THE TEAMS: #7 Arizona (16-3) | #8 Alabama (11-7) | McNeese State (15-6) | UT Arlington (8-10)

THE GAMES (Times MST)
1 | Friday, Feb. 28 |  7,  2 | Recap | Box Score
2 | Friday, Feb. 28 |  2,  1 | Recap | Box Score
3 | Saturday, Feb. 29 |  6,  5 | Recap | Box Score
4 | Saturday, Feb. 29 |  2,  0 | Recap | Box Score
5 | Sunday, March 1 (10 a.m.) |  vs.  | Live Stream: N/A | Live Stats | Twitter Updates

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LEADING OFF

• Seventh-ranked Arizona is set for the back half of its two consecutive weeks on the road, heading to Tuscaloosa, Alabama for the Easton Crimson Classic this weekend.
• Arizona will play host Alabama twice in the tournament, its third and fourth games vs. top-10 teams in a 10-game span. The Wildcats lost in 10 innings to No. 2 Oklahoma in the Hillenbrand Invitational and dropped a one-run decision to seventh-ranked Florida las weekend in Palm Springs.
• Arizona went 3-2 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last weekend, dropping a pair of one-run games vs. Texas A&M and Florida and shutting out the rest of its opponents (#18 Missouri, San Diego State and Auburn).
• Alyssa Denham leads the nation in shutouts (4), including her second career no-hitter vs. Long Beach State (Feb. 16). As a team, UA is fifth nationally with six shutouts.
• Last weekend, Jessie Harper hit career home runs No. 70 and 71, becoming the 28th player in NCAA history to hit 70 career home runs. She is chasing Lauren Chamberlain's NCAA record (95).
• Arizona has the NCAA's two active career home runs leaders; Jessie Harper leads the way with 71 while Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza is second with 59.
• The Wildcats also have the current NCAA leader in career winning percentage. Mariah Lopez has a career record of 58-4 (.935). She needs 13 more decisions to be eligible for the NCAA record, held by Arizona's Nancy Evans (120-8, .938).

UA SET FOR FINAL NONCONFERENCE ROAD TRIP

• Seventh-ranked Arizona is back on the road this weekend, heading to Tuscaloosa, Alabama for the Easton Crimson Classic, where it will play five games over two days at legendary Rhoads Stadium.
• Arizona carries a 12-3 overall record into the tournament, which features another tough field for the Wildcats. UA will play eighth-ranked Alabama (9-5) and McNeese State (13-2) twice apiece and UT Arlington (7-7) once.
• This will be Arizona's first ever trip to the Easton Crimson Classic, though the Wildcats have made two previous trips to Tuscaloosa for nonconference tournaments hosted by Alabama, going 9-2 in two previous trips to the Bama Bash. Most recently, Arizona went 3-2 at the tournament in 2016 with wins over No. 14 Tennessee, Marshall (twice) and a pair of losses to fourth-ranked Alabama. 
• The trip to Alabama is the final nonconference weekend on the road for Arizona, which is 8-2 away from Hillenbrand Stadium this season. The Wildcats wrap up the nonconference portion of their schedule next weekend when they host the Wildcat Invitational (March 6-8) and a midweek contest vs. Saint Joseph's (March 10).
• Schedule
  • Friday: Arizona opens the event vs. McNeese State (12:30 p.m. MST) and No. 8 Alabama (5 p.m. MST) on Friday. 
  • Saturday: The Wildcats face the Crimson Tide (3 p.m. MST) and the Cowgirls (5 p.m. MST) once again on Saturday.
  • Sunday: Arizona wraps up the event vs. UT Arlington at 10 a.m. MST on Sunday.
• Live Coverage
  • T.V.: N/A
  • Live Stream: Arizona's first three games of the weekend will be streamed at watchespn.com. Arizona's two games vs. Alabama will require a cable login with access to SEC Network, while Arizona's first game vs. McNeese State (2/28) will be available for free on ESPN3.
  • Live Stats: Live stats for all matches this weekend will be available at arizonastats.com.
  • Twitter: Follow @ArizonaSoftball to keep up with the action this weekend and all season long.

#8 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (9-5)    

• Alabama rebounded from a rough first couple of weekends with a 5-0 showing at the Easton Bama Bash with four mercy victories.
• Offensively, the Crimson Tide is led by KB Sides, who is hitting .412 in 34 at-bats.
• Alabama has already swiped 20 bags in 26 tries.
• Series History: Arizona leads the all-time series 12-6, but the Crimson Tide has won the last four meetings, including a 2-0 record in 2019.

MCNEESE STATE COWGIRLS (13-2)    

• McNeese State leads the nation with a 0.74 team ERA. The staff goes five pitchers deep, all with ERAs under 1.10. They have limited opponents to a .187 average.
• The Cowgirls have won six consecutive games, including a three-game sweep of the Mardi Gras Mambo last week when they outscored Middle Tennessee, Detroit Mercy and Jacksonville State 38-2.
• Series History: Arizona leads the all-time series 6-0, outscoring the Cowgirls 64-6 in the six meetings, which include four run-rule wins.

    
UT ARLINGTON MAVERICKS (7-7)    

• UT Arlington is 1-5 in its last six after starting the seaason 5-2. The Mavericks struggled at the Boerner Invitational last weekend, posting a 1-4 record in their home tournament.
• The Mavericks have stolen 33 bases in 40 tries through just 14 games, led by Regan Wright, who is 6-6 on the bases.
• Series History: Arizona has won all four meetings between the two clubs.

LAST WEEK (3-2 • MARY NUTTER CLASSIC)    

• Arizona went 3-2 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last weekend in Palm Springs, California.
• The Wildcats shut out No. 18 Missouri (2-0), San Diego State (10-0) and Auburn (2-0), but fell in a pair of one-run games to Texas A&M (7-6) and No. 7 Florida (3-2).
• The Cats struggled offensively, hitting .275 on the weekend and managed just seven total extra-base hits in the five games.
• Freshmen Sharlize Palacios (.385, 2 BB, 5 RBI) and Janelle Meono (.333, 2 BB, 1 SB) had their best weekends as Wildcats.
• In the cirlce, Mariah Lopez and Alyssa Denham combined to post a 1.85 ERA and hold opponents to just a .174 average. They combined to throw three shutouts in the weekend.
• Game 1 - Texas A&M 7, #5 Arizona 6: Arizona led 5-0 after three innings and 6-2 entering the sixth, but the Aggies stormed back with a five-run sixth to earn the come-from-behind win. UA stranded 12 runners on base. 
• Game 2 - #5 Arizona 2, #18 Missouri 0: Mariah Lopez came through with her best performance as a Wildcat, a three-hit shutout vs. a ranked foe with eight strikeouts. Jessie Harper went 2-for-3 with a home run.
• Game 3 - #5 Arizona 10, San Diego State 0: Alyssa Denham threw a one-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts while her offense supported her with 10 runs on eight hits, including three homers from Jessie Harper, Marissa Schuld and Ivy Davis.
• Game 4 - #7 Florida 3, #5 Arizona 2: Florida edged Arizona in this low-scoring top-10 matchup. UA outhit UF 8-6, but stranded 10 runners.
• Game 5 - #5 Arizona 2, Auburn 0: Another day, another Alyssa Denham shutout. Arizona managed just two singles in the game, but manufactured a pair of runs to win the game.

RANKINGS     
NFCA: #7 • USA Softball: #7 • D1 Softball: #5

• Arizona fell from fifth to seventh in this week's NFCA Top 25.
• UA is one of five Pac-12 teams in the poll, four of which are ranked in the top 10. In all, eight of the nine league teams are receiving votes in the poll.
• 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 2-2 this season vs. ranked opponents.
• 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.
• Of Arizona's 18 games vs. teams currently ranked in the top 25, 14 of them will (or have already) take place away from Hillenbrand Stadium.

WHO'S HOT?    

• Marissa Schuld: The sophomore leads the Wildcats with a .429 average and has at least one hit in nine of the 10 games she has appeared in. Schuld has hit a pair of home runs and is slugging .679 in 28 at-bats.
• Sharlize Palacios: The freshman led the Wildcats in RBI (5) while hitting .385 in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in her first full weekend as UA's starting catcher. Palacios is still settling into her role after missing the first six games of the season with a broken left thumb.
• Alyssa Denham: Three of her last four starts have been shutouts, dating back to her no-hitter vs. Long Beach State (2/16). She leads the NCAA with four shutouts this season.
• Janelle Meono: After a slow start to her Wildcat career, the freshman got it going at the plate last weekend in Palm Springs. Meono reached base in every game and had a hit in four of them.

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