THIS WEEK: Life on the road continues for 15th-ranked Arizona softball (8-3) as the Wildcats head to Tuscaloosa, Alabama for the Easton Bama Bash where Arizona will go head-to-head with a pair of SEC teams in their territory this weekend. Arizona will play host Alabama twice and Tennessee once in addition to a pair of matchups with Marshall. It will be Arizona's second consecutive weekend on the road, and in the two-week span, the Cats will have played six ranked opponents, five of which have come against top-15 opposition.

LEADING OFF

·         Danielle O'Toole, in her fourth start as a Wildcat, pitched a complete-game three-hit shutout of No. 4 LSU, one of her two top-15 victories at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, helping her win Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week. The junior is no stranger to weekly awards as she was a six-time Mountain West Pitcher of the Week in two seasons at San Diego State, where she was the 2014 Pitcher of the Year and 2013 Freshman of the Year.

·         As it stands right now, Arizona's schedule is the toughest in the country. UA's opponents (past and future) have combined to win 206 games and lose just 90 (.696).

·         After losing 53% of its hits, 58% of its home runs and 58% of its RBI from one of the nation's best offenses in 2015, the bats were a major question mark entering 2016. So far, so good for the Cats as UA is seventh in the country in batting average (.401), fifth in slugging percentage (.681) and tied for seventh in home runs (16).

·         Odds are head coach Mike Candrea will break Margie Wright's record as the all-time leader in career victories at some point this season. Margie Wright won 1,457 games from 1980-2012 coaching for Illinois State and Fresno State. Candrea's 1,436 career victories are 21 shy of Wright's mark. However, Candrea will likely not be the only one to get there. Michigan's Carol Hutchins has 1,440 career victories, four more than Candrea.

·         Though the accomplishments of all three coaches are terrific, there are some factors that make Candrea's 1,436 victories stand out. His win total has come in 28-plus years of coaching (Arizona's 2004 and 2008 win totals do not count toward Candrea's record as he was coaching Team USA) while Wright's 1,457 victories took 33 years to accomplish and Hutchins is in her 35th year of coaching. Additionally, both Wright (Illinois State) and Hutchins (Ferris State) spent time in lower NCAA divisions. Each of Candrea's 1,436 career victories have come at Arizona, making him the winningest coach in NCAA Softball Division I history.

·         UA has hit 100 home runs six times in school history and is already on pace to reach the century mark once again in 2016. One only other school (UTSA) has more than two seasons of 100-plus homers.

ARIZONA IN THE BAMA BASH: Arizona went 6-0 in the 2000 Bama Bash, the only other time the Wildcats have visited Tuscaloosa in Rhoads stadium's opening weekend. Arizona picked up a pair of victories over No. 15 DePaul and Drake in addition to single victories against Georgia Tech and the host Crimson Tide.

OPPONENTS

Marshall: The Thundering Herd (6-1) went 4-1 at the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament last weekend with two victories over Long Island and wins vs. Saint Louis and Hofstra to go along with a loss to Southern Utah ... Briana Daiss leads the offense with three homers and 13 RBI while Jordan Dixon owns a 1.70 ERA and a .109 opponent batting average to lead the pitching staff.

Series History: Arizona 4-0 // First Meeting: 2005 // Last Meeting: 2/12/2009; Arizona 10, Marshall 4; Tampa, Fla. (USF Wilson Tournament)

Alabama: The fourth-ranked Crimson Tide (10-1) went 5-0 at the Panther Invitational in Atlanta with two victories over Maryland and single victories over Miami (Oh), Mercer and Georgia State ... The pitching staff has put together a 1.58 ERA and a .212 batting average against, led by All-American Alexis Osorio, who's 2-0 with an 0.79 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 17.2 innings pitched ... Offense has stolen 25 bases in 28 tries, led by eight from Demi Turner.

Series History: Arizona 12-2 // First Meeting: 1997 // Last Meeting: 2/16/2014; Arizona 8, Alabama 0 (5 innings); Tucson, Ariz. (Hillenbrand Invitational)

Tennessee: The 14th-ranked Volunteers (8-3) went 4-1 at the Michele Smith Pediatric Cancer Invitational in Clearwater, Florida, including victories over Oklahoma State, Fordham, USF and DePaul and a five-inning loss to No. 19 James Madison ... The offense is hitting .351, led by three players hitting better than .400 on the year ... Erin Gabriel has 54 strikeouts in 35.1 innings pitched and has held opponents to a .190 batting average.

Series History: Arizona 11-5 // First Meeting: 1996 // Last Meeting: 6/6/2010; Arizona 5, Tennessee 2; Oklahoma City, Okla. (Women's College World Series)

HEAD COACH MIKE CANDREA: Arizona head coach Mike Candrea is in his 31st year at the helm of the Arizona softball program with a career record of 1,436-361-2 (.800). A winner of eight national championships (1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2006, 2007), Arizona has made 22 trips to the Women's College World Series under his guidance, missing just six times in the last 27 years (2004, 2011-2015). On Feb. 27, 2015 vs. UTEP, Candrea became the sport's fastest ever coach, and second all-time, to reach 1,400 wins; Candrea is the sport's Division I wins leader. Under Candrea, Arizona has a spectacular postseason record of 161-54. Fifty-four All-Americans with a staggering 95 total citations have played in the program since Candrea took over.

THE RANKINGS: Arizona dropped six spots to No. 15 in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 and six spots to No. 16 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25.

WHO'S HOT?

Nancy Bowling: In three relief appearances at the Mary Nutter Classic, Bowling allowed just five baserunners, limiting opponents to an .074 average over 9.1 innings. The junior led Arizona with a 1.50 ERA while striking out 12 batters and walking just three. She also was a force in the batter's box, including her first-career four-hit game against No. 15 UCF.

Eva Watson: After entering the season with a .280 career average, junior Eva Watson has recorded a hit in 16 of her 29 at-bats to lead the conference with her .552 average.

Mo Mercado: The Week 1 Pac-12 Player of the Week is tied for the Pac-12 lead in hits (18) and home runs (4) while leading the conference in total bases (35).

Danielle O'Toole: Two victories over top-15 opponents, including a three-hit shutout of No. 4 LSU, helped O'Toole earn Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors, the first Wildcat to earn the honor since 2012. O'Toole struck out eight batters with two walks in her complete-game gem against the fourth-ranked Tigers before backing it up with a victory over No. 15 UCF the following day. On the season, the San Diego State transfer has 32 strikeouts compared to just four walks.

Alexis Dotson: The junior led Arizona with a .389 average in five games at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. On the season, Dotson is hitting .472 and slugging .667.

THE .400 CLUB: These days, a player has to hit .450 to crack the top-10 batting averages in a season in Arizona history, a club that has just one addition (Brittany Lastrapes, .481 - 2009) in the last decade. Although we're just about 30 at-bats into 2016, four players have set themselves up to at the very least make a run at it. Eva Watson (.552), Mo Mercado (.486), Alexis Dotson (.472) and Mandie Perez (.471) are all in the top 10 in the Pac-12 in batting average. The last time Arizona had four players finish the season in the .400 club was 1998 when Alison McCutcheon, Lauren Bauer, Nicole Giordano and Leah Braatz accomplished it.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Wildcats are 64-9 in the last 73 games inside the friendly confines of Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium, including 6-0 this season. Since its opening in 1993, Arizona has put up a 647-78 record on the field. That's a .892 winning percentage at home in the last 23-plus years. Hillenbrand has led the nation in attendance nine times since 1994 and set the NCAA record in attendance in 2011 when 77,129 fans turned the turnstiles (since broken by Alabama). For the eighth consecutive season, Arizona drew over 2,000 fans per game in 2015. In 26 home dates, the Wildcats averaged 2,207 per contest. UA has lost just 18 nonconference games in the stadium's 23-plus years; its 394-18 record in such games equates to 96 victories in every 100 games.

A HISTORIC PACE: Katiyana Mauga has 50 career home runs through just 130 career games played making her the 14th player in Arizona history to hit 50 career homers, but just the fifth to do so during her junior season. Mauga hit her 50th homer vs. Texas A&M (2/21) in her 129th career game, making her the fastest player in Arizona history to 50 home runs. Mauga, who remains on pace to set the Arizona record in career homers and challenge the NCAA record of 95, is already sixth among active players in the NCAA in career home runs, with the five players in front of her being seniors.

KEEPING IT 100: Arizona has reached the century mark in home runs six times in school history, including each of the last two seasons. Only one other school (UTSA) has had more than two seasons of 100-plus homers. There have been 25 seasons of 100 home runs or more in NCAA history and Arizona has six of them. 

TOP OF THE LINE, 29: Arizona has appeared in every NCAA Tournament since 1988, Mike Candrea's second year on campus. That's 29 consecutive years in the tournament for Arizona. Not only is that the longest active streak, but it is seven years longer than the second longest streak. 

BEATING THE BEST: Since 1994, Arizona is 536-230-1 (.700) against ranked competition, 256-154 (.624) against top-10 teams and 128-105 (.549) against top-five teams.

FOLLOW THE TEAM: Be sure to follow the Wildcats on their various social media platforms. To stay up-to-date on all the latest happenings with the team, follow Arizona softball on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat (@UA_Softball).

UP NEXT: Arizona returns home for the lone time during a five-week span as the Cats host BYU, Mount St. Mary's, St. Francis, UTEP and James Madison for the Wildcat Invitational March 3-9.