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The Wildcats lost in an NCAA softball regional for the first time since 2015, falling to Ole Miss 10-8 at Hillenbrand Stadium.

The defeat 鈥� which snapped a 23-game winning streak in regional games 鈥� dropped Arizona into the losers鈥� bracket. The Wildcats were set to face the winner of the Grand Canyon-Santa Clara game Saturday night. If they were to win that contest, the Cats would have to defeat Ole Miss twice Sunday to advance to Super Regionals.

鈥淚 think that just fuels our fire even more,鈥� said right fielder Kaiah Altmeyer, who went 2 for 3 with a run and an RBI. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just a longer journey than we thought. Any team that comes our way, I don鈥檛 think it matters. We鈥檙e just determined.

鈥淥ur mindset is focused on one thing, which is winning.鈥�

The loss was uncharacteristic for Arizona in multiple ways.

First, the Wildcats鈥� defense let them down in the first inning. Arizona 鈥� which led the Big 12 in fielding percentage 鈥� made errors on the first two chances of the game. Ole Miss scored four runs in the inning, only two of which were earned.

Second, starting pitcher Devyn Netz didn鈥檛 have her best stuff. Netz allowed eight runs (six earned) on nine hits in five innings. The Big 12 Player of the Year surrendered four home runs, the most she鈥檚 allowed in a single game.

Arizona erased deficits of 4-0 and 5-3, taking the lead, 7-5, in the bottom of the fourth.

鈥淭he way they responded was on point for me,鈥� UA coach Caitlin Lowe said. 鈥淭hings are going to happen. Mistakes are going to happen. We play a game. We鈥檙e all human.鈥�

Ole Miss, which rallied to defeat Grand Canyon on Friday night, responded with four runs in the top of the fifth.

Persy Llamas made it 7-6 with a two-out solo home run off of Netz. It was Llamas鈥� second homer of the game; she hit a three-run shot in the top of the first.

After Lexie Brady singled off Netz, the UA coaching staff went to the bullpen. Saya Swain hit the next batter, Mackenzie Pickens, putting runners on first and second.

Ole Miss coach Jamie Trachsel inserted Taylor Roman as a pinch-hitter. Roman lofted a 1-2 pitch over the left field wall for a three-run homer.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been in those games before where both offenses are feeling good, and we just gotta come through in the end,鈥� Lowe said. 鈥淲e have to score. We truly believe we can always score one more than the other team. So I think it鈥檚 just the hand that you get dealt that day. It鈥檚 that type of game. It was an offensive game today. We came up short, but we鈥檙e going to go right after it the next game.鈥�

Everyone in the ballpark 鈥� except third base umpire Chris Nabor 鈥� thought Arizona had retaken the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Emily Schepp hit what looked like a two-out, bases-clearing double down the left field line. Nabor ruled the hit a foul ball, and replays revealed that he was right; the ball landed about an inch outside the line.

Lowe complained to the umpiring crew, but she couldn鈥檛 challenge the play because the initial ruling was a foul ball. Schepp then fouled out to left.

Ole Miss expanded its lead to 10-7 in the seventh on Brady鈥檚 solo home run. Arizona got one back in the bottom half and had Netz at the plate representing the winning run. She swung at the first pitch she saw from reliever Miali Guachino and popped out to left, ending the game.

Although Arizona left five runners on base over the final two innings, Lowe liked the way her hitters approached their at-bats.

鈥淚 loved their at-bats today,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey were grinding the whole time. I thought we made a lot of tough outs early on. Emily Schepp saw the ball well all day. Jenna (Sniffen hit one) to the wall. They made a lot of catches right at the wall.

鈥淚 think we were feisty. We hardly gave any at-bats away today. So I think just them staying exactly where their feet are, competing pitch to pitch, is huge. I thought we competed well off of all three of their pitchers, and those are very good arms in their bullpen. So just excited for the chance to hopefully play them again. But right now, we鈥檙e so focused on ... winning this next game.鈥�

Lowe believes her team possesses the mental toughness to win multiple elimination games in a row. She was an assistant coach for the 2015 team, which ended up winning its regional.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e hungry,鈥� Lowe said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not treating it as a defeat as much as this is just a different scenario. ... We gotta get more wins to get there, to get to where we want to go.

鈥淲e have fierce competitors on our team, top to bottom, and they鈥檙e going to compete every single pitch until the job is done.鈥�