ARIZONA at NEW MEXICO STATE
MARCH 5 • LAS CRUCES, N.M. (NEW MEXICO STATE SOFTBALL STADIUM)
THE GAMES (Times MST)
21 | Tuesday, March 5 (3:30 p.m.) |
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22 | Tuesday, March 5 (5:30 p.m.) |
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Aggie Vision |
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LEADING OFF
- Tournament season in done for the Wildcats, who are preparing for their final nonconference week of the season. It's a busy week for the Wildcats, who take on New Mexico State on Tuesday in las Cruces before hosting the defending national champions, No. 1 Florida State, in a three-game series at Hillenbrand Stadium, Friday-Sunday.
- Arizona went 6-0 at the Wildcat invitational last weekend and has now won 11 of its last 12 games, with its only loss in that span a one-run defeat to No. 4 Oklahoma at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
- The Wildcats defeated No. 19 James Madison and No. 23 Minnesota last weekend, bringing their total to four ranked wins through 20 games, their most through 20 since 2014.
- The Wildcats concluded the Wildcat Invitational with back-to-back walkoff extra-inning wins, marking the first time since 2001 that Arizona has won two straight games in walkoff fashion in extra innings. The Cats scored one run in the eighth to defeat Kent state, 7-6, on Saturday, before plating three runs in the eighth to defeat 19th-ranked James Madison, 8-6, on Sunday.
- Arizona is tied for the NCAA lead with 35 home runs, including 11 from junior Jessie Harper, who is second nation. The Wildcats are tied with Florida State, which comes to Tucson this weekend. The 35 home runs through 20 games mark Arizona's highest total through 20 games since 2010.
- Jessie Harper hit nearly half of her Pac-12-leading 11 home runs this weekend. The junior was unconscious at the plate, hitting five home runs and driving in 10 of UA's 40 runs over the six games.
- This week, Arizona, which is 4-3 this season vs. ranked teams, is set to play its eighth, ninth and 10th game vs. ranked opponents, its most through 25 games since 1999. The Wildcats are currently scheduled to play at least one ranked team in each of the first eight weeks of the 2019 season.
- UA pitchers rank second in the Pac-12 in opponent batting average (.175) and strikeouts (155) and third in ERA (1.67).
- Taylor McQuillin leads the Pac-12 with 94 strikeouts, giving her 677 strikeouts in her career, seventh in Arizona history.
- The Wildcats are averaging more home runs per game (1.75; 2nd in the country) than the pitching staff's team ERA (1.67; 19th in the country).
- Arizona head coach Mike Candrea is second in NCAA history with 1,578 career victories in 32 years. He trails only Michigan's Carol Hutchins, who has won 1,580 games over 36 seasons.
