THIS WEEK: Tenth-ranked Arizona is set to kick off the 2017 campaign at home as it welcomes Fordham, Cal State Northridge, Baylor, Northwestern and Tulsa for the 21st Hillenbrand Invitational, Thursday, Feb. 9 through Sunday, Feb. 12 at Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium for the four-day, 15-game event. Arizona owns a 102-3 all-time record in the tournament and has not lost since 2009 (Creighton). The Wildcats open the season on Thursday at 6 p.m. MST vs. Fordham. In all, Arizona will compete in five contests during the season-opening weekend.
CATS AT A GLANCE
- Arizona starts the season ranked No. 10 in the NFCA Top 25, its highest preseason ranking since 2012.
- The Wildcats received five of the eight possible first-place votes in the preseason Pac-12 Coaches Poll, but were picked second overall behind UCLA. It marks the eighth time since 2001 that Arizona and UCLA were picked first and second, but the first time since 2011, also the last time the Wildcats were picked first or second.
- Arizona returns eight starters, four pitchers and 16 total letterwinners from a 40-win team in 2016. In all, the Cats return 90% of their hits (420-of-465), 91% of their home runs (61-of-67) and 90% of their RBI (268-of-298). Additionally, all four pitchers return from a staff that was second in the Pac-12 in ERA.
- The Wildcats' senior class of eight is its largest in 16 years, when the eight seniors in 2001 went out by winning national championship.
- Those seniors will play a key role in mentoring Arizona's seven-player freshman class. The six true freshmen -- Dejah Mulipola (No. 5 recruit, FloSoftball), Reyna Carranco (No. 16), Jessie Harper (No. 43), Malia Martinez (No. 57), Carli Campbell and Jaycee Lindley -- were rated as the No. 3 recruiting class in the country. Add in redshirt freshman Alyssa Palomino, the 2016 USA Softball Junior Athlete of the Year who missed last season with a torn ACL, and the Wildcats have plenty of fresh talent to go with their experienced core.
- Senior Katiyana Mauga enters her senior year with 67 career home runs. After becoming the first player in NCAA history with 20-plus homers in each of her first three years, Mauga sits just 20 homers behind Stacie Chambers for the Arizona career record and 28 shy of Oklahoma's Lauren Chamberlain for the NCAA record.
OPPONENTS
Fordham: The Rams were picked to defend their Atlantic 10 Championship in the preseason coaches poll. Fordham is coming off a 39-21 season in 2016 in which they won a program-best 18 conference games. The Rams return eight starters from a year ago. Arizona and Fordham have met once before, the Cats defeating the Rams 3-2 on Feb. 25, 2012 in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
Cal State Northridge: The Matadors were picked third in the Big West Coaches Poll. CSUN is led by Taylor Glover, one of 50 players on the USA Softball Player of the Year Watch List. Cal State Northridge is coming off a 34-22 campaign in 2016. This will be the first of two meetings between the Cats and Matadors as Arizona will visit Northridge for the CSUN/LMU Tournament March 10-12. Arizona is 25-6 all-time against Cal State Northridge, which last won in 2002.
Baylor: The 21st-ranked Bears return six starters and four pitchers from a 2016 team that went 45-14 and finished the season ranked No. 16 following its Eugene Regional Appearance. BU was picked third in the preseason Big 12 poll after finishing second in the league last year. Kendall Potts (13-1, 1.93 ERA in 2016) returns to lead the pitching staff while four of Baylor's top five hitters are back in 2017. Arizona owns a 14-7 all-time record vs. Baylor, but the Bears have won five of the last six meetings, including a 9-1 victory in the 2015 Judi Garman Classic.
Northwestern: The Wildcats are coming off their 16th NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016, when they went 27-28 and finished third in the Big Ten. Northwestern will need to replace its top two pitchers from a season ago, but leading hitter, Sabrina Rabin (.358, 54 R, 40-44 SB), returns for her junior year. Arizona is 17-2 all-time against Northwestern, including each of the last three matchups (all one-run games).'
Tulsa: The Hurricane was picked to repeat as American Athletic Conference Champions in the preseason coaches poll. Tulsa returns 12 players from a 35-21 2016 team, including all-conference honorees Shelby Estocado, Julia Hollingsworth, Maddie Withee and Maggie Withee. Arizona is 2-0 all-time against Tulsa, but the teams haven't met since Arizona defeated Tulsa 3-0 in the 2005 Arizona Classic.
ARIZONA IN THE HILLENBRAND INVITATIONAL: Arizona is 102-3 (.971) all-time in the Hillenbrand Invitational and has not lost since 2009 (Creighton). Last season, UA went 6-0 against Southern Utah (2-0), North Texas, Purdue, Nebraska Omaha and UC Santa Barbara with five run-rule wins (Full recap on page 5). Arizona has hosted the event 20 times since 1994, the year after Hillenbrand Stadium's opening.
WHO'S HOT? (FALL EDITION)
The pitchers: Arizona returns all four pitchers from a staff that ranked second in the Pac-12 in 2016 in ERA. The quartet picked right back up in the fall, when they did not allow a run, earned or otherwise, in 49 innings. Opponents hit just .107 off of
Taylor McQuillin,
Nancy Bowling,
Danielle O'Toole and
Michelle Floyd in the eight fall games.
Taylor McQuillin: Though all four pitchers were impressive during the fall, McQuillin took it to another level. McQuillin went 4-0 during the fall and gave up just two hits in 15.0 innings pitched. The sophomore struck out an unfathomable 27 of 31 batters faced. Untouchable.
Dejah Mulipola: In her debut in an Arizona uniform, the freshman catcher led the team with a .625 average in 16 fall at-bats, with six of her 10 hits going for extra bases, including two home runs. Mulipola slugged 1.313 and got on base at a .696 clip thanks to three walks and three hit-by-pitches.
Mandie Perez: Perez was once again Arizona's spark plug during the fall, hitting .527 in 19 at-bats with a team-high four doubles.
Alyssa Palomino: After spending what was supposed to be her freshman year in the dugout, sidelined due to a torn ACL, Palomino finally made her much-anticipated debut during the fall. The centerfielder hit an RBI triple in her first at-bat, one of six extra-base hits during the fall. Palomino hit two homers and drove in 11 runs in 21 at-bats.
Mo Mercado: The senior led the Wildcats with 12 RBI while slugging .895 in 19 fall at-bats. Mercado, who hit .474, did her job after the four batters in front of her got on base at a .546 clip.
THE KATI WATCH IS ON: Though
Katiyana Mauga's focus remains on OKC, her chase for history is on. How many #MaugaBombs can she hit? A complete breakdown of where she stands in the UA, Pac-12 and NCAA record books can be found on page 12. Here are some notes:
- Mauga has hit 67 career home runs in 175 games played. That's 20 shy of Arizona's record (87 - Stacie Chambers, 08-11), 23 shy of the Pac-12 record (90 - Stacey Nuveman, UCLA, 97-02) and 28 shy of the NCAA record (95 - Lauren Chamberlain, Oklahoma, 12-15).
- With 20 homers as a freshman, 26 as a sophomore and 21 as a junior, Mauga is the only player in NCAA history to hit 20 home runs in each of her first three years.
- Mauga's 67 career homers lead all active hitters in the NCAA by a wide margin. Only one other player (Auburn's Kasey Cooper - 57) has more than 50.
RED, WHITE AND BLUE TAKES ON A DIFFERENT MEANING: Arizona's long-standing tradition with USA Softball will continue this summer. Senior
Danielle O'Toole was named the U.S. Women's National Team while freshmen
Jessie Harper and
Dejah Mulipola were named to the U.S. Junior Women's National Training Team following a selection camp in January. Arizona's ties to USA Softball run deep, most memorably as skipper
Mike Candrea served as the head coach for Team USA's 2004 (gold medal) and 2008 (silver medal) teams. In 2016, a pair of Wildcats received the Association's highest honors as Kellie Fox (2014-15) was named USA Softball Athlete of the Year and redshirt freshman
Alyssa Palomino was named USA Softball Junior Athlete of the Year.
TOOLE TIME: After a five-year span in which Arizona put up a combined ERA north of 3.5 from 2011-15, UA received a much-needed boost in the circle last year in the form of transfer
Danielle O'Toole. The Upland, California, native's breakout year coincided with the arrival of 2014 National Gatorade Player of the Year
Taylor McQuillin to form a dynamic 1-2 punch while
Nancy Bowling and
Michelle Floyd provided quality innings as well. Together the quartet put up a 2.67 ERA, the second lowest in the Pac-12 and lowest at Arizona since 2010. Here are some notes on O'Toole's Wildcat debut:
- Led the Pac-12 in victories (26) and finished third in ERA (2.17) and strikeouts (192)
- Four-time Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week
- Arizona's first, first-team all-Pac-12 pitcher since 2010
- Threw three shutouts vs. top-15 competition, the first Wildcat to do so since 2007
SENIOR SALUTE: Arizona eight-player senior class is its largest since the eight seniors in 2001 went out on top, winning the program's sixth NCAA title. In 2017, UA will bid adieu to eight players who have been invaluable to the program. All eight have either been full or part time starters during their time. The octet includes four all-Pac-12 first or second teamers and has played a combined 1,010 games at Arizona, combined for 671 hits, 122 home runs, 479 RBI, 637.2 IP, 553 strikeouts and 64 pitching victories. Here are some notes on each senior's career contributions:
Nancy Bowling: A 33-game starter in her career in the circle, plus 32 games at first base. Arizona's active career leader in strikeouts (209) in just 205.1 innings pitched.
Alexis Dotson: A 76-game starter since transferring from local Pima College after her sophomore year. Owns a career .317 average and has scored 44 runs.
Michelle Floyd: Arizona's ace in 2015, a season in which she tallied the most innings pitched (183.2), wins (19) and strikeouts (135) while helping lead Arizona to a 41-win season and a super regional appearance.
Katiyana Mauga: On pace to leave Arizona as the school's all-time leader in home runs. Has put up single-season home run totals that rank in UA's top-20 in each of her previous three years.
Mo Mercado: Has started every game (182) of her Arizona career and has put up a .349 average in 558 career at-bats, the most among active Wildcats. Three-time all-region performer.
Danielle O'Toole: Led the Pac-12 in wins in her first season at Arizona (26) while becoming Arizona's first, first-team all-Pac-12 pitcher since 2010.
Mandie Perez: A 152-game starter who was named first-team all-conference as a redshirt junior in 2016. Owns a career .325 average and a stellar .414 on-base percentage.
Eva Watson: Has battled injuries, but led Arizona in batting average in 2016 (.387). Has appeared in 134 games in her career, including 63 starts.
OVER THE HILL: Arizona has appeared in every NCAA Tournament since 1988,
Mike Candrea's second year on campus. That's 30 consecutive years in the tournament for Arizona. Not only is that the longest active streak, but it is seven years longer than the second longest streak. If Arizona makes the NCAA Tournament in 2017, it will be the longest streak in NCAA softball history, breaking Fresno State's inactive 30-year streak.
BEATING THE BEST: Since 1994, Arizona is above .500 against ranked teams, top-10 teams and top-five competition. UA is 543-243-1 (.700) against ranked competition, 256-161 (.624) against top-10 teams and 128-110 (.549) against top-five teams.
FOLLOW THE TEAM: Be sure to follow the Wildcats on their various social media platforms. To stay up-to-date on all the latest happenings with the team, follow Arizona softball on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat (@UA_Softball).
