THE GAMES (Times MST)
28 | Friday, March 23 |  2,  1 (8 innings) | Recap | Box Score (PDF)
29 | Saturday, March 17 |  4,  3 (8 innings) | Recap | Box Score (PDF)
30 | Sunday, March 18 (1 p.m.) |  at  | Pac-12 Network/Washington | Live Stats | Twitter Updates
 

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THIS WEEK: Ninth-ranked Arizona (24-3, 3-0 Pac-12) is set to hit the road for the first time this conference season this weekend as the Wildcats head north to take on the No. 1 team in the land, the Washington Huskies (29-2, 1-2 Pac-12). The two teams enter the series after very different opening weeks of conference play; UA swept Utah and was the only team to start the year undefeated while Washington suffered its first two losses of 2018 in Tempe, dropping the series to ASU. Still, the Huskies are 29-2 and the No. 1 ranked team in the country as the Cats and the Dogs meet in Seattle. Arizona and Washington play Friday at 5 p.m., Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. MST in a series televised by the Pac-12 Networks.

LEADING OFF

• It's No. 1 vs. No. 9 this weekend in Seattle as the Wildcats, who are 16-30 all-time against NFCA No. 1 teams, will look to take down the top-ranked team in the land for the first time since 2015 (Oregon).
• The defending Pac-12 champions got off to a good start as they attempt to defend their conference crown. UA sits in first place in the Pac-12 after one week of league play. Arizona swept Utah and is the only unbeaten team in the conference. Arizona outscored the Utes 23-8 over the three games at Hillenbrand.
• Arizona's bats responded to a 1-0, eight-inning loss to Minnesota last Wednesday in a big way vs. Utah. The team hit .354 with 11 extra-base hits (4 HR) and scored over seven runs per game. Jessie Harper led the charge. The sophomore hit .500 (5-for-10) with a double, two homers and five RBI and was named Pac-12 Player of the Week, her sixth career weekly conference nod (3 Player of the Week, 3 Freshman of the Week).
• The Wildcats have hit at least one home run in 10 of their last 11 games, including four this weekend vs. Utah, bringing their season total to 40, two shy of Georgia's NCAA-high 42. Arizona's 1.48 HR/game rank third nationally.
• Taylor McQuillin, the nation's leader in wins (16) and shutouts (8), continues to dominate in the circle for Arizona. Over her last 95 innings, she has allowed seven total runs, five earned, (0.37 ERA) and 35 total hits (.123 opp. avg.). She's 12th in the country with a 0.75 ERA and seventh with 136 strikeouts.
• Over the first 17 games of the season, from the leadoff spot UA was hitting .254 and getting on base at just a .299 clip. That's when UA tried Alyssa Palomino, normally a middle-of-the-order hitter, in the leadoff spot for the first time in her career. She's hitting .548 and getting on-base at a .622 clip in the 10 games since. She's the only Power 5 player hitting at least .480 with eight-or-more home runs, and one of two in the NCAA (Jenna Cozza - UMass). 
• With Arizona's 24-3 start to 2018 and Michigan's 22-6 start, Arizona head coach Mike Candrea (1,544 career wins) has cut Michigan's Carol Hutchins' (1,549) lead to five wins as the all-time winningest coach in NCAA softball history. A full breakdown of their chase can be found on page 2.
• UA's offense is top-10 in HR/game (3rd - 1.48), slugging percentage (4th - .585) and batting average (8th - .347).
• Despite returning six starters and 12 letterwinners from the 2017 Pac-12 Championship team, seven of the nine positions featured a new face to start the 2018 season. Only two players (catcher Dejah Mulipola and second baseman Reyna Carranco) were in the same position as last year; Jessie Harper (1B to SS), Alyssa Palomino (CF to 1B), Ashleigh Hughes (RF to CF) all played new positions. 

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES: Washington (29-2, 1-2 Pac-12) seems to have it all, a stacked lineup, dominant pitching and solid defense, and it's come to fruition in the form of a 29-2 start to the season ... The Huskies are fourth in the country in scoring (7.39 runs/game), sixth in batting average (.351), fifth in home runs per game (1.32), fourth in ERA (0.93) and fifth in fielding percentage (.983) ... Kirstyn Thomas is hitting .429 with a Pac-12-most 11 home runs and 39 RBI ... UW's top two pitchers have ERA of 0.85 or better; Taran Alvelo is 13-1 with an 0.85 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 90.1 innings while Gabbie Plain is 9-1 with a 0.62 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 56.1 innings. 

ARIZONA vs. WASHINGTON: Arizona is 69-31 all-time vs. Washington, including a three-game sweep of the No. 6 Huskies in Tucson last season, a series that included Mike Candrea's 1,500th victory and a Danielle O'Toole no-hitter. Arizona is just 22-18 all-time in Seattle, though, and has not won a series there since 2010. Full series notes and 2017 recap on page 5.

WHO'S HOT?
Taylor McQuillin: The junior had a rough first start of the year when she allowed five runs in a loss to Oklahoma State. Since then, she has been lights out. In the 18 appearances since, she has not allowed more than one earned run and 13 of those 18 appearances have featured two-or-fewer hits allowed. Over her last 95 innings, she has allowed seven total runs, five earned, (0.37 ERA) and 35 total hits (.123 opp. avg.)
Malia Martinez: After starting the season 1-for-her-first-14, she is 29-for-60 (.483) since and has at least one hit in 13 of UA's last 14 games, including a pair of 4-for-4 games, the only four-hit games this season by any Wildcat. Her hot streak has vaulted her to second on the team with a .405 batting average; she has five doubles, and three homers on the season.
Alyssa Palomino: The redshirt sophomore, coming off her second ACL surgery in the offseason, started the season 3-for-14 (.214). Since that time, Palomino may have the best numbers in NCAA softball. She is 33-for-her-last-61 (.541) with six homers and six doubles. Palomino is the only player in the all of Power 5 hitting at least .480  with more eight or more homers. Palomino is on a career-long 11-game hitting streak.
Reyna Carranco: If you include the hitting streak she carried into 2018 from last season, Carranco has had three separate 10-plus game hitting streaks this season. She has a hit in 10 straight game, one off Palomino for the longest on the team and one off her career high, set twice. Carranco had at least one hit and one RBI in every game vs. Utah. The reigning Pac-12 leader in batting average in conference play is off to a hot start once again. For the season, she's hitting .400 with eight doubles and two homers.
Dejah Mulipola: The sophomore has homered in four of UA's last six games and has 11 RBI over the Wildcats' last seven games. She's hitting .393 over her last 10 games and has drawn nine walks since March 4 (.526 OBP).

LAST WEEK

• Arizona swept Utah in decisive fashion, outscoring the Utes 23-8 over three games. The offense hit .354 with seven doubles and four homers, while the pitchers had a combined 0.67 ERA.
• In game 1, Jessie Harper's fifth-inning three-run homer broke a 1-1 tie and lifted the Wildcats to a 4-1 victory in the opener.
• In games 2 and 3, a crooked number in the bottom of the fourth erased a deficit and led the Cats to victory. On Saturday, a four-run fourth turned a 4-3 disadvantage to a 7-4 lead in UA's eventual 9-4 win. On Sunday, UA was down 3-0 entering the fourth before a seven-run frame led the Cats to a 10-3 win.
• Jessie Harper hit .500 with a double and two homers and was named Pac-12 Player of the Week, earning her sixth career weekly award and first of 2018 (3 Pac-12 Players of the Week, 3 Pac-12 Freshman of the Week).
• Five different Wildcats had least three hits and three RBI on the weekend. Malia Martinez led UA with seven hits (.636 average) while Harper and Dejah Mulipola led the Cats with five RBI apiece.

THE CHASE FOR HISTORY: When the season began, Arizona head coach Mike Candrea trailed Michigan's Carol Hutchins by seven wins for the all-time lead in career NCAA victories. Over the first six weeks of the season, that margin has shrunk to five wins after UA's 24-3 start and Michigan's 22-6 beginning. Here are some notes on the battle between the two Hall of Fame head coaches.

• Last year Candrea became the first coach in NCAA softball history to reach 1,500 Division I victories earlier this season vs. Washington. Candrea, who is 1,544-391-2 (.798), trails only Michigan's Carol Hutchins (1,549 wins) in NCAA history. Candrea's victories have occurred over 31 years of coaching while Hutchins is in her 35th 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.

CIRCLE IT: Arizona has finished second in the Pac-12 in each of the last two years (2016 - 2.67, 2017 - 1.45). This season, UA will need to replace 2017 Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year and first-team All-American Danielle O'Toole, who led the conference in ERA (1.21) and finished second in strikeouts (210) and victories (30). Taylor McQuillin has filled that void thus far. She leads the country in wins (16) and shutouts (8) and is seventh with 136 strikeouts.

HARPER HOMERS: Power-hitting shortstop Jessie Harper matched her jersey number with 19 home runs in her rookie campaign and became Arizona's first true freshman to earn first-team NFCA All-America honors since Kenzie Fowler in 2010. The Stevenson Ranch, California native is off to a hot start in 2018, she recorded back-to-back two-homer games vs. Fresno State and New Mexico in week 1, the first time a WIldcat had accomplished that since 2013 (Lauren Young). Her 10 home runs are second in the Pac-12 while her team-high 31 RBI are fourth in the league. Harper, the week 6 Pac-12 Player of the Week, was one of four Wildcats named to the USA Softball Player of the Year Top 50 "Watch List".

GEAUXING OUT WITH A BANG: Two-time NFCA All-American outfielder Aleah Craighton is set to finish her career in Tucson after a decorated three-year career at Louisiana Lafayette. Craighton hit .365 in her Ragin Cajun career with 48 homers, 154 RBI and a .794 slugging percentage. She was named a Hero Sports Preseason All-American and is on the USA Softball Player of the Year "Watch List". Craighton leads the team this season with 17 walks. She is sixth among all active players in the NCAA in career home runs (53) and ninth in RBI (174).

DEJAH VU: Last season as a freshman, Mulipola, who was one of 25 finalists for NFCA DI Freshman of the Year, hit .335 with 12 doubles, 12 homers and three triples. Year 2 is going even better. She is hitting .359 and is third on the team with eight homers and second with 26 RBI. Mulipola has caught 87 of UA's 88 games in her career. The sophomore, who will play for USA Softball this summer, was selected to the USA Softball Player of the Year "Watch List". 

TAYLOR'S TIME: After complementing ace Danielle O'Toole during McQuillin's freshman and sophomore seasons, it's now the junior's time to shine. McQuillin one of the most decorated high school pitchers in recent history was terrific in her complementary role. Last year, McQuillin was one of 34 finalists for USA Softball Pitcher of the Year; this year, she began the season on the Top 50 "Watch List". McQuillin, the week 3 ESPNW Player and Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week after her dominance at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic that included a one-hit shutout of No. 4 Oklahoma, leads the country with 16 wins and eight shutouts. The strikeout specialist who finished 12th in the country last year, averaging 9.2 strikeouts per seven innings, and is fifth with 121 strikeouts is rapidly climbing the UA career strikeout charts.

MINOR SETBACKS, MAJOR COMEBACK: A torn right ACL on day 1 of fall practice cost Alyssa Palomino her true freshman season in 2016. In her return in 2017, she was among the conference leaders and national freshman leaders in home runs (16) and RBI (54) heading into the postseason. Two days prior to last year's Tucson Regional, Palomino tore her left ACL in practice. Now, the redshirt sophomore is ready to overcome both devastating injuries. Palomino, who made the switch from the outfield to first base and, recently, a middle-of-the-order hitter to a leadoff hitter, leads the team in batting average (.492), on-base percentage (.568), slugging percentage (.937) and home runs (8).

HOME RUN U

• Arizona has hit 2,051 home runs since softball became a Division I sport in 1982, the most of any team in NCAA history. 
• Arizona has four of the top six home run hitters in NCAA history,  including Katiyana Mauga, who hit a Pac-12 record 92 from 2014-17, three shy of the NCAA record.
• The Wildcats led the country with 94 home runs last season, their third time in the last nine years pacing the NCAA. Overall, UA has led the country nine times since 1994.
• Arizona has hit 100-or-more home runs six times in program history. Only two other schools have hit the century mark more than twice (UTSA and Louisiana Lafayette).
• UA has hit 40 home runs this season, two off Georgia's national lead of 42.

BEATING THE BEST: Since 1994, Arizona is above .500 against ranked teams, top-10 teams and top-five competition. UA is 560-251-1 (.690) against ranked competition, 263-163 (.617) against top-10 teams and 129-111 (.536) against top-five teams.

R31GNING SUPREME: Arizona has appeared in every NCAA Tournament since 1988, Mike Candrea's second year on campus. That's an NCAA-Record 31 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. The 31 straight seasons breaks Fresno State's inactive 30-year streak.

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT: This fall, Arizona brought back Wildcat All-American, National Champion and 2007 Women's College World Series MVP Taryne Mowatt as an assistant coach, joining Caitlin Lowe on Mike Candrea's all-Arizona staff. Mowatt and Lowe were teammates on both the 2006 and 2007 NCAA Championship squad. Their combined four NCAA titles in addition to Coach Candrea's eight give Arizona's coaching staff a total of 12 as either a head coach or player, the most in NCAA softball. Add in Director of Recruiting-Operations Stacy Iveson, who helped lead UA to three NCAA titles as an assistant coach (96, 97, 01) before winning four NJCAA titles as a head coach at Pima and Yavapai College, you won't find a staff with championship pedigree quite like Arizona's. 

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