University of Arizona Athletics

 
THE GAMES (Times MST)
29 | Friday, March 22 |  9,  1 (5 inn.) | Recap | Box Score (PDF) | Highlights
30 | Saturday, March 23 |  11,  4 | Recap | Box Score (PDF) | Highlights
31 | Sunday, March 24 (12 p.m.) |  at  | Pac-12 Network/Oregon | Live Stats | Twitter Updates
 

---

• The 11th-ranked Wildcats enter week 2 of Pac-12 play as one of two teams in the league (UCLA) to open league play with a week 1 sweep. The Cats swept Oregon last week, outscoring the Ducks 24-3 over three games at Hillenbrand Stadium.
• Arizona enters Pac-12 play winners of 17 of its last 20 games, with its only three losses in that span coming to the current No. 2 (Oklahoma) and No. 3 (Florida State) ranked teams in the country by a combined four runs.
• UA debuted in the first NCAA RPI rankings, a metric heavily used to seed the NCAA Tournament, at No. 8. 
• Through 28 games, Arizona has played 10 games against ranked opponents and has a 5-5 record in those games. All five losses are to top-six opponents. In six games vs. (current rankings) No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Alabama and No. 6 Florida, UA has been outscored by just two runs (21-23) and has 11 more hits (40-29).
• The Wildcats hit nine home runs during their sweep of Oregon last weekend and now have 51 home runs in 28 games. They lead the country, averaging 1.82/game, the most in the country. UA's 51 homers are its most through 28 games since 2009 (60).
• Arizona is the only team in the country with three players with double-digit home runs; Jessie Harper and Dejah Mulipola lead the Pac-12 and are tied for fourth in the country with 13 home runs while Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza is fourth in the league and tied for 15th nationally with 10 homers.
• Two Wildcats (Reyna Carranco and Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza) enter the weekend with 10-game hitting streaks. Carranco has multiple hits in eight of those 10 games and is hitting .571 with five doubles, two homers and has 11 RBI in her 10-game hitting streak. Palomino-Cardoza has six doubles, a triple and four home runs during her 10-game hitting streak with 20 RBI and a .429 average over her 10-game streak.
• Arizona's offense has been heating up with the weather. In the month of March (13 games), Arizona is averaging 7.62 runs/game and is hitting 2.00 home runs per game after scoring 5.33 runs and hitting 1.67 homers per game in February (15 games).
• Arizona head coach Mike Candrea enters the weekend two wins shy of Michigan's Carol Hutchins for the most career wins in NCAA softball history. Candrea, who is in his 32nd year of coaching at Arizona, has won 1,481 wins while Hutchins has 1,483 over 36 seasons of coaching.
• In her last 16 at-bats (spanning six games), Dejah Mulipola has hit six home runs, vaulting her into a tie for the Pac-12 lead in homers (13). Over those 16 at-bats, she is hitting .500 with 11 RBI.

NOTES ON THE BEAVERS (17-7, 1-2 Pac-12)

• Oregon State is receiving votes in this week's NFCA Top 25 and debuted at No. 34 in the first NCAA RPI rankings.
• The Beavers dropped the final two games of their series at #17 Arizona State to open Pac-12 play, ending a five-game winning streak for the Beavers.
• OSU is led offensively by Lovie Lopez (.375 avg, 2 2B, 5-7 SB) and Frankie Hammoude (.323 avg, 7 HR, 23 RBI).
• Maria Mazon (77 K, 74.1 IP) and Meehra Nelson (72 K, 59.2 IP) rank seventh and eighth in the Pac-12 in strikeouts; OSU is one of two teams with two pitchers in the top eight in the league in strikeouts.

ARIZONA vs. OREGON STATE

• Arizona is 103-14 (.880) all-time vs. Oregon State, including seven straight and 14-of-the-last-15 overall. 
• UA swept Oregon State in Tucson last season; the Cats won game 1, 9-0 (5), game 2, 6-2, and game 3, 9-1 (6). 
• Arizona's 103 victories vs. Oregon State are its most vs. any opponent. Arizona has won the last five series vs. the Beavers.

LAST WEEK

• For the first time since 2007, Arizona swept Oregon, defeating the Ducks 8-0 (6) in game 1, 8-0 (5) in game 2 and 8-3 in game 3.
• The Cats became the first team since April 15-17, 2011 (California) to sweep Oregon.
• The Wildcats outscored Oregon 24-3 over the three games.
• UA hit nine home runs, including three apiece from Dejah Mulipola and Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza.
• Wildcat pitchers allowed just one earned run over 18.0 innings (0.39 ERA).
• Rylee Pierce had her best weekend in an Arizona uniform; the transfer from Missouri led the team with a .715 average (5-for-7) with two doubles and a home run.

WHO'S HOT?

• Reyna Carranco: The junior is on an absolute tear at the plate. She enters the weekend on a 10-game hitting streak, hitting .588 over her last 34 at-bats spanning those 10 games, including five doubles and two home runs. She has multiple hits in eight of those 10 games. Carranco leads the team in both multiple-hit games (16) and batting average (.452 - second in the Pac-12). Twenty eight games into the season, Carranco has already posted a career high in home runs (4) while her 25 RBI are three shy of last year's 28.
• Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza: The 2018 first-team All-American has been a consistent force all season long and is hitting .400 with 10 home runs and is second in the Pac-12 in RBI (36) and doubles (11). Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza enters the weekend on a season-long 10-game hitting streak and has at least one extra-base hit in nine of them (including eight straight). Her eight-game extra-base-hit streak is the longest by a Wildcat since Katiyana Mauga did it in eight straight games from March 15-March 29, 2015.
• Dejah Mulipola: The junior is has six home runs over her last six games, vaulting her into a tie for the Pac-12 lead in homers (13). Over those 16 at-bats, she is hitting .500 with 11 RBI and now leads the Pac-12 with a .902 slugging percentage. Mulipola has four games with multiple home runs, including three of her last 10 games.
• Rylee Pierce: The senior transfer had her best weekend as a Wildcat against Oregon, leading the team with a .715 average (5-for-7) with two doubles and a home run in the series. Over her last 13 games, Pierce has reached base in 12 of them. 
• Jenna Kean: In the month of March, Jenna Kean is hitting .393 and has a hit in eight of the 10 games she recorded a plate appearance in. 

RANKINGS

• This week, Arizona moved up to 11th in NFCA Top 25 (from 12th), 10th in the USA Softball Top 25 (from 12th) and 11th in the Softball America Top 25 (from 13th).
• 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 four Pac-12 teams in the top 25 (all in the top 18).

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 six of top seven teams in the current NFCA Top 25. In all, UA's schedule includes 11 teams currently ranked in the top 25.
• Arizona played at least one ranked team in each of the first five weeks of the season, including top-10 teams in four of them. The Wildcats are currently 5-5 vs. ranked teams this year.
• Since 1994, Arizona is above .500 against ranked teams, top-10 teams and top-five competition. UA is 569-267-1 (.690) against ranked competition, 266-179 (.617) against top-10 teams and 130-126 (.536) against top-five teams.

STATISTICAL TRENDS AND NUGGETS

• Arizona is 18-0 when scoring more than three runs and 3-7 when scoring fewer.
• The Wildcats have yet to commit an error away from Hillenbrand Stadium this season (11 games, 281 chances). Overall, the Wildcats have committed just three errors in the last eight games, a .986 fielding percentage, after posting a .965 fielding percentage over the first 20 games of the year.
• Six of Arizona's seven losses have come during the day; UA is 11-1 at night and 10-6 during day games.
• Arizona has scored double-digit runs in seven of its first 28 games, already more than UA's 59-game total from last season (6).
• The Wildcats are outscoring their opponents 44-9 in the first inning. UA is 17-2 this season when it scores first.
• The top five hitters on the team (by batting average) are all juniors. UA's junior class (Reyna Carranco, Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza, Jessie Harper, Malia Martinez, Dejah Mulipola) is hitting .387 with 41 of UA's 51 home runs.

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. With Arizona's 21-7 start to the season and Michigan's 15-10  record, Candrea has closed to within two wins of Hutchins. 

• In 2017, Candrea became the first coach in NCAA softball history to reach 1,500 Division I victories. Candrea trails only Michigan's Carol Hutchins 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.

Winningest NCAA Softball Coaches

1	Carol Hutchins (Ferris State 1982; Michigan 1983-)	1,586-514-5 (.765)
2	Mike Candrea (Arizona 1986-2003, 05-07, 09-)	1,584 -411-2 (.794)
3	Margie Wright (Illinois State 1980-85; Fresno State 1886-2012)	1,457-542-3 (.729)

HILLENBRAND BOMB3RS

• Arizona is the only team in the country with three players with 10-plus home runs. Jessie Harper and Dejah Mulipola are tied for fourth in the country with 13 home runs while Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza is 15th in the nation with 10 homers.
• The three juniors rank 14th (Jessie Harper: 50), 17th (Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza: 44) and 24th (Dejah Mulipola: 37) in Arizona history in career home runs. This marks the first time in UA history that the Cats have three of the top 25 home run hitters in school history on the team and the same class.
• Mulipola (1st: .902), Palomino-Cardoza (2nd: .878) and Harper (4th: .835) are three of the top four players in the Pac-12 in slugging percentage.

HOME RUN U

• Arizona is second in the country in home runs (51) and tops in the country in home runs per game (1.82).
• An Arizona hitter has led the Pac-12 (or tied for the Pac-12 lead) in each of the last five seasons, and UA has finished 1-2 in four of those five seasons. The Cats have the top two home run hitters in the league this year as well.

2019 (current)	t1. Jessie Harper, Arizona (13)	t1. Dejah Mulipola, Arizona (13)
2018	1. Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza, Arizona (19)	2. Jessie Harper, Arizona (18)
2017	1. Katiyana Mauga, Arizona (25)	2. Jessie Harper, Arizona (19)
2016	t1. Katiyana Mauga, Arizona (21)	t1. Ali Aguilar, Washington (21)
2015	1. Katiyana Mauga, Arizona (26)	2.Chelsea Goodacre, Arizona (24)
2014	1. Chelsea Goodacre, Arizona (22)	2. Katiyana Mauga (20)

• Arizona has hit 2,137 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).

BETTER NOW: There are nine Wildcats that return from 2018 that have at-least 25 at-bats in 2019. All nine of them have improved their batting average over last season.

Player	2019 avg/obp/slg	2018 avg/obp/slg
Reyna Carranco	.452/.485/.677	.335/.387/.443
Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza	.400/.486/.878	.363/.446/.750
Dejah Mulipola	.366/.458/.902	.313/.413/.602
Malia Martinez	.358/.429/.519	.262/.324/.378
Jessie Harper	.352/.410/.835	.340/.382/.711
Jenna Kean	.339/.351/.411	.271/.355/.354
Hannah Martinez	.306/.350/.417	.000/.000/.000
Tamara Statman	.306/.390/.583	.125/.390/.583
Ivy Davis	.276/.436/.345	.207/.294/.448

THE QUEST FOR 50: Two weeks ago, Jessie Harper became the 15th player in Arizona history (and 36th in Pac-12 history) to hit 50 career home runs. Harper became the third fastest Wildcat to 50 homers when she hit the milestone in her 141st career game. Fellow junior Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza now begins her chase for 50. She was the third fastest to 40 (122 games) and now sits at 45 homers through 140 games played. Harper is tied for 14th in Arizona history with 50 career home runs while Palomino-Cardoza is 17th with 45. The fastest six Wildcats to 50 home runs are:

1	Katiyana Mauga, 2014-17	136 games
	Stacie Chambers, 2008-11	136 games
3	JESSIE HARPER, 2017-	141 games
4	Jenny Dalton, 1993-96	171 games
5	Brigette Del Ponte, 2010-13	174 games

MERCY, MERCY

• Arizona has run-rule victories in nine of their 21 wins this season, including five of its last six victories.
• On March 9, Arizona run-ruled then-top-ranked Florida State, 11-3, in five innings. UA became the first team since April 5, 2014 to run-rule the NFCA No. 1 team (#3 Oregon 12, #1 UCLA 4; 5 innings).

UP NEXT: Arizona returns home next week to host Arizona State in a three-game series (March 29-31) at Hillenbrand Stadium.