara to make it 6-3. Then, the Broncos brought the game within one run with a two-RBI single up the middle.
 
The Wildcats added three runs in the bottom of the fourth to extend their lead to 9-5. Altmeyer drove in two runs with a double to left center. Emily Schepp drove in Altmeyer with an RBI groundout.
 
Arizona walked off the Broncos in the fifth inning. Stewart hit her second grand slam of the season to secure the opening round win for the Cats.
 
In the circle, Stoddard picked up the win to improve to 13-0 on the season. She pitched a total of four innings and allowed just one run on three hits. Ryan Maddox entered in the third and allowed four runs to score on one hit before Stoddard re-entered to finish the game.

Up Next
The Wildcats will face the winner of 2-seed Ole Miss vs. 3-seed Grand Canyon on Saturday, May 17 at 1 p.m. MST at Hillenbrand Stadium.