Sunday, Mar. 6
| 11:00 a.m. |
James Madison 3, UTEP 0 |
Box Score |
| 1:00 p.m. |
James Madison 4, ARIZONA 2 |
Box Score |
THIS WEEK: Fifteenth-ranked Arizona (11-5) returns home for a brief reprieve from the road as UA hosts the Wildcat Invitational March 3-6, ending two consecutive weeks on the road before embarking on two more following the home event. Arizona welcomes BYU (9-6), Mount St. Mary's (0-5), Saint Francis (7-8), UTEP (6-9) and 10th-ranked James Madison (12-1) for the four-day 15-game event at Hillenbrand Stadium. Arizona opens the Wildcat Invitational against BYU on Thursday at 6 p.m.
LEADING OFF
· In four starts vs. top-15 teams, Danielle O'Toole has posted a 0.28 ERA. In games vs. #4 LSU, #15 UCF, #4 Alabama and #14 Tennessee, O'Toole is 3-1 with 24 strikeouts and eight walks. She threw shutouts vs. Tennessee and LSU, making her the first Wildcat to throw multiple seven-inning shutouts vs. top-15 opponents since Taryne Mowatt memorably did so in 2007.
· Arizona defeated 14th-ranked Tennessee 1-0 last Saturday, harkening back to the days of pitching domination in NCAA softball. Arizona has won 110 games by a 1-0 score in school history. Incredibly, it has occurred just twice since 2008 (last Saturday and Feb. 13, 2013 vs. Nebraska).
· Arizona's 2016 opponents have combined to win 290 games and lose just 146. That .665 winning percentage makes Arizona's schedule the fourth-most difficult in the nation.
· 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. As Arizona continues to find its offensive identity, UA is 29th in the NCAA in batting average (.345), 16th in slugging percentage (.577) and tied for 13th in home runs (19).
· 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 1,439 career victories are 18 shy of Wright's mark. However, Candrea will likely not be the only one to get there. Michigan's Carol Hutchins has 1,444 career victories, five more than Candrea.
· Though the accomplishments of all three coaches are terrific, there are some factors that make Candrea's 1,439 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 1,439 career victories have come at Arizona, making him the winningest coach in NCAA Softball Division I history.
ARIZONA IN THE WILDCAT INVITATIONAL: Arizona is 96-3 all-time at the Wildcat Invitational, and has not lost since 2008 (Creighton). Arizona went 6-0 at the 2015 Wildcat Invitational, sweeping Colorado State, UTEP, UC Riverside, UT Arlington and Bryant (twice). A full recap of the 2015 tournament can be found on page 5.
OPPONENTS
BYU: The Cougars (9-6) are coming off a 2-3 weekend in Palm Springs with victories over Bethune Cookman and Cal State Fullerton and losses to New Mexico State, No. 10 UCLA and No. 12 Missouri ... Freshman Libby Sugg has been a force at the plate, blasting eight of the team's 13 home runs and driving in 22 runs ... McKenna Bull has 94 strikeouts in 75.0 innings pitched.
Series History: Arizona 5-0 // First Meeting: 2000 // Last Meeting: 5/29/2010; Arizona 10, Marshall 2 (5 innings); Tucson, Ariz. (NCAA Super Regional)
Mount St. Mary's: The Mountaineers (0-7) dropped all five games at the ASU Diamond Devil Invitational last week before being swept in a doubleheader at New Mexico State on Tuesday ... The pitchers have struggled to an 11.08 ERA while the offense has managed to score just 13 runs in the seven games.
Series History: N/A // First Meeting: N/A // Last Meeting: N/A
Saint Francis: The Red Flash (7-8) went 1-3 at the Diamond Devil Invitational in Tempe last week with a victory over Mount St. Mary's and a trio of losses to ranked opponents, two to ASU and one to Minnesota ... Jordan Seneca has six home runs and 24 RBI to lead the offense, which has scored 96 runs in 15 games ... The pitching has not been as stout for the Red Flash, as five pitchers have combined to post a 4.12 ERA over 91.2 innings.
Series History: N/A // First Meeting: N/A // Last Meeting: N/A
UTEP: The Miners (6-9) are coming off a 2-3 victory at the Texas A&M Invitational with two victories over Texas A&M Corpus Christi and two losses to Indiana and one to host Texas A&M ... Kiki Pepi (4 HR) and Courtney Clayton (3 HR) lead a powerful offense ... This is UTEP's third consecutive season coming to Tucson and second straight appearance in the Wildcat Invitational.
Series History: Arizona 10-1 // First Meeting: 2004 // Last Meeting: 2/27/2015; Arizona 9, UTEP 1 (5 innings); Tucson, Ariz. (Wildcat Invitational)
James Madison: The Dukes (12-1) are ranked 10th in this week's NFCA Top 25, bolstered by a 3-1 record vs. ranked opponents, including victories over No. 17 UCF, No. 12 Tennessee and No. 3 Auburn; their only loss came to No. 5 Alabama in a one-run affair ... JMU is led by a dominant pitching staff that has put together a 0.90 cumulative ERA on the year ... Megan Good is 7-1 and has given up just one earned run all season, shaking out to an incredible 0.15 ERA, while No. 2 pitcher Jailyn Ford is 5-0 with a 0.81 ERA ... The offense has outscored its opposition 73-17 this season.
Series History: N/A // First Meeting: N/A // Last Meeting: N/A
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 remained No. 15 in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 and dropped two spots to No. 18 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25. The full rankings and a breakdown by week can be found on page 6.
WHO'S HOT?
Danielle O'Toole: “Tooly” allowed two total earned runs over four appearances against a loaded field at the Easton Bama Bash in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The junior threw her second complete-game shutout over a top SEC opponent in an eight-day span when held No. 14 Tennessee off the scoreboard in a four-hit, seven-strikeout effort in UA's 1-0 victory over the Volunteers. The performance came a day after she did not allow an earned run to No. 4 Alabama, though the Crimson Tide earned a 4-3 walkoff victory courtesy of four Arizona errors. In the two complete games, O'Toole allowed a miniscule nine total hits to the pair of top-15 teams. For the weekend, O'Toole went 2-1 with an 0.66 ERA while striking out 22 and walking just six in 21.1 innings pitched. The Upland, California native limited opponents to a .173 batting average over four appearances in just three days.
Mo Mercado: This week means the return to Hillenbrand Stadium for the Cats, which is good news for Mo, who is enjoying quite the stretch at home. Dating back to last season, over Arizona's last 15 regular season home games, Mercado is hitting .702 (33-for-47) with five doubles, nine home runs and 18 runs scored.
Mandie Perez: After hitting five home runs as a freshman and four as a sophomore, Perez already has three home runs through 16 games this season, including two last weekend in Alabama. Perez is second on the team with a 1.296 OPS, impressive out of the leadoff spot.
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 had just one addition (Brittany Lastrapes, .481 - 2009) in the last decade. Although we're just about 50 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 (.472), Mandie Perez (.429) and Alexis Dotson (.404) 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.
JUNIOR WILDCAT CLUB: Eight of Arizona's 17 healthy players are juniors, including three redshirt juniors. Two-thirds of Arizona's every day lineup is made up of juniors. Arizona's top six hitters (by batting average) and top two pitchers (by ERA) are juniors.
TOOL TIME: Danielle O'Toole has faced three of the SEC's top teams this season (Alabama, Tennessee and LSU). In 20.1 innings pitched, she has not allowed an earned run. In those three games, O'Toole is 2-1 with two shutouts, a .160 batting average, 21 strikeouts and just seven walks.
VIEWS FROM THE 6: Nancy Bowling, who wears jersey number 6, used a redshirt season in 2015 while recovering from a medical issue. Her return to the field has been a triumphant one, both in the batter's box and the circle. Bowling, who saw very limited at-bats as a freshman and sophomore, is Arizona's every day first baseman when she's not pitching. The redshirt junior leads the team with a stellar .118 batting average against, having allowed just six hits in 16.1 innings this season. She is 1-0 with a 2.14 ERA. In the batter's box, Bowling is third on the team in both home runs (3) and RBI (13).
A HISTORIC PACE: Katiyana Mauga has 50 career home runs through just 135 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.
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 an .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.
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. Below are the top 10 seasons in NCAA history:
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. Below are the longest active streaks, and total streaks:
BEATING THE BEST: Since 1994, Arizona is 537-232-1 (.700) against ranked competition, 256-156 (.624) against top-10 teams and 128-107 (.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: Back to the road for Arizona softball, which heads to the UT Arlington Tournament next weekend (March 11-13) where it will meet Texas, UT Arlington and Samford (twice).
