Replacing a legend is not an easy task. Not for a professional athlete, not for a coach, and especially not for an 19-year old sophomore who had two collegiate starts under her belt when she was tasked with filling the shoes of the greatest home run hitter in Pac-12 history.

In 2018, Malia Martinez has replaced two-time All-American and the second-most proficient home run hitter in NCAA history, 2017 Pac-12 co-Player of the Year Katiyana Mauga, at third base.

Big shoes to fill, indeed. But only if you choose to see it that way.

"That's not the way I look at it," said Martinez, coming off her best weekend as a Wildcat in UA's series win at Texas. "Kati was an amazing player and I was incredibly fortunate to be able to watch her, play with her and learn from her for a year, but she's Kati and I'm Malia. I'm my own person and my own player, and I have to be."

Last year, Martinez served as Arizona's backup third baseman, watching Mauga and UA's seven other seniors lead the Wildcats to a Pac-12 Championship and an NCAA Super Regional appearance. Going from high school super star to a bench player wasn't easy, but Martinez stayed positive and stayed patient.

"Last year was frustrating at times," said Martinez. "But I took it as an opportunity to learn and grow as a player. Kati definitely taught me a lot about the mental part of third base, which has been incredibly helpful this year."

Now, it's Martinez's time to shine.

The sophomore from Poway, California remained patient through 2017 and remained patient through the start of 2018. When she started the season 1-for-14 (.071), it would have been easy to compound that problem by pressing at the plate. But she stayed patient, believed in herself, believed in what she had learned from her coaches and from Mauga last year. Since then, over the last 11 games, she's been one of Arizona's best hitters. She is 13-for-her-last-28 (.464) and has hit in eight of her last 10 games.

This weekend at Texas, it all came together.

Arizona's offense struggled against a very good Texas pitching staff. Martinez didn't. On a weekend where the Wildcat offense had just 18 total hits over the three games in Austin, Martinez had six of them. She went 6-for-9 (.667) with two doubles and her first career home run. In game 3, she finished a triple shy of the cycle and went 4-for-4 with five RBI.

Patience through a "frustrating" freshman year and a slow start to 2018 is paying off for Martinez. If her bat continues to heat up, adding even more depth and length to the UA lineup, which currently ranks fourth in home runs per game (1.47) and slugging percentage (.578) and 10th in batting average (.338), watch out.