Pitching to top recruit Dakota Kennedy in travel ball in Sacramento, California, wasn’t one of Aissa Silva’s fondest memories.
But now they’re on the same side — key components of a UA softball team ready to put its one-year NCAA Tournament hiatus in the rear-view mirror.
“Couldn’t ask for a better teammate,†Silva said of Kennedy.
A star teammate isn’t all Kennedy has going for her. The sophomore outfielder has proven to be a reliable, if not dominant, player. She’s provided a spark as one of the Widlcats’ leading hitters at the plate and anchors in the outfield as ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ (33-15-1, 13-11 Pac-12) looks to make noise at the Pac-12 Tournament this week at Stanford.
With Kennedy batting at the top of the order this season, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ coach Caitlin Lowe has seen the sophomore’s play rub off on freshman Regan Shockey, who bats right behind her and plays right next to Kennedy in the outfield.
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“I think Regan builds off of it in her own quiet way,†Lowe said.
In the Wildcats’ last regular-season game of the season Tuesday night against Grand Canyon, Kennedy had arguably her best all-around game as Wildcat. She was a perfect 4 for 4 from the plate with two home runs and a pair of remarkable catches in the outfield in a 3-2 victory over the Antelopes.
“She’s always been a great player. I think she just gets the game more now and is just ready.†Silva said of Kennedy’s progression over the years.
Kennedy was “phenomenal†in the win over GCU, according to Lowe, who raved about her starting left fielders’ consistency and readiness no matter what the circumstance is.
“She shows up every day for us, and I think that’s the biggest thing,†Lowe said. “She just champs at the bit every single day to play this game.â€
As a freshman last season, Kennedy didn’t hesitate to make an immediate impact on the team, leading the Wildcats with a .394 batting average in conference play. She earned Pac-12 All-Freshman honors.
Now, being named preseason All-Pac-12 ahead of the 2024 campaign, Kennedy, despite knowing other teams now have film on her from last season, has made higher strides in Year 2. She’s been a catalyst for ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ with a team-best OPS (1.172) and the UA’s second-best batting average (.397).
“They have film on me,†Kennedy said. “I got film on them.
“(I) just do what I need to do and just improving on what I did last year.â€
Taking on more of a leadership role in the outfield after a season under her belt as the Wildcats’ primary left fielder, Kennedy currently has a perfect fielding percentage; she’s part of an outfield unit that has only made two errors all season.
Kennedy said she thinks “we have the best outfield in the nation†and attributed a lot of their success on building off of one another, as well as the work that they put in covering ground in practice.
“(We) know each other’s strengths and weaknesses,†Kennedy said. “We just work so well out there.â€
Kennedy has also impressed in the classroom at ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, being recognized as NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete last year; the award is given to athletes who achieve a 3.5 or better GPA. Taking advanced placement classes at Sheldon High School — located near Sacramento in Vineyard, California — she has always been interested in excelling academically.
Throughout her two years at the UA thus far, Kennedy has studied criminal justice, noting that she is interested in the law and government.
“I could definitely see myself doing something like that in the future,†she said.
Away from the books — it is finals week on the UA campus, after all — the biggest test for Kennedy yet may come in the Pac-12 Tournament. The tournament begins Wednesday, but the No. 20 Wildcats — winners of 11 of their last 15 games, three of which came against nationally ranked teams — will begin tourney play Thursday. That’s a change-up from last year, when ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ faced ASU in the No. 8 vs. No. 9 play-in game against rival ASU, with the tournament taking place in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ at Hillenbrand Stadium.
While ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ didn’t play this weekend, with the rest of the Pac-12 programs finishing their regular seasons, UA ended with the tournament’s fifth seed. It will play No. 4 seed Washington at 6:30 p.m. Thursday on Pac-12 Network. The Huskies took two of three from the Wildcats in a mid-March series at Hillenbrand.
The Wildcats will surely lean on Kennedy’s bat, glove, and leadership as they try to continue their recent surge with NCAA Tournament play on the horizon, too.
“We’re gonna be ready for whatever comes at us,†Kennedy said.