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Hillenbrand Invitational Tournament Central

Softball Arizona Athletics

Hillenbrand Invitational Tournament Central

HILLENBRAND INVITATIONAL
FEB. 15-17 • HILLENBRAND STADIUM

arizona
#9 Arizona
(6-4)		 fullerton
Cal State
Fullerton (7-2)		 alabama
#7 Alabama
(10-0)		 New Mexico
New Mexico
(3-5)		 USF
South Florida
(4-6)		 UIC
Illinois-Chicago
(2-8)
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Schedule Schedule Schedule Schedule Schedule Schedule
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GAME SCHEDULE

DATE TIME MATCHUP/RESULT LINKS
Friday, Feb. 15 Cal State Fullerton 12, Illinois-Chicago 8 Box Score
Friday, Feb. 15 #7 Alabama 2, South Florida 0 Box Score
Friday, Feb. 15 #7 Alabama 1, New Mexico 0 Box Score
Friday, Feb. 15 South Florida 4, #9 ARIZONA 1 Recap • Box Score
Friday, Feb. 15 #9 ARIZONA 10, Illinois-Chicago 1 (5) Recap • Box Score
Friday, Feb. 15 Cal State Fullerton 6, New Mexico 2 Box Score
Saturday, Feb. 16 South Florida 7, Illinois-Chicago 5 Box Score
Saturday, Feb. 16 Cal State Fullerton 5, South Florida 4 Box Score
Saturday, Feb. 16 #7 Alabama 7, Cal State Fullerton 2 Box Score
Saturday, Feb. 16 #7 Alabama 6, #9 Arizona 1 Recap • Box Score
Saturday, Feb. 16 #9 ARIZONA 15, New Mexico 1 (5) Recap • Box Score
Saturday, Feb. 16 New Mexico 13, Illinois-Chicago 5 (5) Box Score
Sunday, Feb. 17 South Florida 2, New Mexico 1 (8) Box Score
Sunday, Feb. 17 #7 Alabama 15, Illinois-Chicago 4 (5) Box Score
Sunday, Feb. 17 #9 ARIZONA vs. Cal State Fullerton Box Score

Fan Guide • Clear Bag Policy • 2019 Promo Schedule • Tickets • Parking Information
 

WEEKLY NOTES
THIS WEEK: Ninth-ranked Arizona (3-2) is set to open up renovated Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium this week, showing off the $8 Million facelift the stadium received this offseason. UA opens its 29-game home schedule with the 23rd Hillenbrand Invitational this weekend in Tucson. Arizona, which went 3-2 at the USF Opening Weekend Invitational to open the season, will host #7 Alabama, Cal State Fullerton, Illinois-Chicago, New Mexico and South Florida for the four-day, 16-game event at Hillenbrand Stadium. UA, which is 112-3 all-time in the tournament, will get things going on Thursday evening at 6 p.m. vs. New Mexico for the stadium's Grand Re-Opening. Prior to the game, Doby Hillenbrand, UA Athletics Director Dave Heeke and head coach Mike Candrea will assist in the ribbon cutting prior to first pitch. On Friday, UA will take on South Florida and Illinois-Chicago in a doubleheader beginning at 3:45 p.m. followed by a doubleheader with Alabama and New Mexico beginning at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday. UA and Cal State Fullerton will conclude the event at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. All six games UA can be watched live at arizonawildcats.com/sblive. All non-Arizona matches can be seen at FloSoftball.com.  

LEADING OFF
  • The week is finally here for Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium, which will re-open following an $8 Million renovation this offseason. The comprehensive renovations include amenities for fans (shade structure with cooling fans underneath, club level and field level seating, pole-free netting to provide improved sightlines, new entryway/concourse with upgraded ticket office, restrooms, concession areas, A Store and Wall of Fame), players (enlarged home and visiting dugouts with restrooms, improved bullpens and new padding on outfield and infield walls), as well as media (enclosed and climate controlled press box).  
  • The Wildcats are coming off a 3-2 weekend at the USF Opening Weekend Invitational, including victories over #19 Michigan, USF and Illinois State and losses to fifth-ranked Florida and NC State.
  • Arizona hit 11 home runs last weekend in Tampa, including four from Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza. Both Arizona's 11 total homers and Palomino-Cardoza's four lead the Pac-12.
  • Palomino-Cardoza is one of four Wildcats to have hit multiple home runs last weekend. Dejah Mulipola is second in the Pac-12 with three homers while Jessie Harper and Malia Martinez had two apiece.
  • The Wildcats dropped to No. 9 in the NFCA Top 25 after starting the season ranked No. 7. Arizona will welcome seventh-ranked Alabama to Hillenbrand this weekend, UA's second top-10 opponent and third ranked foe through two weeks of 2019. The last time UA played three ranked teams in its first nine games was 2010.
  • Arizona head coach Mike Candrea is second in NCAA history with 1,566 career victories in 31 years. He trails only Michigan's Carol Hutchins, who has won 1,574 games over 35 seasons.
  • The Wildcats are hosting the Hillenbrand Invitational for the 23rd time in history. UA is 112-3 (.974) all-time in the event and went 4-0 in the rain-shortened tournament last year. 

OPPONENTS
  • New Mexico: The Lobos went 2-1 at the season-opening New Mexico State Invitational in Las Cruces with wins over UTEP (15-6) and Creighton (8-0) and a one-run loss to New Mexico State (8-9). The Lobos hit .373 on the weekend, led by Cameryn O'Grady, who went 7-for-9 (.778) with a double, a triple and two homers in nine at-bats. The Wildcats are 32-1 all-time vs. New Mexico and have won the last 28 vs. the Lobos, including two wins last season. Arizona is  Full series history on page 8.
  • South Florida: The Bulls went 1-4 at their season-opening USF Opening Weekend Invitational in Tampa with a win over Illinois State (2-1) and losses to #7 Arizona (1-4), #19 Michigan (1-10), NC State (1-2)and #5 Florida (1-7). Bethaney Keen hit two home runs and led the team with a .385 average on the weekend. Arizona 10-0 all-time against South Florida, including a 4-1 victory over the Bulls last week in Tampa; Alyssa Denham threw a complete-game and allowed one run on three hits with a career-high 11 strikeouts. Full series history on page 8. 
  • Illinois-Chicago: The Flames went 2-3 at the Kickin' Chicken Classic in Conway, South Carolina with wins over Boston University (4-3) and Rider (17-0) and losses to #8 Tennessee (2-13 & 1-11) and Coastal Carolina (1-9). UIC hit .358  with 11 extra-base hits in the five games, led by Skylee James, who hit .538 with two doubles a homer and seven RBI. Arizona is 13-0 all-time vs. UIC; Arizona won the last meeting between the teams on March 12, 2010 in Tucson (8-0, five innings). Full series history on page 8.
  • #7 Alabama: The seventh-ranked Crimson Tide started the season 5-0 at the season-opening Trojan Classic in Troy, Alabama, defeated Murray State (12-0 & 16-10), Troy (7-1 & 8-0) and Maryland (10-0). Alabama put up big offensive numbers in the tournament, outscoring its opponents 53-11 in the five wins, three of which came via the mercy rule. Bailey Hemphill, who hit .571 with three doubles and a homer, drove in 11 runs in 14 at-bats. The Wildcats are 12-4 all-time against the Crimson Tide, but Alabama has won four of the last six, most recently an Alabama sweep of two games in Tuscaloosa at the 2016 Bama Bash. Full series history on page 8.
  • Cal State Fullerton: The 2018 Big West Champions started the season 4-1 at their season-opening Titan Classic with wins over Idaho State (3-2), Buffalo (5-4), Utah State (3-2) and Pacific (8-0) and a 9-0 loss to Louisville.   The Titans were led by Irie Siofele, whow had five hits, including two homers, and had six RBI in the five games. Arizona owns a 26-20 all-time record vs. CSUF; the Wildcats have won the last two meetings, including a 15-0, five-inning victory on March 8, 2014 in Fullerton. Full series history on page 8.

ARIZONA AT THE HILLENBRAND INVITATIONAL: Arizona is 112-3 (.974) all-time in the Hillenbrand Invitational and has not lost since 2009 (Creighton). Last season, in a rain-shortened tournament, UA went 4-0 with victories over Louisiana-Monroe (4-0), Montana (2-1), Colorado State (3-0) and Bryant (14-0). Arizona has hosted the event 22 times since 1994, the year after Hillenbrand Stadium's opening. For a full breakdown of Arizona's history in the Hillenbrand Invitational, head to page 8.

WHO'S HOT?
  • Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza: The preseason All-American impressed in her first weekend of 2019. She homered in four of UA's five games in Tampa, four of her eight hits on the weekend (.500). Dating back to last season, Palomino-Cardoza has a hit in six straight games, including five with a home run (four of which occurred in the first inning). The redshirt junior slugged 1.250 and got on base at a .556 clip in the five games.
  • Dejah Mulipola: The U.S. Women's National Team member started 2019 red hot at the dish. Mulipola led the team with a .533 batting average and six RBI over 15 at-bats in Tampa. She hit a double and three homers, all during Friday's doubleheader, in which she combined to go 4-for-6 with six RBI. The catcher threw out the only player brave enough to attempt a stolen base on the weekend. 
  • Reyna Carranco: The junior closed the USF Opening Weekend Invitational with two straight three-hit games, her sixth and seventh three-hit efforts in her career. She became the first Wildcat since Katiyana Mauga in 2016 to record back-to-back three-hit games.
  • Malia Martinez: The junior was one of four Wildcats to record multiple home runs on the weekend, blasting two homers over 13 at-bats in Tampa. That figure is already half of her 2018 total, when she hit four in 164 at-bats. Martinez batted .462 in the five games and led the team with three walks, helping her to a team-high-tying .563 on-base percentage.
  • Alyssa Denham: The junior, who struck out 4.51 batters per seven innings in her freshman and sophomore seasons, fanned 18 batters in her 11 innings in Tampa, good for a 11.45 Ks/7 IP mark which ranks second in the Pac-12 behind 2018 USA Softball Player of the Year Rachel Garcia. Denham struck out a career-best 11 vs. South Florida in a complete-game three-hitter in her first start of 2019.

RANKINGS
  • Arizona moved down to ninth in all three polls.
  • The Wildcats started the season ranked seventh in the NFCA Top 25 and Softball America Top 25 and sixth in the USA Softball Top 25.
  • Arizona is one of five Pac-12 teams in the top 25 and three in the top 10.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
  • When it's all said and done, Arizona will play what is sure to be among the toughest schedules in the country. Arizona's schedule includes each of the top seven teams from the final 2018 NFCA Top 25 (and 11 total ranked teams), 17 games against 2018 WCWS teams, 21 2018 NCAA Tournament teams and home series vs. the defending national champions (Florida State; March 8-10) and national runners up (Washington; May 3-5).
  • The Wildcats will play or have already played each of top five teams in the current NFCA Top 25 and six of the top seven. In all, UA's schedule includes 12 teams currently ranked in the top 25.
  • Arizona is scheduled to play at least one ranked team in each of the first seven weeks of the season, including six games vs. top-10 teams in that span.
  • Since 1994, Arizona is above .500 against ranked teams, top-10 teams and top-five competition. UA is 565-263-1 (.690) against ranked competition, 265-175 (.617) against top-10 teams and 129-122 (.536) against top-five teams.

LAST WEEK
  • Arizona went 3-2 at the USF Opening Weekend Invitational, beating #19 Michigan, South Florida and Illinois State and suffering losses to #5 Florida and NC State.
  • The Cats' offense was long-ball reliant on the weekend; UA hit a Pac-12-most 11 home runs that accounted for 16 of Arizona's 18 runs scored on the weekend. 
  • Four Wildcats hit multiple homers in the tournament, led by Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza. The 2018 Pac-12 home run leader started where she left last season with a Pac-12-leading four big flies.
  • The top five in the UA order combined to go 34-for-77 (.442), but the rest of the Wildcats hit just .075 on the weekend.
  • Arizona's pitching staff, like its offense, was all-or-nothing on the weekend. UA's three pitchers, Taylor McQuillin, Alyssa Denham and Hanah Bowen combined to strike out 42 batters over 31 innings and held opponents to a .174 average on the weekend. However, the trio surrendered seven home runs that accounted for eight of the 10 runs scored by Wildcat opponents. 

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.
  • In 2017, Candrea became the first coach in NCAA softball history to reach 1,500 Division I victories. Candrea, who is 1,566-408-2 (.794), trails only Michigan's Carol Hutchins (1,574-506-5, .757) in NCAA history. Candrea's victories have occurred over 31 years of coaching at Arizona while Hutchins is in her 36th 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.

HOME RUN U
  • Arizona hit 11 home runs on opening weekend, the most in the Pac-12.
  • Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza, who led the Pac-12 in homers in 2018, leads the conference in home runs this year with four.
  • Jessie Harper has finished second in the Pac-12 each of the last two seasons (to teammates Katiyana Mauga, 2017, and Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza, 2018) with 19 and 18 home runs, respectively. She hit two home runs vs. South Florida (2/8) and now has nine career games with multiple home runs. Arizona is 29-1 in games in which Harper homers in her career.
  • Arizona has hit 2,097 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.
  • Arizona has hit 100-or-more home runs six times in program history, the most in NCAA history. Only two other schools have hit the century mark more than twice (UTSA and Louisiana Lafayette).

THE CHASE FOR 40: Juniors Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza (117 career games played) and Jessie Harper (125 games) enter this weekend's action with 39 career home runs, which ties for 20th most in Arizona history. As they rapidly ascend up the UA career charts here's Arizona's current top five fastest players to 40 career home runs some perspective on their career trajectory and current pace:
1 Katiyana Mauga, 2014-17 102 games
2 Stacie Chambers, 2008-11 104 games
3 Brigette Del Ponte, 2010-13 129 games
4 Leneah Manuma, 2001-02 133 games
5 Leah Braatz, 1994-95, 97-98 139 games
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Players Mentioned

Katiyana Mauga

#34 Katiyana Mauga

3B
5' 2"
Senior
Hanah Bowen

#7 Hanah Bowen

P/INF
5' 4"
Sophomore
Reyna Carranco

#5 Reyna Carranco

INF
5' 6"
Junior
Alyssa Denham

#22 Alyssa Denham

P
6' 1"
Junior
Jessie Harper

#19 Jessie Harper

INF
5' 6"
Junior
Malia Martinez

#17 Malia Martinez

INF
5' 7"
Junior
Taylor McQuillin

#18 Taylor McQuillin

P
5' 8"
Senior
Dejah Mulipola

#8 Dejah Mulipola

C
5' 8"
Junior
Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza

#32 Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza

OF
5' 10"
Redshirt Junior

Players Mentioned

Katiyana Mauga

#34 Katiyana Mauga

5' 2"
Senior
3B
Hanah Bowen

#7 Hanah Bowen

5' 4"
Sophomore
P/INF
Reyna Carranco

#5 Reyna Carranco

5' 6"
Junior
INF
Alyssa Denham

#22 Alyssa Denham

6' 1"
Junior
P
Jessie Harper

#19 Jessie Harper

5' 6"
Junior
INF
Malia Martinez

#17 Malia Martinez

5' 7"
Junior
INF
Taylor McQuillin

#18 Taylor McQuillin

5' 8"
Senior
P
Dejah Mulipola

#8 Dejah Mulipola

5' 8"
Junior
C
Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza

#32 Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza

5' 10"
Redshirt Junior
OF
Partners