Arizona gets a rematch with Mississippi in the NCAA Tournament Tucson Regional Final on Sunday after losing 10-8 to the Rebels on Saturday. Arizona has to beat Mississippi twice on Sunday to advance to the Super Regionals next weekend.
After losing to Mississippi, Arizona rebounded with a 4-1 win over Grand Canyon on Saturday night to advance to the regional final. Arizona improved to 14-0 all-time versus Grand Canyon and 8-0 at home. Mississippi earned its first win over Arizona on Saturday in the inaugural game in Tucson.
Devyn Netz struck out the side in the seventh inning to preserve the win for Arizona versus Grand Canyon. Netz struggled versus Mississippi on Saturday. In five innings, Netz allowed eight runs, six earned, on nine hits with no walks and three strikeouts. Miranda Stoddard pitched six innings versus Grand Canyon on Saturday night.
Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe would not discuss her pitching plans ahead of the regional. The potential starter on Sunday versus Mississippi was not discussed in the postgame press conference after the win over Grand Canyon on Saturday night.
Netz has started 21 games in 2025 and Stoddard 18 out of the 59 Arizona has played. The expectation should be that Netz or Stoddard will start versus Mississippi on Sunday. Lowe started Ryan Maddox in the Big XII Championship Game in a 4-0 loss to Texas Tech last weekend.
Brianna Lopez started and pitched one inning for Mississippi on Saturday, Aliyah Binford pitched three innings to get the win and Miali Guachino threw the final three innings to earn the save for the Rebels. Stoddard got groundouts in the only two batters she faced versus Mississippi on Saturday.
Jamie Trachsel, the Mississippi head coach, told the ESPN+ broadcast on Saturday she expected a slugfest versus Arizona. The slugfest occurred. Whichever team pitches better on Sunday should be the one to advance. Arizona and Mississippi will play at 4:30 PM MST on Sunday, game two is at 7:00 PM MST if necessary, with both on ESPN+.