THE GAMES (Times MST)
58 | Thursday, May 24 |  7,  1 | Recap | Box Score
59 | Friday, May 25 (6 p.m.) |  at  | ESPN2 | Live Stats | Twitter Updates | Tickets
If Necessary | Saturday, May 26 (4 p.m.) |  at  | ESPN | Live Stats | Twitter Updates | Tickets 
  

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LEADING OFF

• After sweeping the Tucson Regional, Arizona has earned its way into the 13th super regional in 14 years since the round was added in 2005. UA is second nationally behind only Alabama, who has been in all 14 super regionals.
• Arizona is making its 32nd consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, the longest active streak in the country and seven years longer than the second-longest active streak, and the longest streak ever in the sport.
• The Wildcats advanced out of the Tucson Regional in convincing fashion, much in part to the domination of Taylor McQuillin. The junior pitched 19.2 scoreless innings, allowing just six total hits (.094 b/avg). She threw shutouts against Saint Francis and North Dakota State (to bring her season total to 15 shutouts, most in the NCAA), but her most impressive work was in the regional final against Mississippi State. McQuillin entered the game in the third inning and, facing an offense that had hit three home runs through the first seven batters, retired 16 of the 17 batters she faced, allowing just one walk over 5.2 innings of relief.
• Arizona is 167-59 overall in the NCAA Tournament, but just 14-15 in super regionals. UA advanced out of its first six super regionals (05-10), but have failed to make it out of the last six (11, 12, 14-17). Each of the last two years, Arizona has won game 1, but dropped games 2 and 3.
• Seven Wildcats were named to the all-Pac-12 teams. Jessie Harper, Taylor McQuillin and Alyssa Palomino were named to the first team, Ashleigh Hughes and Dejah Mulipola were named to the second team and Reyna Carranco and Alyssa Denham were named to the third team. Mulipola was named to the all-defensive team.
• The NFCA all-west region also featured seven Wildcats. Jessie Harper, Taylor McQuillin, Dejah Mulipola and Alyssa Palomino were first teamers, Reyna Carranco was named to the second team and Aleah Craighton and Ashleigh Hughes were named to the third team. Arizona's seven players overall and four first-team selections were both third most in the country.
• Arizona enters the Los Angeles Super Regional a winner of 14 of its last 15 games, with its only loss in that span a one-run loss in extra innings in the regular season finale.
• After a difficult stretch at the beginning of April, Arizona's pitching has turned the tide in a big way. UA has won 16 of its last 18 games and has not allowed more than three runs in any of those 18 games. Over those 18 games, UA's pitchers have posted a 0.82 ERA. Taylor McQuillin, whose last five starts have all been shutouts, has allowed just one run over her last 44.1 innings (0.16 ERA).

THIS WEEK: Fourteenth-seeded Arizona (43-14) is set to travel to Southern California for the Los Angeles Super Regional, where the Wildcats will meet third-seeded UCLA (54-5) in a three-game series with a trip to Oklahoma City and the Women's College World Series on the line. Arizona is making its 13th trip to the super regional round in the last 14 years, but is looking to advance out of the round and onto OKC for the first time since 2010, which is also the last time the Wildcats and Bruins met in the postseason (UCLA defeated Arizona for the 2010 national championship). Arizona is coming off a sweep of the Tucson Regional while UCLA needed to advance out of the losers' bracket to win the Los Angeles Regional in five games. 

ARIZONA IN NCAA SUPER REGIONALS: The Wildcats have advanced to 13 of the 14 super regionals since they began in 2005, with their only miss coming in 2013. The 12 appearances are second to only Alabama, who's been in all 14. Arizona is 14-15 in the round and has advanced out six of its previous 12 trips, but none since 2010. Most recently, the second-seeded 2017 Wildcats took game 1 against 15th-seeded Baylor, but fell in games 2 and 3.

SCOUTING THE BRUINS: No. 2 UCLA (54-5) won three consecutive elimination games to win the Los Angeles Regional in five games ... The Bruins have both the Pac-12 Player of the Year (Rachel Garcia) and the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year (Aaliyah Jordan), two of 10 finalists for USA Softball Player of the Year ... Garcia is 25-3 on the season with a 1.01 ERA in the circle and is hitting .357 with 10 home runs and 51 RBI ... Jordan leads the Bruins in average (.435), doubles (14), home runs (12) and RBI (64) ... UCLA is hitting .338 as a team, second best average in the country, and has five players hitting above .350 on the season.

ARIZONA vs. UCLA: The most historic rivalry in college softball is renewed this weekend at Easton Stadium. The two most successful programs in the sports history have combined for 19 NCAA titles. UCLA leads the all-time series 81-57 and has won each of the last seven series. UCLA swept the series in Tucson this year, defeating Arizona 7-6 in game 1, 7-3 in game 2 and 10-3 in game 2.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: Ten of Arizona's 14 losses have come to the top eight seeds in the NCAA Tournament; the Cats went 3-10 vs. top eight seeds this year. After this weekend, UA will have played either 15 or 16 games against top-10 teams, its most since 2010 (18).  Overall, Arizona is 8-11 vs. ranked teams this year.

HOME RUN U

• Arizona is sixth nationally with 74 home runs, 10 behind national leader James Madison. The Wildcats' 74 home runs mark their 15th 70-homer season in program history, the most in the NCAA.
• Alyssa Palomino and Jessie Harper are tied for the Pac-12 lead with 18 home runs apiece and Dejah Mulipola is tied for sixth with 12. Arizona is one of only two teams in the country with two players with at least 18 home runs (Campbell) and one of only seven teams nationally with three players with 12 or more home runs (Campbell, Eastern Kentucky, Fordham, James Madison, Ohio State, Oklahoma).
• Arizona has hit 2,085 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).

THE NATION'S LEADER IN SHUTOUTS: Taylor McQuillin leads the country with 15 shutouts, including each of her last five starts. McQuillin's 15 shutouts are the most by a Wildcat since Kenzie Fowler's 15 in 2010. Three of her shutouts have come against ranked teams, including one-hitters vs. No. 4 Oklahoma (2/24) and No. 22 Cal (3/29). She also has a no-hitter this season (2/11 vs. New Mexico). McQuillin leads the Pac-12 in shutouts and wins (25) and is second in the league in strikeouts (255).

SUPER SOPHOMORES: The top four Wildcat hitters (by batting average) are all sophomores. UA's sophomore class is hitting a combined .327 with 54 home runs and 177 RBI while all other classes are hitting a combined .263 with 20 home runs and 93 RBI. In addition to the four sophomores leading the charge, seven of the top eight Wildcat batting averages all belong to underclassmen.

WHO'S HOT?

• Taylor McQuillin: On April 22, Taylor McQuillin gave up a game-tying home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to No. 8 ASU in the rubbermatch of the series. Arizona went on to win that game, 4-2 in eight innings, to win the series. Since that game-tying homer, McQuillin has thrown 57 innings and allowed two total runs (0.25 ERA). In her seven starts in that time frame, six of them have been shutouts. In the Tucson Regional, she pitched 19.2 scoreless innings and struck out 22 batters while allowing six hits. One batter reached scoring position all weekend against McQuillin, two, two-out walks in the fifth inning vs. Saint Francis.
• Reyna Carranco: The sophomore is 10-for-her-last-25 (.417) over Arizona's last four games. The Oxnard, California native has two doubles in that time and has driven in four runs and scored three of her own. Her two doubles in that span are two of her career-most 13 on the season, one off the Wildcat lead. After going 4-for-11 (.364) in the Tucson Regional, she is now hitting .483 in nine career NCAA Tournament games.
• Dejah Mulipola: The sophomore is 11-for-her-last-23 (.478) after going 4-for-7 with a double and two RBI at the Tucson Regional. She also walked three times for an OBP of .700 in the regional.
• Jenna Kean: It was quite the NCAA Tournament debut for the freshman, who led Arizona with a .625 average in the Tucson regional, including her first four-hit game (vs. North Dakota State). In her last eight games, Kean is hitting .385 with three of of her five extra-base hits and four of her eight RBI on the season.

LAST WEEK: CATS SWEEP TUCSON REGIONAL

• Arizona swept the Tucson Regional, defeating Saint Francis (1-0), North Dakota State (6-0) and Mississippi State (4-3) to earn its 29th NCAA Regional title.
• Without discrediting Arizona's offensive successes over the weekend, it was the Taylor McQuillin show at Hillenbrand Stadium for three days. She pitched 19.2 scoreless innings and allowed just six hits compared to 22 strikeouts. Only one runner reached scoring position against her all weekend.
• In game 1, Jessie Harper hit her 18th home run in the bottom of the fourth inning to support McQuillin's shutout and defeat Saint Francis 1-0.
• In game 2, Jenna Kean posted her first career 4-for-4 day and scored two of Arizona's six runs in McQuillin's two-hit shutout in UA's 6-0 win.
• In game 3, McQuillin entered in relief in the second inning after starter Alyssa Denham had allowed three solo home runs, and retired 16 of the 17 Bulldogs she faced as Arizona's two seniors Ashleigh Hughes and Aleah Craighton, had the two go-ahead hits for the Wildcats in the game.

THE CHASE FOR HISTORY: Two legends, two Hall of Famers, Arizona's Mike Candrea and Michigan's Carol Hutchins, are battling it out to become the winningest coach in the sport's history. Hutchins currently has an eight-win advantage on Candrea. Below are some notes on their chase for history.

• Last year Candrea became the first coach in NCAA softball history to reach 1,500 Division I victories. Candrea, who is 1,563-402-2 (.795), trails only Michigan's Carol Hutchins (1,571-504-5, .756) in NCAA history. Candrea's victories have occurred over 31 years of coaching at Arizona 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 ERA in each of the last two years (2016 - 2.67, 2017 - 1.45) and sits fifth in the conference in 2018 with a 1.82 ERA. This season, UA has been tasked with replacing 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 (28-10, 1.45 ERA) has filled that void thus far. She leads the Pac-12 in wins (28) and shutouts (15), is second in strikeouts (277) , is fifth in opp. batting average (.161) and is seventh in ERA (1.45).

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 backing it up 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). Harper, who finished second in the Pac-12 in home runs last season is tied for the Pac-12 lead (18) while her team-high 51 RBI are tied for third in the league. Over half of her RBI have come with two out (26 of 51). Her 26 two-out RBI are double what the next Wildcat has this year (Mulipola - 13). Harper, the week 6 Pac-12 Player of the Week, was named first-team all-Pac-12 and all-region for the second consecutive season.

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 preseason first-team All-American by three publications and was on the USA Softball Player of the Year "Watch List". Craighton leads the team this season with 28 walks. She is seventh among all active players in the NCAA in career home runs (56) and 12th in RBI (185). Craighton, who had the game-winning hit in the regional final vs. Mississippi State, was named third-team all-region.

QUEEN REYNA: After posting just five extra base hits in 57 games as a freshman (3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run), Reyna Carranco has 15 in 52 games this season. She has 13 doubles, second most on the team, to go along with two home runs. Carranco missed five games with a fractured nose and a concussion when she was hit by a 70 mph Taran Alvelo pitch in the face in game 1 vs. Washington (3/23), but returned vs. Oregon. Carranco was named third-team all-Pac-12 for the second consecutive season and second-team all-region.

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, is first in the NCAA with 15 shutouts and is fifth with 28 victories. The junior, who is 11th nationally with 277 strikeouts this year, sits eighth in school history in career strikeouts. McQuillin received her third straight all-conference nod this season; she was a third-team selection as a freshman, second-team selection as a sophomore, and now a first-team selection as a junior.

MINOR SETBACKS, MAJOR COMEBACK: A torn right ACL on day 1 of fall practice (Sept., 2015) 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 in the process of overcoming both devastating injuries. Palomino, who made the switch from the outfield to first base this season, leads the Pac-12 in slugging percentage (.753) and is tied in home runs (18) and is seventh in batting average (.370) and on-base percentage (.455). Though her average has dipped under .400 for the first time since week 3, she is trying to become the 13th player in school history to hit .400 with double digit home runs in a season. Palomino, a first-team all-Pac-12 selection, was named Arizona Athletics' Sophomore Female Student Athlete of the Year.

BEATING THE BEST: Since 1994, Arizona is above .500 against ranked teams, top-10 teams and top-five competition. UA is 565-261-1 (.690) against ranked competition, 265-173 (.617) against top-10 teams and 129-120 (.536) against top-five teams.

GOING STREAKING: Arizona has appeared in every NCAA Tournament since 1987, Mike Candrea's second year on campus. That's an NCAA-Record 32 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. Last season, UA broke Fresno State's inactive 30-year streak for the longest in the history of the sport.

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. 

MIXING IT UP: Due to various injuries and struggles, Arizona has used a variety of lineups this season; in 57 games, Arizona has used 38 different lineups. Compare that to last season when UA used 19 different lineups in 61 games.

SAME FACES, NEW PLACES: Despite returning six starters and 12 letterwinners from the 2017 Pac-12 Championship team, seven of the nine positions feature a new face in 2018. Only two players (catcher Dejah Mulipola and second baseman Reyna Carranco) are in the same position as last year; Jessie Harper (1B to SS), Alyssa Palomino (CF to 1B), Ashleigh Hughes (RF to CF) are all playing new positions. 

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).

UP NEXT: With a victory in the Los Angeles Super Regional, Arizona would advance to its 23rd Women's College World Series, and first since 2010.