WILDCAT INVITATIONAL
MARCH 1-3 • HILLENBRAND STADIUM
GAME SCHEDULE
| DATE |
TIME |
MATCHUP/RESULT |
LINKS |
| Friday, March 1 |
|
Minnesota 2, Drake 0 |
Box Score (PDF) |
| Friday, March 1 |
|
Minnesota 12, Kent State 1 (6 inn.) |
Box Score (PDF) |
| Friday, March 1 |
|
ARIZONA 9, Drake 4 |
Recap • Box Score (PDF) |
| Friday, March 1 |
|
ARIZONA 10, Kent State 0 (5 inn.) |
Recap • Box Score (PDF) |
| Saturday, March 2 |
|
James Madison 8, Drake 0 (5 inn.) |
Box Score (PDF) |
| Saturday, March 2 |
|
Minnesota 4, Drake 1 |
Box Score (PDF) |
| Saturday, March 2 |
|
James Madison 8, Kent State 1 |
Box Score (PDF) |
| Saturday, March 2 |
|
ARIZONA 2, Minnesota 0 |
Recap • Box Score (PDF) |
| Saturday, March 2 |
|
ARIZONA 7, Kent State 6 (8 inn.) |
Recap • Box Score (PDF) |
| Sunday, March 3 |
|
Drake 8, Kent State 0 (5 inn.) |
Box Score (PDF) |
| Sunday, March 3 |
|
Minnesota 5, James Madison 1 |
Box Score (PDF) |
| Sunday, March 3 |
|
ARIZONA 8, James Madison 6 |
Recap • Box Score (PDF) |
Fan Guide • Clear Bag Policy • 2019 Promo Schedule • Tickets • Parking Information
WEEKLY NOTES
THIS WEEK: After spending two of the first three weeks of the season on the road, the 12th-ranked Wildcats (9-5) are set for three straight weekends at home, playing 12 of their next 14 games at Hillenbrand Stadium, starting this weekend with the Wildcat Invitational, Feb. 28-March 1. Arizona will welcome #19 James Madison (5-2), #23 Minnesota (7-5), Drake (10-4) and Kent State (6-4) to Tucson for the four-day, 12-game event at Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium, which is set for its second event post renovation. The Wildcats open up the week in a single game vs. Drake (6 p.m.). UA will play Drake (4 p.m.) and Kent State (6:15 p.m.) on Friday, #23 Minnesota (4 p.m.) and Kent State (6:15 p.m.) on Saturday, and #19 James Madison (1:30 p.m.) on Sunday. All of Arizona's games will be streamed for free at arizonawildcats.com/sblive, while all tournament games not featuring Arizona can be streamed for a subscription fee at flosoftball.com. Live stats for all games can be found at arizonastats.com.
LEADING OFF
- After spending two of the first three weeks on the road, No. 12 Arizona is set for three straight weekends at home beginning this Thursday with the annual Wildcat Classic.
- The Wildcat Invitational features five quality teams, including three ranked teams (#12 Arizona, #19 James Madison, #23 Minnesota) and a fourth that is receiving votes (Drake) in the NFCA Top 25. All five teams already have at least one win over a ranked opponent this season.
- The Wildcats are 9-5 three weeks into the season and are coming off a 3-1 weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, California. UA defeated #20 Oklahoma State (3-0), Long Beach State (12-3) and UC Santa Barbara (9-1, 5 innings) and fell to No. 4 Oklahoma, 2-1. The Wildcats also defeated Team Japan, the world's No. 2 team behind Team USA, 1-0, in an exhibition game.
- This week, Arizona is set to play its sixth and seventh games against ranked opponents of the season. Seven ranked opponents through 20 games will be Arizona's most since 2004. Arizona is currently scheduled to play at least one ranked team in each of the first eight weeks of the 2019 season.
- Arizona has hit a Pac-12-most 22 home runs through the first 14 games of the season. The Wildcats are fifth in the country in home runs per game (1.57).
- UA pitchers rank first in the Pac-12 in both fewest walks (18) and fewest hit batters (3) and have allowed the second fewest hits (58) in the league.
- Arizona's pitching staff has combined to strike out 108 batters, which is tied for 12th most nationally. The Wildcats rank seventh in the nation with their 108/18 strikeout/walk ratio and ninth with their 8.59 strikeouts per seven innings. Taylor McQuillin currently sits eighth in school history with 643 career strikeouts.
- Arizona head coach Mike Candrea is second in NCAA history with 1,572 career victories in 32 years. He trails only Michigan's Carol Hutchins, who has won 1,576 games over 36 seasons.
OPPONENTS
- Drake: The Bulldogs (10-4) are receiving votes in this week's NFCA Top 25 after their 5-0 weekend at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas, including a victory over host and 12th-ranked Arkansas (3-1) and wins over IUPUI (5-0), SEMO (6-2, 7-5) and SIUE (3-2). Drake is led by pitcher Nicole Newman, who earned her 12th career Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week honor last week after posting a 1.29 ERA in Fayetteville, including a complete-game victory over the Razorbacks; she is 4-2 with an 0.86 ERA this season. Arizona is 11-0 all-time vs. Drake, which last was in Tucson for the 2017 Wildcat Invitational; Arizona won two games vs. the Bulldogs, 7-0 and 21-0. Full series history on page 9.
- James Madison: The Dukes (5-2) moved from 18th to 19th in this week's NFCA Top 25. JMU had three of its five games rained out last week, but defeated Boston College (9-0) and East Carolina (3-1) in the two games it played in the Pirate Invitational in Greenville, North Carolina. James Madison have two wins over ranked teams (#6 Tennessee and #19 Oregon) already this year. JMU is led by Megan Good, the 2017 NFCA Division I National Player of the Year and three-time All-American. The Wildcats and Dukes have met twice in history, with JMU winning both meetings in a four-day span in Tucson in 2016. Full series history on page 9.
- Kent State: The Golden Flashes (6-5) went 3-2 at the Baylor Invitational, including a pair of victories over #21 Baylor (1-0, 6-5) and a win over North Texas (6-0) to go along with losses to #10 Louisiana-Lafayette (1-21) and North Texas (0-9). Freshman pitcher Andrea Scali was named the USA Softball co-Player of the Week this week after posting two wins over #21 Baylor on the same day in her 3-0 weekend that included two games that she took no-hitters into the seventh inning. She is 6-0 this season with an 0.41 ERA. Arizona and Kent State have met just one time prior, with Arizona defeating Kent State, 4-0 in the 1997 Hillenbrand Invitational. Full series history on page 9.
- Minnesota: The Golden Gophers (7-5) moved up from 24 to 23 in this week's NFCA Top 25 after going 3-2 at the Bama Bash in Tuscaloosa, Alabama with wins over LMU (5-0, 13-1) and Missouri State (7-0) and pair of losses to #6 Alabama. Hope Brandener (.406 avg, 4 HR, 16 RBI) leads the offense while Amber Fiser (4-4, 1.79 ERA, .148 b/avg) leads the pitching staff. Arizona is 22-4 all-time vs. Minnesota, but the Golden Gophers have won two of the last three, including a 1-0, eight-inning victory in Tucson last March. Full series history on page 9.
ARIZONA AT THE WILDCAT INVITATIONAL
- Arizona is 109-4 (.965) all-time at the Wildcat Invitational, including 6-0 last season.
- The Wildcats' last loss in the event occurred in 2016 to No. 10 James Madison; UA went 4-2 in 2016.
- Last year, UA defeated #24 USC Upstate 2x (3-0, 9-1), Wisconsin 2x (1-0, 9-3), South Dakota (9-1) and San Diego (10-2) in the Wildcat Invitational. Alyssa Palomino hit .632 with three home runs while Taylor McQuillin went 3-0 with a 0.37 ERA, including two shutouts, in the event.
WHO'S HOT?
- Taylor McQuillin: In seven starts this season (all complete games), McQuillin has allowed nine earned runs, eight of which have come to top-10 opponents. In her last three starts, McQuillin threw two straight shutouts vs. Cal State Fullerton and #20 Oklahoma State before allowing just two runs on three hits in a complete-game loss against No. 4 Oklahoma. She ranks third in the Pac-12 with 60 strikeouts this season.
- Tamara Statman: The senior has made the most out of her opportunities this year. In six appearances, including four starts), Statman is 5-for-10 (.500) with two home runs and four RBI.
- Malia Martinez: The junior hit .417 in Palm Springs, Going 5-for-12 with two RBI in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, helping her raise her average to .368 three weeks into the season. Martinez has three homers and nine RBI in 38 at-bats this season.
- Jessie Harper: The junior has at least one hit in 11 of UA's 14 games, including a three-hit, four-RBI game vs. Long Beach State last Friday, her second four-RBI game of the season. She leads the Wildcats with six home runs and 13 RBI.
- Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza: The 2018 first-team All-American is getting on base 50% of the team with a team-high-tying .395 batting average to go along with a team-most nine walks. She has three doubles and five home runs this season for the Wildcats.
RANKINGS
- Arizona moved up to 12th in NFCA Top 25 (from 14th), 12th in the USA Softball Top 25 (from 13th) and remained 16th in the Softball America Top 25 (from 9th).
- 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 four in the top 15.
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 six teams in the current NFCA Top 25. In all, UA's schedule includes 13 teams currently ranked in the top 25.
- Arizona is scheduled to play at least one ranked team in each of the first nine weeks of the season, including six games vs. top-10 teams in that span. The Wildcats are currently 2-3 vs. ranked teams this year.
- Since 1994, Arizona is above .500 against ranked teams, top-10 teams and top-five competition. UA is 566-265-1 (.690) against ranked competition, 265-177 (.617) against top-10 teams and 129-124 (.536) against top-five teams.
LAST WEEK
- Arizona went 3-1 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, with victories over #20 Oklahoma State (3-0), Long Beach State (12-3) and UC Santa Barbara (9-1) and a loss to #4 Oklahoma (1-2). UA also defeated the Japanese National Team 1-0 in an exhibition game that featured a Gina Snyder shutout and a Dejah Mulipola home run.
- Thursday's action at the Mary Nutter was rained out, cancelling a game vs. Missouri in which the Wildcats led 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning and forcing the Cats into playing a tripleheader on Saturday.
- Arizona outscored its opponents 25-6 over the four games.
- Entering the weekend, eight Wildcats had recorded RBI over the first 10 games of Arizona's season. In four games in Palm Springs, 10 different Wildcats drove in runs, led by four from Jessie Harper, who hit one of two home runs on the weekend for the Cats.
- After committing 11 errors in the Hillenbrand Invitational two weeks ago, the Wildcat defense did not commit an error in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
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 a five-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 1,572-409-2 (.794), trails only Michigan's Carol Hutchins (1,577-512-5, .757) in NCAA history. Candrea's victories have occurred over 32 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 leads the Pac-12 with 22 home runs in 14 games and ranks fifth in the country, averaging 1.57 home runs per game.
- The Cats have three of the top eight home run hitters in the Pac-12 (t3rd - Jessie Harper, 6; 5th - Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza, 5; t6th - Dejah Mulipola - 4).
- 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 31-2 in games in which Harper homers in her career.
- Arizona has hit 2,108 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).
