| Friday, Feb. 7 |  4,  3 |

| Saturday, Feb. 8 |  12, ??????? 0 (5 innings) |

• Arizona returns 14 letterwinners and seven starters from a 48-14 team a season ago in which the Wildcats advanced to their 23rd Women's College World Series and finished the season ranked No. 5 in the NFCA Top 25.
• Among those 14 returners are three All-Americans, making UA one of just three teams in the NCAA to have three-plus All-Americans returning.
  •     Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza: 2018 & 2019 1st-team All-American
  •     Jessie Harper: 2019 NCAA home run leader (29)
  •     Reyna Carranco: 2019 Pac-12 Batting Champion (.433 reg. season avg.)
• The Wildcats are the only team in the country with five first-team 2019 NFCA All-Region players on their roster (2B Reyna Carranco, SS Jessie Harper, P Mariah Lopez, 3B Malia Martinez and CF Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza).
• Arizona will be without the services of 2019 NFCA and Johnny Bench Catcher of the Year Dejah Mulipola, who will take an Olympic redshirt in 2020 to train with the U.S. Olympic Team on its "Stand With Her Tour" in preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
• UA opens the season ranked #5 in both major polls, its highest ranking since 2011 (#2/#1).
• Three Wildcats were named to the USA Softball Player of the Year Watch List: Jessie Harper, Mariah Lopez and Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza.

• Fifth-ranked Arizona, coming off a Women's College World Series appearance in 2019, is set to open the 2020 season this weekend at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Arizona.
• UA returns to the Kajikawa Classic for the 28th time in school history. UA holds a 114-21 all-time record in the event. Most recently, Arizona went 4-1 in the 2018 Kajikawa Classic with wins over Northwestern, UC Davis, Fresno State and New Mexico and a loss to No. 24 Oklahoma State.
• The Wildcats will play five games over three days in Tempe. Arizona opens up the season vs. Kansas and Seattle University on Friday before facing Portland State and Western Michigan on Saturday. Arizona concludes the weekend with a top-15 matchup vs. 12th-ranked Tennessee.
• Live Coverage
  • T.V.: Four of Arizona's five games (vs. Kansas, vs. Portland State, vs. Western Michigan, vs. Tennessee) in the event will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks.
  • Live Stream: Those four games will be streamed at Pac-12.com/live.
  • Live Stats: Live stats for all matches this weekend will be available at arizonastats.com.

OPPONENTS

• Kansas Jayhawks (0-0) 
  • Game Notes 
  • Series History (Arizona leads 12-1)
• Portland State Vikings (0-0)
  • Game Notes 
  • Series History (Arizona leads 3-0)
• Seattle University Redhawks (0-0)
  • Game Notes
  • Series History (N/A; first meeting)
• Tennessee Volunteers (0-0)
  • Game Notes
  • Series History (Arizona leads 14-5)
• Western Michigan Mustangs (0-0)
  • Game Notes
  • Series History (Arizona leads 8-0)

• Arizona returns four pitchers from 2019, including last season's No. 2 pitcher, third-team all-Pac-12 performer Alyssa Denham (13-6, 1.94 ERA, 112 Ks, 108.1 IP), who was the winning pitcher during both Arizona's Regional and Super Regional Championship-clinching wins last year. Hanah Bowen (3-0, 0.48 ERA, 27 Ks, 29.0) IP, Marissa Schuld (2-0, 0.48 ERA, 8 Ks, 14.2 IP) and Vanessa Foreman (1-0, 3.75 ERA, 6 Ks, 9.1 IP) are also back.
• The Wildcats will need to replace ace, 2019 first-team All-American Taylor McQuillin (24-8, 1.52 ERA, 232 Ks, 207.0 IP) as well Gina Snyder (5-0, 1.95 ERA, 30 Ks, 32.1 IP). So the Wildcats welcome in senior Mariah Lopez (19-1, 1.25 ERA, 159 Ks, 117.2 IP), who transfers from Oklahoma, where she holds the school record with a .962 winning percentage (51-2).
• The senior duo of Denham and Lopez have the tools and the experience to form a dynamic 1-2 for the Wildcats, but Bowen, Schuld and Foreman make the Wildcats' pitching staff a deep, complete staff. 

• Gone is Johnny Bench and NFCA Catcher of the Year Dejah Mulipola (.311, 7 2B, 23 HR, 55 RBI), who is taking an Olympic redshirt to compete with the U.S. Olympic Team. In her place, Arizona will turn to a pair of talented, but mostly unexperienced catchers -- sophomore Izzy Pacho and freshman Sharlize Palacios.
• Both Pacho (.195, 2 HR, 5 RBI) and Palacios (Extra Inning Softball #38 recruit) should get opportunities behind the plate early in the season. Pacho, a Tucson native, is a constant power threat, while Palacios, sister of Mexican National Team catcher Sashel Palacios, is an excellent defensive catcher who hit .412 with a team-high-tying four home runs in the fall. Palacios is recovering from a broken left thumb suffered in practice in January.

• It would be hard to find a more solid, experienced position group in the country than Arizona's infielders. The Wildcats' infield features three seniors, including a pair of All-Americans up the middle, the 2019 NCAA home run champion Jessie Harper (.333, 9 2B, 29 HR, 70 RBI) at shortstop and the 2019 Pac-12 Batting Champion Reyna Carranco (.416, 13 2B, 5 HR, 40 RBI) at second base, both of whom were named Pac-12 All-Defense.
• Arizona is also very solid at the hot corner, which is manned by 2019 first-team all-region performer Malia Martinez (.339, 9 2B, 14 HR, 57 RBI).
• Arizona will need to replace 2019 all-region performer Rylee Pierce at first base, with juniors Ivy Davis (.220, 2 2B, 3 RBI) and Hanah Bowen (.250, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI) figuring to be the leading candidates. Two-time first-team All-American centerfielder Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza (.386, 18 2B, 19 HR, 67 RBI) could also be an option at first base, where she played during the 2018 season while recovering from an ACL tear.  

• Although Arizona's infield talent is difficult to match, UA's outfield is arguably its deepest position group, with every player to start a game in the outfield last year returning for 2020 and the addition of two very talented freshmen.
• Centerfielder Palomino-Cardoza is the leading returning outfielder, and one of the best two-way players in the game. The redshirt senior could also play first base as she did in 2018.
• Junior Hannah "Peanut" Martinez (.280, 3 2B, 2 HR, 20 RBI) started all 24 Pac-12 and all eight postseason games in right field and has had a very solid offseason.
• Also returning are juniors Carli Campbell (.242, 1 2B) and Jenna Kean (.313, 2 3B, 7 SB), who started a combined 59 games in the outfield last year. Sophomore Riley Kuderca, who appeared in 28 games last season, is also back.
• In addition to the five returners, UA welcomes in freshmen Isabella Dayton and Janelle Meono, two top-35 recruits that will challenge for time in the outfield. Meono, a centerfielder by trade, went 12-for-24 (.500) with 7 stolen bases in the fall; she started all eight fall games as UA's leadoff hitter - she would be the first Wildcat freshman to hit leadoff for Arizona since 2012 (Hallie Wilson). Dayton hit .412 with 5 stolen bases in the fall.    

• Led by one of the nation's most powerful offenses and best pitching staffs, the 2019 Wildcats made the program's return to the Women's College World Series for the 23rd time in school history and first since 2010.
• Arizona finished tied for fifth at the WCWS and was ranked No. 5 in the final poll, its highest final ranking since 2010. 
• The Cats finished the season 48-14, including a 19-5 Pac-12 slate, good for a third place finish, one game out of first. 
• Arizona was one of the most well-rounded teams in the country this season. Arizona was one of two teams (Oklahoma) in the NCAA to be top 10 in ERA (6th - 1.61), scoring (9th - 6.48) and fielding percentage (8th - .976). This marked the first time since 2004 that the Wildcats finished top 10 in all three categories. 
• Arizona had five All-Americans, including three first-teamers, both the second most in the country and the most at Arizona since 2001. Pitcher Taylor McQuillin, catcher Dejah Mulipola and outfielder Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza were named first-team All-Americans while second baseman Reyna Carranco and shortstop Jessie Harper were named to the second team.
• Jessie Harper led the NCAA with 29 home runs in 2019, fourth most in a season in Arizona history, tied for fifth in Pac-12 history and tied for 13th in NCAA history. Harper, a second-team All-American, became the first Wildcat to lead the NCAA homers since 2009 (Stacie Chambers - 31) and the 10th overall in UA history.
• The Wildcats finished second nationally with 110 home runs, the third most homers in school history and ninth most in NCAA history.
• Dejah Mulipola was named the NFCA National Catcher of the Year and the Johnny Bench Catcher of the Year. She is the first Wildcat since Leah Braatz (1997/1998) to be named NFCA National Catcher of the Year and the first ever UA backstop to be named Johnny Bench Catcher of the Year.