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Hillenbrand Invitational

Softball Arizona Athletics

2020 Hillenbrand Invitational

HILLENBRAND INVITATIONAL
FEB. 14-16 • HILLENBRAND STADIUM
Tickets • Fan Guide • Clear Bag Policy 

#4 ARIZONA (9-1)
BRYANT (0-4)
LONG BEACH STATE (5-5)
NORTHERN IOWA (4-7)
#2 OKLAHOMA (8-1)
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Schedule Schedule Schedule Schedule Schedule
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THE GAMES
DATE TIME (MST) MATCHUP/RESULT LINKS
Friday, Feb. 14 Long Beach State 10, Bryant 0 Box Score
Friday, Feb. 14 Oklahoma 8, Bryant 3 Box Score
Friday, Feb. 14 Arizona 2, Long Beach State 1 Recap • Box Score
Friday, Feb. 14 Arizona 7, Northern Iowa 6 (5 inn.) Recap • Box Score
Friday, Feb. 14 Oklahoma 10, Northern Iowa 2 (6 inn.) Box Score
Saturday, Feb. 15 Northern Iowa 13, Bryant 5 (5 inn.) Box Score
Saturday, Feb. 15 Arizona 3, Bryant 1 Recap • Box Score
Saturday, Feb. 15 Long Beach State 5, Oklahoma 4 Box Score
Saturday, Feb. 15 Oklahoma 6, Arizona 4 (10 inn.) Recap • Box Score
Saturday, Feb. 15 Long Beach State 8, Northern Iowa 7 Box Score
Sunday, Feb. 16 Oklahoma 8, Northern Iowa 0 (5 inn.) Box Score
Sunday, Feb. 16 Arizona 6, Long Beach State 0 Recap • Box Score

WEEKLY NOTES
 
LEADING OFF
  • The fourth-ranked Wildcats are set for their home-opening weekend in year 2 for the renovated Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium, with the annual Hillenbrand Invitational this weekend.
  • Arizona went 5-0 with three run-rule wins last week in the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Arizona. The Cats mercied #12 Tennessee, Kansas and Western Michigan in addition to seven-inning wins over Seattle University and Western Michigan.
  • UA hit 10 home runs in the Kajikawa Classic, fourth most in the NCAA after week 1. Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza is one off the NCAA lead with three homers.
  • Arizona has the NCAA's two active career home runs leaders; Jessie Haper leads the way with 68 while Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza is second with 57.
  • The Wildcats also have the current NCAA leader in career winning percentage. Mariah Lopez has a career record of 54-2 (.964). She needs 19 more decisions to qualify for the NCAA record, held by Arizona's Nancy Evans (120-8, .938).
  • The Wildcats are ranked No. 4 in this week's NFCA Top 25, their highest ranking since week 12 of 2017 (#3).
ARIZONA TO HOST HILLENBRAND INVITATIONAL    
  • It's home-opening weekend for fourth-ranked Arizona Softball (5-0), which is set to host the annual Hillenbrand Invitational this weekend. The Wildcats welcome Bryant (0-0), Long Beach State (2-3), #2 Oklahoma (4-0) and Northern Iowa (3-3) for the three-day, 12-game event.
  • The tournament will kick off year 2 of the renovated Hillenbrand Stadium. Last season, UA finished first in the Pac-12 and second nationally in average attendance (2,572). The Wildcats sold out their final 14 weekend games of the season last year.
  • The Hillenbrand Invitational opens up UA's 31-game home schedule in 2020. The Wildcats went 26-7 at home last season and are 747-100 all-time at Hillenbrand Stadium.
  • Arizona will play five games over three days this weekend. UA opens up vs. Long Beach State (2 p.m.) and Northern Iowa (4:30 p.m.) on Friday before facing Bryant (11:30 a.m.) and Oklahoma (4:30 p.m.) on Saturday. The Cats then wrap up the weekend with a second game vs. Long Beach State on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. MST.
  • Arizona is hosting the Hillenbrand Invitational for the 24th time in school history and holds a 115-5 all-time record in the event. The Wildcats went 3-2 in last year's rain-shortened event; Arizona defeated Illinois-Chicago, New Mexico and Cal State Fullerton in the 2019 Hillenbrand Invitational, and lost to #7 Alabama and South Florida.
  • Live Coverage
    • T.V.: N/A
    • Live Stream: All of Arizona's games will be streamed for free at arizonawildcats.com/SBLIVE. The seven non-Arizona games will be streamed by FloSoftball for a fee.
    • Live Stats: Live stats for all games this weekend will be available at arizonastats.com.
  • Tickets: Tickets for this weekend's games and all 31 home games this 2020 season are available at arizonawildcats.com/SB. 
  • Parking
    • Friday: $5 parking will be available on the Center Mall and in Cherry Garage. Campus lots and meters will be free beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday.
    • Saturday & Sunday: Parking in Cherry Garage and campus lots/meters will be free on the weekends. Center mall parking will be available for $5. 

RANKINGS     
NFCA: #4 • USA Softball: #4 • D1 Softball: #3
  • Arizona is ranked No. 4 in this week's NFCA Top 25, its highest ranking since it was No. 3  on April 25, 2017.
  • Preseason: Arizona began the season ranked fifth in the country by the NFCA, its highest preseason ranking since 2011 (#2). The No. 5 ranking matched UA's final ranking from 2019.
  • The Wildcats are currently 1-0 this season vs. ranked opponents after defeating No. 12 Tennessee, 8-0 in five innings.
  • The Cats' schedule is again among the toughest in the nation. UA is scheduled to play five of the other nine top-10 teams in the country and nine total ranked teams.
WILDCATS RAKE IN PRESEASON HONORS    
SENIOR SALUTE    
  • Arizona will be led by its stellar senior class in 2020: Reyna Carranco, Alyssa Denham, Jessie Harper, Mariah Lopez, Malia Martinez and Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza.
  • The Wildcat senior class has won 148 games with a .791 winning percentage in their careers.
  • Offensively, the four position-playing seniors have hit a combined .344 in their careers with 152 home runs and 533 RBI.
  • In the circle, both Denham (Louisiana-Lafayette) and Lopez (Oklahoma) started their careers elsewhere but are set for their grand finales in the cardinal and navy. In their careers, they have combined to go 95-13 with a 1.81 ERA and 649 strikeouts.
  • In week 1, all six stood out for the Wildcats.

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. 
  • In 2019, Candrea became the fastest coach in NCAA history, in any sport, in any division, to record 1,600 career wins. 
  • Candrea trails only Michigan's Carol Hutchins in NCAA softball history. Candrea's victories have occurred over 33 years of coaching at Arizona (his record does not include UA's 2004 and 2008 records when he was coaching the Olympic team) while Hutchins is in her 37th year (including a season in NCAA Division II).

 
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Players Mentioned

Reyna Carranco

#5 Reyna Carranco

2B
5' 6"
Senior
Alyssa Denham

#22 Alyssa Denham

P
6' 1"
Senior
Jessie Harper

#19 Jessie Harper

SS
5' 6"
Senior
Malia Martinez

#17 Malia Martinez

3B
5' 7"
Senior
Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza

#32 Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza

OF
5' 10"
Redshirt Senior
Mariah Lopez

#42 Mariah Lopez

P
5' 8"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Reyna Carranco

#5 Reyna Carranco

5' 6"
Senior
2B
Alyssa Denham

#22 Alyssa Denham

6' 1"
Senior
P
Jessie Harper

#19 Jessie Harper

5' 6"
Senior
SS
Malia Martinez

#17 Malia Martinez

5' 7"
Senior
3B
Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza

#32 Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza

5' 10"
Redshirt Senior
OF
Mariah Lopez

#42 Mariah Lopez

5' 8"
Senior
P
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