Game Notes: Arizona (45-4, 15-3 Pac-12) • Oregon (38-6, 11-6 Pac-12)

WEEKLY NOTES
 

THIS WEEK: Third-ranked Arizona (43-3, 13-2 Pac-12) and sixth-ranked Oregon (37-4, 10-4 Pac-12) face off in a highly-anticipated top-10 matchup at Hillenbrand Stadium this week. In a battle between new money and old, The Ducks will come from their west egg to face the Wildcats, who won 10 Pac-10 Championships from 1992 to 2007. But recently, it's been the rest of the league looking toward the green light in Eugene, where the Ducks have won four straight Pac-12 titles. Will Oregon get right back in the thick of the conference race, or can the Wildcats try to shoot down the Ducks' hopes for five straight? The party's set for Hillenbrand Stadium this Friday (5 p.m.), Saturday (3 p.m.) and Sunday (12 p.m.) with capacity crowds anticipated and national TV in the house.
 
CATS AT A GLANCE

• Arizona is off to its best 46-game start (43-3) and 15-game conference start (13-2) since 2004. Arizona's 43 victories already eclipse its last two seasons' win totals.
• The Wildcats are third in the NCAA RPI, a metric relied on heavily for seeding the NCAA Tournament. The Pac-12 has four teams in the top seven in the rankings.
• Katiyana Mauga is heating up. She has nine home runs in her last 36 at-bats, hitting .459 with 20 RBI in those 12 games. Her three home runs in Arizona's doubleheader at New Mexico State on Wednesday brought her to 86 career home runs, one shy of Stacie Chambers and the Arizona record. Mauga is fourth in NCAA history, nine shy of Lauren Chamberlain's 95.
• Mauga leads the Pac-12 and is second in the country with 19 home runs, one shy of becoming the only player in NCAA history with 20-plus homers in every season.
• Through 46 games this season, Arizona has outscored its opposition by more than 300 runs (368-50). Its offense has hit more home runs (NCAA-most 78) than its opponents have total runs (50). UA has nearly 200 more hits (424) than its opponent has total bases (243).
• Head coach Mike Candrea became the first coach in NCAA softball history to reach 1,500 Division I victories earlier this season vs. Washington. Candrea, who is 1,511-382-2 (.800), trails only Michigan's Carol Hutchins (1,516 wins) in NCAA history. Candrea's victories have occurred over 30 years of coaching while Hutchins is in her 34th year (including a season in a lower NCAA division).
• Candrea is the fastest coach in NCAA history, in any sport, in any division, to record 1,500 career wins.
• UA leads the Pac-12 in batting average (.350), slugging percentage (.614), on-base percentage (.447), runs scored (368), hits (424), RBI (332), doubles (70), home runs (79), walks (202), ERA (1.01), opposing batting average (.168), strikeouts (328) and fielding percentage (.979).
• Individually, Arizona has the Pac-12's leader in slugging percentage (Mauga - .910), runs scored (Perez - 54), hits (Mercado - 57), RBI (Palomino - 51), home runs (Mauga - 19), total bases (Harper - 107), walks (Mauga - 34), ERA (O'Toole - 0.84), opposing batting average (O'Toole - .168), strikeouts (O'Toole - 161) and wins (O'Toole - 23).
• Arizona has thrown 19 shutouts in 46 games, already its most since 2010 (23). In 40 of the 46 games, the Cats have limited the opponent to two or fewer runs.
• While Arizona has many eye-popping stats in many different categories, softball is simply a game of scoring more runs than your opponent. Well, Arizona leads the country in runs scored (368) and is second in runs allowed (50). The Wildcats are second in the nation with a 0.84 team ERA. Meanwhile, the UA offense is scoring 8.27 runs per game, second best nationally.
• Through 10 weeks, Arizona has earned 12 of the 30 Pac-12 weekly awards (Player, Pitcher and Freshman), by seven different players. Arizona has had three Pac-12 Players of the Week (Katiyana Mauga – 1, Mo Mercado – 3, Jessie Harper – 6, Katiyana Mauga – 8, Katiyana Mauga – 9), three Pac-12 Pitchers of the Week (Danielle O'Toole – 3, Michelle Floyd – 5, Danielle O'Toole – 7) and three Pac-12 Freshmen of the Week (Dejah Mulipola – 2, Jessie Harper – 5, Jessie Harper – 6, Alyssa Palomino – 8).
• Arizona has two of the top four pitchers (by ERA) in the Pac-12. Danielle O'Toole leads the league with a 0.84 ERA and Taylor McQuillin is fourth with a 1.15 mark. Arizona has not had two pitchers finish the season with ERAs south of 1.00 since 2001.
• Arizona has scored 97 runs in the first inning this season. That's nearly double its pitchers have allowed all season (50) in all innings combined.
• Arizona's freshmen have more combined home runs (42) than all but 19 teams in Division I.
• Mandie Perez has scored more runs (54) and Alyssa Palomino has driven in more runs (51) than Arizona has allowed all year.

 
ARIZONA vs. OREGON: Arizona is 82-27 all-time vs. Oregon, but the Ducks have had the upper hand of late, winning 14 of the last 18 meetings and the last six series, including a sweep in Eugene in 2016 (full recap on page 6).
 
SCOUTING THE DUCKS: Sixth-ranked Oregon (37-4, 10-4 Pac-12) has lost two straight series after starting the season 35-0 ... Oregon features one of the top pitching staffs in the country with three pitchers with more than 70 innings and better than 1.50 ERAs ... Freshman Maggie Balint leads the way with a 16-2 record, 0.86 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 97.1 innings pitched ... Oregon has three players hitting above .400, led by Nikki Udria, who is hitting .434 with nine homers and 43 RBI on the season ... The Ducks have stolen 63 bases, led by Danica Mercado, Mo's sister, who's 18-21 on the base paths.
 
WHO'S HOT?

• Katiyana Mauga: The senior is 17-for-her-last-36 (.472) with nine home runs and 20 RBI. She was named Pac-12 Player of the Week in consecutive weeks in weeks 8 and 9. Mauga leads the Pac-12 in home runs (19and slugging percentage (.910).
• Mo Mercado: Six of Mercado's nine home runs this season have occurred in Arizona's last 14 games, a span in which she has driven in 21 runs and is slugging .891.
• Reyna Carranco: After having just eight hits in her first 56 at-bats of 2017 (.142), Carranco is 20-for-her-last-43 (.465), and is second in the Pac-12 (behind Mo Mercado) with a .421 batting average in league play.
• Taylor McQuillin: Literally. McQuillin has a 0.31 ERA in 67 innings when the game time temperature is over 60 degrees. Eleven of her 14 earned runs allowed have come when the game time temperature is below 60 degrees. She has a 4.20 ERA in the five cold-weather appearances.

 
THE KATI WATCH IS ON: Though Katiyana Mauga's focus remains on OKC, her chase for history is on. How many #MaugaBombs can she hit? A complete breakdown of where she stands in the UA, Pac-12 and NCAA record books can be found on page 13. Here are some notes:

• Mauga has hit 86 career home runs in 221 games played. That's one shy of Arizona's record (87 - Stacie Chambers, 08-11), four shy of the Pac-12 record (90 - Stacey Nuveman, UCLA, 97-02) and nine shy of the NCAA record (95 - Lauren Chamberlain, Oklahoma, 12-15).
• The senior leads the Pac-12 and is second in the NCAA with 19 home runs this season.
• With 20 homers as a freshman, 26 as a sophomore and 21 as a junior, Mauga is the only player in NCAA history to hit 20 home runs in each of her first three years.
• Mauga's 86 career homers lead all active hitters in the NCAA by a wide margin. Only one other player has more than 55.
• Arizona now has four of the top six home run hitters in NCAA history. Mauga joins Chambers (3rd - 87), Leah Braatz (t5th - 85) and Laura Espinoza (t5th - 85). Additionally, Shelby Pendley, whose 84 homers are seventh, played at Arizona before transferring to Oklahoma.

 
RAISE THE A: Arizona started a new tradition in 2016 -- raising the "A" flag in Candrea's Corner, the left field bleachers, after home victories. The flagpole may get a workout, considering Arizona's 685-86 (.887) record all-time at Hillenbrand Stadium. Arizona has won 23 straight games at Hillenbrand Stadium.
 
PACK THE PLACE: Arizona is averaging 2,104 fans per home date this season, third best average attendance in the country behind Alabama (2,351/date) and Auburn (2,124/date). This would mark the ninth straight year averaging more than 2,000 fans for Arizona.
 
RED, WHITE AND BLUE TAKES ON A DIFFERENT MEANING: Arizona's long-standing tradition with USA Softball will continue this summer. Senior Danielle O'Toole was named the U.S. Women's National Team while freshmen Jessie Harper and Dejah Mulipola were named to the U.S. Junior Women's National Training Team following a selection camp in January. Arizona's ties to USA Softball run deep, most memorably as skipper Mike Candrea served as the head coach for Team USA's 2004 (gold medal) and 2008 (silver medal) teams. In 2016, a pair of Wildcats received the Association's highest honors as Kellie Fox (2014-15) was named USA Softball Athlete of the Year and redshirt freshman Alyssa Palomino was named USA Softball Junior Athlete of the Year.
 
CIRCLE IT: After a five-year span in the circle in which Arizona put up a combined ERA north of 3.50 from 2011-15, pitching has returned as Arizona's strength the last two years, coinciding with the arrival of Danielle O'Toole and Taylor McQuillin in 2016. After Arizona finished second in the Pac-12 in ERA last year (2.67), the pitching staff leads the Pac-12 with a 1.01 ERA 46 games into 2017. O'Toole and McQuillin have ERAs of 0.84 and 1.15, respectively. They're trying to become the first Wildcat duo to post ERAs under one since 2001 (Jennie Finch and Jenny Gladding).
 
TOOLE TIME: Danielle O'Toole is 23-2 with a 0.84 ERA. O'Toole, who is third in the NCAA is victories and fifth in ERA, has been named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week twice and was national pitcher of the week after her first career no-hitter vs. No. 6 Washington (3/24) and posting a 0.00 ERA in two starts vs. the Huskies. O'Toole leads the Pac-12 in strikeouts (161).
 
SOMETHING TO HARP ON: Jessie Harper is second in the Pac-12 with 16 home runs in her freshman campaign. In weeks 5 and 6, Harper was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week in back-to-back weeks as well as Pac-12 Player of the Week in week 6. During that two-week 11-game roadtrip, Harper went 18-for-34 (.529) with five doubles, five homers and a 1.177 slugging percentage. For the season, Harper is hitting .343 and has a .764 slugging percentage, second in the Pac-12.
 
MO HITTER: Mo Mercado leads the Wildcats with a .425 batting average and is UA's active leader in career hits (252). At the Mary Nutter Classic in week 3, Mercado went 11-for-13 (.846) with three doubles, a homer, 11 RBI and six runs scored. She was named national and conference player of the week.
 
PERFECTION! In her first start of the season, Michelle Floyd threw the ninth perfect game in Arizona history, retiring all 15 Hartford batters she faced in an 18-0, five-inning Wildcat victory on March 11. She was named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week. Floyd has yet to allow an earned run in 16.1 innings this season.
 
D UP: In addition to its stellar offense and pitching staff, Arizona's defense has also been rock solid in 2017. The Wildcats are sixth in the country with a .979 fielding percentage. As it stands, it would be Arizona's best fielding percentage since 2001 (.981).
 
SENIOR SALUTE: Arizona eight-player senior class is its largest since the eight seniors in 2001 went out on top, winning the program's sixth NCAA title. In 2017, UA will bid adieu to eight players who have been invaluable to the program. All eight have either been full or part time starters during their time. The octet includes four all-Pac-12 first or second teamers and has played a combined 2,120 games at Arizona, combined for 828 hits, 153 home runs, 602 RBI, 835.0 IP, 761 strikeouts and 92 pitching victories. Here are some notes on each senior's career contributions:

• Nancy Bowling: A 37-game starter in her career in the circle, plus 32 games at first base. Has not lost a pitching decision since her freshman year (16-0 from sophomore year on).
• Alexis Dotson: A 79-game starter since transferring from local Pima College after her sophomore year. Owns a career .320 average and has scored 49 runs.
• Michelle Floyd: Arizona's ace in 2015, a season in which she tallied the most innings pitched (183.2), wins (19) and strikeouts (135) while helping lead Arizona to a 41-win season and a super regional appearance. Threw the ninth perfect game in Arizona history in 2017.
• Katiyana Mauga: On pace to challenge the all-time record in home runs. Has put up single-season home run totals that rank in UA's top-20 in each of her previous three years.
• Mo Mercado: Has started every game (226) of her Arizona career and has put up a .364 average in 692 career at-bats, the most among active Wildcats. Three-time all-region performer.
• Danielle O'Toole: Led the Pac-12 in wins in her first season at Arizona (26) while becoming Arizona's first, first-team all-Pac-12 pitcher since 2010.
• Mandie Perez: A 207-game starter who was named first-team all-conference as a redshirt junior in 2016. Owns a career .341 average and a stellar .436 on-base percentage.
• Eva Watson: Has battled injuries, but led Arizona in batting average in 2016 (.387). Has appeared in 168 games in her career, including 68 starts.

 
FAB FRESHMEN: In addition to Arizona's spectacular senior class, UA's freshmen have been instrumental to Arizona's success as well. The Cats start four freshmen in their usual lineup, Dejah Mulipola (C), Alyssa Palomino (CF), Jessie Harper (1B) and Reyna Carranco (2B). Palomino is tied for the freshman-lead in the NCAA in RBI (51), Harper is secod among freshmen in the NCAA in home runs (16). Reyna Carranco is second in the league with a .422 average in Pac-12 play and Dejah Mulipola is top-10 in the Pac-12 in runs scored, slugging percentage and RBI.
 
PICK YOUR POISON: Certainly Arizona's offense does have its share of standouts, but the success of the lineup is due to its depth. The Wildcats can score in any inning in a variety of ways. The five batters in the 2-through-6 holes have combined for 69 home runs. The 7-8-9-1 hitters in the UA lineup are all getting on base at a .415 or better clip in Pac-12 play.
 
OVER THE HILL: Arizona has appeared in every NCAA Tournament since 1988, Mike Candrea's second year on campus. That's 30 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. If Arizona makes the NCAA Tournament in 2017, it will be the longest streak in NCAA softball history, breaking Fresno State's inactive 30-year streak.
 
KEEPING IT 100: Arizona has reached the century mark in home runs six times in school history, including two of the last three years and is on pace to do it again this year. Only two other schools (UTSA and Louisiana-Lafayette) have had more than two seasons of 100-plus homers. There have been 26 seasons of 100 home runs or more in NCAA history and Arizona has six of them.
 
BEATING THE BEST: Since 1994, Arizona is above .500 against ranked teams, top-10 teams and top-five competition. UA is 550-246-1 (.700) against ranked competition, 260-162 (.624) against top-10 teams and 128-111 (.549) against top-five teams.
 
HIGH EXPECTATIONS: Arizona was ranked No. 10 in the Preseason NFCA Top 25, its highest preseason ranking since 2012, and picked to finish second in the Pac-12 by the coaches prior to the season, its highest since 2011. Why?

• Arizona returned eight starters, four pitchers and 16 total letterwinners from a 40-win team in 2016. In all, the Cats return 90% of their hits (420-of-465), 91% of their home runs (61-of-67) and 90% of their RBI (268-of-298). Additionally, all four pitchers return from a staff that was second in the Pac-12 in ERA.
• The Wildcats' senior class of eight is its largest in 16 years, when the eight seniors in 2001 went out by winning national championship.
• Those seniors will play a key role in mentoring Arizona's seven-player freshman class. The six true freshmen -- Dejah Mulipola (No. 5 recruit, FloSoftball), Reyna Carranco (No. 16), Jessie Harper (No. 43), Malia Martinez (No. 57), Carli Campbell and Jaycee Lindley -- were rated as the No. 3 recruiting class in the country. Add in redshirt freshman Alyssa Palomino, the 2016 USA Softball Junior Athlete of the Year who missed last season with a torn ACL, and the Wildcats have plenty of fresh talent to go with their experienced core.

 
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 hosts No. 23 Arizona State next weekend for senior weekend and the final regular season home series of 2017. The Cats and Sun Devils meet April 28, 29 and 30.