THIS WEEK: The road to Oklahoma City runs through Tucson. The second-seeded Wildcats (48-7, 18-6 Pac-12) are set to host an NCAA Regional for the 22nd time in program history and third time in the last four years. Arizona is making its 31st consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, a new NCAA softball record; the Wildcats have been in every tournament since 1987, Mike Candrea's second year on campus. The 2017 edition of the Tucson Regional will feature the Pac-12 Champions and second-seeded Wildcats, UA's highest seed since 2007, along with South Carolina, an at-large team from the SEC, NEC Champion Saint Francis and New Mexico State, the WAC Champions. Six or (if necessary) seven games will determine the Tucson Regional Champion and will determine who moves on to face the winner of the Waco Regional in Supers. Arizona is in search of its 28th regional title, which would earn it the right to host a Tucson Super Regional for the first time since 2011. 
 
CATS AT A GLANCE

• The Wildcats are Pac-12 Champions for the 11th time in program history and first since 2007.
• Danielle O'Toole was named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year while Katiyana Mauga was named Co-Pac-12 Player of the Year. O'Toole is Arizona's first conference pitcher of the year since Alicia Hollowell in 2004 and Mauga's selection is UA's first since Caitlin Lowe in 2005. This marks the first year that Arizona has had the conference's player and pitcher of the year and the first overall in the conference since Cal accomplished the feat in 2012.
• O'Toole and Mauga are two of 10 finalists for USA Softball Player of the Year, while Jessie Harper is one of 11 finalists for NFCA/Schutt Sports DI Freshman of the Year.
• Mike Candrea was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year, earning his 12th conference nod and first since 2007.
• Arizona's 48-7 regular season marks its highest regular-season win total since 2004 (53) while the 18 conference victories are the most since 2003 (19).
• Prior to the most recent cut, Arizona had the most finalists for USA Softball Player of the Year, five (Katiyana Mauga, Mo Mercado, Danielle O'Toole, Mandie Perez and Taylor McQuillin) and the most finalists for NFCA DI Freshman of the Year, three (Jessie Harper, Dejah Mulipola and Alyssa Palomino).
• Four seniors were selected in this season's NPF Draft, the most of any school in the country (no other school had more than two). UA had three of the first nine picks and four of the first 19 overall. Katiyana Mauga (#6) went to the Texas Charge, Danielle O'Toole (#8) went to the Chicago Bandits and Mo Mercado (#9) and Mandie Perez (#19) went to the USSSA Pride.
• Katiyana Mauga is heating up. She has 12 home runs in her last 62 at-bats, hitting .403 with 26 RBI in those 21 games. She was been named Pac-12 Player of the Week three of the last seven weeks of the regular season and four times overall.
• Mauga (89 career home runs) set the Arizona career home run record vs. Oregon and now sits one off the Pac-12 record and six off the NCAA record. She leads the Pac-12 and is second in the country with 22 home runs; she's the only player in NCAA history with 20-plus homers in every season in her career.
• Arizona has outscored its opposition by more than 300 runs (404-85). Its offense has hit more home runs (NCAA-most 88) than its opponents have total runs (85). UA has over 150 more hits (484) than its opponent has total bases (330).
• Six of Arizona's seven losses this season came to teams hosting regionals, with all seven coming to teams in the NCAA field. The Wildcats played 15 games vs. teams hosting regionals and went 9-6.
• Head coach Mike Candrea became the first coach in NCAA softball history to reach 1,500 Division I victories earlier this season vs. Washington. Candrea, who is 1,516-386-2 (.797), trails only Michigan's Carol Hutchins (1,522 wins) in NCAA history. Candrea's victories have occurred over 30 years of coaching while Hutchins is in her 34th year (including a season in a lower NCAA division).
• Candrea is the fastest coach in NCAA history, in any sport, in any division, to record 1,500 career wins.
• At the close of the regular season, UA leads the Pac-12 in batting average (.336), slugging percentage (.588), on-base percentage (.432), runs scored (404), hits (484), RBI (364), home runs (88), walks (223), opposing batting average (.176), strikeouts (375) and fielding percentage (.976).
• Individually, Arizona has the Pac-12's leader in slugging percentage (Mauga - .869), runs scored (Perez - 58), home runs (Mauga - 22), total bases (Harper - 130), ERA (O'Toole - 1.08) and strikeouts (O'Toole - 191).
• Arizona has thrown 21 shutouts in 55 games, already its most since 2010 (23). In 43 of the 55 games, the Cats have limited the opponent to two or fewer runs.
• While Arizona has many eye-popping stats in many different categories, softball is simply a game of scoring more runs than your opponent. Well, Arizona is third in the country in runs scored (404) and is third in runs allowed (85). The Wildcats are sixth in the nation with a 1.35 team ERA. Meanwhile, the UA offense is scoring 7.35 runs per game, third best nationally.
• Arizona earned 15 of the 39 Pac-12 weekly awards (Player, Pitcher and Freshman), by seven different players. Arizona has had seven Pac-12 Players of the Week (Katiyana Mauga – 1, Mo Mercado – 3, Jessie Harper – 6, Katiyana Mauga – 8, Katiyana Mauga – 9, Katiyana Mauga – 11, Jessie Harper – 12), three Pac-12 Pitchers of the Week (Danielle O'Toole – 3, Michelle Floyd – 5, Danielle O'Toole – 7) and five Pac-12 Freshmen of the Week (Dejah Mulipola – 2, Jessie Harper – 5, Jessie Harper – 6, Alyssa Palomino – 8, Jessie Harper – 12).
• Arizona has scored 106 runs in the first inning this season. That's over 20 runs more than its pitchers have allowed all season (85) in all innings combined.
• Arizona's freshmen have combined for 47 home runs. That four-player total would be tied for 36th nationally.

 
NCAA ACTION IN TUCSON: For the 22nd time in program history, Arizona is hosting an NCAA Regional; UA has hosted six Super Regionals. This is the sixth time in the last eight years the regional round will be held in Tucson. The Wildcats are 61-6 (.911) in NCAA Regionals held in Tucson and have advanced out of 18 of the 19 Regionals they have hosted, only failing to make it out of 2004 pod, when defeats to Oklahoma and Louisiana Lafayette ended Arizona's season. The 2004 and 2013 clubs are the only teams since 1987 to lose in regionals. South Carolina is making its second trip to the Tucson Regional; Arizona won two out of three games vs. the Gamecocks to advance to its first Women's College World Series in 1988. New Mexico State is making its third trip to the NCAA Tournament, all three of which occurred in the Tucson Regional; the Aggies were in Tucson in 2011 and 2015 and are 1-4 overall, 0-1 vs. Arizona. Saint Francis is making its first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.
 
ARIZONA IN NCAA REGIONALS: The Wildcats return to NCAA Regionals for the 31st consecutive season, the longest active streak and a new NCAA record. In 30 previous trips, Arizona is 160-57 in tournament play and 86-12 in the regional round. UA went 3-0 at the Knoxville Regional in 2016, winning its first road regional as an unseeded team in program history. The Cats have lost just four regional games since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 2005, all in the last four years. Arizona has failed to make it out of regionals just twice in the last 28 years (2004 and 2013).
 
OPPONENTS

• South Carolina: The Gamecocks (32-23, 8-15 SEC) are one of 13 SEC teams in the NCAA Tournament field ... South Carlolina is making its fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 20th overall ... The Gamecocks are led by Mackenzie Boesel (.337 avg, 9 2B, 7 HR, 31 RBI) and Tiara Duffy (.321 avg, 7 2B, 4 HR, 12-13 SB) in the in batter's box while Nickie Blue (10-10, 2.46 ERA, 97 Ks, 46 BB, 142.1 IP) and Jessica Elliott (15-9, 2.82 ERA, 102 Ks, 87 BB, 124.1 IP) form a nice 1-2 punch in the circle ... South Carolina owns eight wins over ranked competition this year, and won five of its last seven regular season games vs. Auburn, Georgia and LSU ... Arizona is 5-3 all-time vs. South Carolina, including 2-1 in postseason play ... The teams have not met since UA defeated the Gamecocks 8-0 in the 2001 Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz.
• Saint Francis: The Red Flash (48-9, 16-0 NEC) is making its first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament after a perfect 16-0 NEC record and tournament title for the automatic bid ... SFU ranks 15th in the nation with 1.07 HR/game, led by Jordan Seneca's 21 long balls, third in the country ... The team hits .299 as a team while its pitchers have posted a 1.93 ERA on the year ... Cheyenne McKee (.392 avg, 11 2B, 7 HR, 37 RBI, .619 slg%, 14-17 SB) and Sierra McKee (.353 avg, 18 2B, 6 HR, 46 RBI, 18-19 SB) lead the very potent offense that has outscored its opponents 353-134 on the year ... Ethel Santai (18-1, 1.62 ERA, 79 Ks, 37 BB, 134.0 IP) leads the pitching staff that has limited opponents to a .196 average ... Arizona defeated Saint Francis 6-4 in the two program's only meeting at the 2015 Wildcat Invitational.
• New Mexico State: The Aggies (29-23, 11-4 WAC) are making their third trip to the NCAA Tournament and third trip to the Tucson Regional ... Friday's matchup will be the third meeting between Arizona and New Mexico State this weekend; Arizona swept a doubleheader in Las Cruces earlier this year (8-0, 6 inn.; 11-1) ...  NMSU is tied for 22nd in the country, averaging .98 home runs per game, with Kelsey Horton (.424 avg, 14 2B, 16 HR, 59 RBI, .816 slg%) ... The Aggies' .327 team average is 10th nationally, with seven hitters above .315 on the year ... Arizona is 57-5 all-time vs. New Mexico State, marking UA's most wins vs. a non-Pac-12 opponent.

 
LAST WEEK: Arizona was off last week, but ended the regular season two weeks ago by winning the Pac-12 title at UCLA ... The Bruins took the first two games of the series, but UA bounced back with a 7-2 victory in the final game of the regular season to clinch its first conference championship since 2007 ... Arizona was shut out in games 1 and 2, including its first run-rule loss of 2017 ... Uncharacteristic errors led to seven unearned runs in the first two games, but UA bounced back in a big way in game three to avoid its first sweep of the season. (Full recap on page 6).
 
WHO'S HOT?

• Katiyana Mauga: The senior is 25-for-her-last-62 (.403) with 12 home runs and 26 RBI. She received three Pac-12 Player of the Week honors in that span. Mauga leads the Pac-12 in home runs (22) and slugging percentage (.869).
• Jessie Harper: In Arizona's final two series vs. ASU and UCLA, Harper drove in 13 of UA's 21 runs and hit Sunday grand slams in each of the two series ... In 16 at-bats vs. the Sun Devils and Bruins, Harper went 9-for-16 (.563) with three doubles and three homers, helping her slug 1.313.
• Reyna Carranco: Down the stretch, Carranco was Arizona's most reliable hitter. After having just eight hits in her first 56 at-bats of 2017 (.142), Carranco is 30-for-her-last-67 (.448), and led the Pac-12 batting average in league play (.419).
• Ashleigh Hughes: After entering her junior year a career .277 hitter in 242 at-bats, Hughes has had a breakout campaign in year 3. Hughes is hitting .378 this season and hit .387 in Pac-12 play.

 
THE KATI WATCH IS ON: Co-Pac-12 Player of the Year Katiyana Mauga's 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 13. Here are some notes:

• Mauga has hit 89 career home runs in 230 games played. She now holds the Arizona career record and is one shy of the Pac-12 record (90 - Stacey Nuveman, UCLA, 97-02) and six shy of the NCAA record (95 - Lauren Chamberlain, Oklahoma, 12-15).
• The senior leads the Pac-12 and is second in the NCAA with 22 home runs this season.
• With 20 homers as a freshman, 26 as a sophomore and 21 as a junior and now 22 as a senior, Mauga is the only player in NCAA history to hit 20 home runs in every season of her career.
• Mauga's 89 career homers lead all active hitters in the NCAA by a wide margin. No other player has 70 career homers.
• Arizona now has four of the top six home run hitters in NCAA history. Mauga joins Chambers (4th - 87), Leah Braatz (t5th - 85) and Laura Espinoza (t5th - 85). Additionally, Shelby Pendley, whose 84 homers are seventh, played at Arizona before transferring to Oklahoma.

 
RAISE THE A: Arizona started a new tradition in 2016 -- raising the "A" flag in Candrea's Corner, the left field bleachers, after home victories. The flagpole may get a workout, considering Arizona's 689-88 (.887) record all-time at Hillenbrand Stadium. Arizona is 26-2 at Hillenbrand Stadium this year.
 
PACK THE PLACE: Arizona is averaging 2,261 fans per home date this season, second best average attendance in the country behind Alabama (2,409/date). This will mark the ninth straight year averaging more than 2,000 fans for Arizona.
 
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.
 
CIRCLE IT: After a five-year span in the circle in which Arizona put up a combined ERA north of 3.50 from 2011-15, pitching has returned as Arizona's strength the last two years, coinciding with the arrival of Danielle O'Toole and Taylor McQuillin in 2016. After Arizona finished second in the Pac-12 in ERA last year (2.67), the pitching staff is second with a 1.35 ERA 55 games into 2017. O'Toole and McQuillin have ERAs of 1.08 and 1.87, respectively.
 
TAKING HOME THE HARDWARE: Arizona has the Pac-12 Coach of the Year (Mike Candrea), the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year (Danielle O'Toole) and the Pac-12 co-Player of the Year (Katiyana Mauga). This marks the third time this millennium that a team has taken home all three awards (2012 - Cal, 2008 - ASU). In all, 10 players and Candrea were honored in some capacity in the Pac-12 awards. Arizona's eight first or second teamers (Jessie Harper - 1st, Katiyana Mauga - 1st, Mo Mercado - 1st, Danielle O'Toole - 1st, Mandie Perez - 1st, Ashleigh Hughes - 2nd, Taylor McQuillin - 2nd, Alyssa Palomino - 2nd) were the most since the Wildcats also had eight in 1998.
 
TOOLE TIME: Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year Danielle O'Toole is 27-4 with a 1.08 ERA. O'Toole, who is seventh in the NCAA in victories and ERA, has been named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week twice and was national pitcher of the week after her first career no-hitter vs. No. 6 Washington (3/24) and posting a 0.00 ERA in two starts vs. the Huskies. O'Toole leads the Pac-12 in strikeouts (191). She's trying to become the first Wildcat to post an ERA under 1.00 since Alicia Hollowell (0.89) in 2006. In her two seasons at Arizona, O'Toole has thrown 17 shutouts, eight of which have occurred vs. ranked opponents. This year, O'Toole has shut out #21 Baylor (7.0 IP, 5 H), #23 BYU (6.0 IP, 3 H), #6 Washington (7.0 IP, 0 H), #6 Oregon (7.0 IP, 5 H) and #23 Arizona State (5.0 IP, 1 H).
 
SOMETHING TO HARP ON: Jessie Harper is second in the Pac-12 with 19 home runs in her freshman campaign, two shy of the Arizona freshman record. One of 11 finalists for NFCA Freshman of the Year, Harper was one of three freshman on this year's all-Pac-12 first team and Arizona's first freshman since Katiyana Mauga in 2014. In weeks 5 and 6, Harper was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week in back-to-back weeks as well as Pac-12 Player of the Week in week 6. During that two-week 11-game roadtrip in southern California and Oregon State, Harper went 18-for-34 (.529) with five doubles, five homers and a 1.177 slugging percentage. For the season, Harper is hitting .354 and has a .793 slugging percentage, second in the Pac-12.
 
MO HITTER: Mo Mercado leads the Wildcats with a .391 batting average and is UA's active leader in career hits (258). At the Mary Nutter Classic in week 3, Mercado went 11-for-13 (.846) with three doubles, a homer, 11 RBI and six runs scored. She was named national and conference player of the week.
 
PERFECTION! In her first start of the season, Michelle Floyd threw the ninth perfect game in Arizona history, retiring all 15 Hartford batters she faced in an 18-0, five-inning Wildcat victory on March 11. She was named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week. Floyd has yet to allow an earned run in 16.1 innings this season.
 
D UP: In addition to its stellar offense and pitching staff, Arizona's defense has also been rock solid in 2017. The Wildcats are 13th in the country with a .976 fielding percentage. Arizona is the only team in the country to be top 15 in ERA (6th - 1.35), batting average (6th - .336), home runs (1st - 88) and fielding percentage (13th - .976).
 
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 has received 10 all-Pac-12 first or second team citations and has played a combined 2,164 games at Arizona, combined for 854 hits, 158 home runs, 613 RBI, 873.0 IP, 785 strikeouts and 96 pitching victories. Here are some notes on each senior's career contributions:

• Nancy Bowling: A 37-game starter in her career in the circle, plus 32 games at first base. Has not lost a pitching decision since her freshman year (16-0 from sophomore year on).
• Alexis Dotson: A 79-game starter since transferring from local Pima College after her sophomore year. Owns a career .318 average and has scored 50 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. Threw the ninth perfect game in Arizona history in 2017.
• Katiyana Mauga: The best power hitter in Arizona history with 89 career long balls, third in NCAA history. On pace to leave UA as the all-time leader in slugging percentage (.820). Earned Pac-12 co-Player of the Year and is a finalist for USA Softball Player of the Year in 2017.
• Mo Mercado: Has started every game (237) of her Arizona career and has put up a .359 average in 719 career at-bats, the most among active Wildcats. Three-time all-region performer.
• Danielle O'Toole: 2017 Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year has been the winning pitcher in 53 of Arizona's 88 victories the last two seasons. Two-time all-Pac-12 first-teamer and finalist for USA Softball Player of the Year this season.
• Mandie Perez: A 216-game starter who was named first-team all-conference as a junior and a senior, her two seasons as Arizona's leadoff hitter. Owns a career .339 average and a stellar .435 on-base percentage.
• Eva Watson: Has battled injuries, but led Arizona in batting average in 2016 (.387). Has appeared in 176 games in her career, including 68 starts.

 
FAB FRESHMEN: In addition to Arizona's spectacular senior class, UA's freshmen have been instrumental to Arizona's success as well. The Cats start four freshmen in their usual lineup, Dejah Mulipola (C), Alyssa Palomino (CF), Jessie Harper (1B) and Reyna Carranco (2B). Palomino is fourth among freshmen in the NCAA in RBI (54), Harper is second among freshmen in the NCAA in home runs (19). Below are the top-10 lists in Arizona history for batting average, home runs, RBI and slugging percentage.
 
R31GNING SUPREME: Arizona has appeared in every NCAA Tournament since 1988, Mike Candrea's second year on campus. That's an NCAA-Record 31 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. The 31 straight seasons breaks Fresno State's inactive 30-year streak.
 
KEEPING IT 100: Arizona has reached the century mark in home runs six times in school history, including two of the last three years and will likely challenge it again this year. Only two other schools (UTSA and Louisiana-Lafayette) have had more than two seasons of 100-plus homers. There have been 26 seasons of 100 home runs or more in NCAA history and Arizona has six of them.
 
BEATING THE BEST: Since 1994, Arizona is above .500 against ranked teams, top-10 teams and top-five competition. UA is 554-248-1 (.691) against ranked competition, 262-163 (.617) against top-10 teams and 128-111 (.536) against top-five teams.
 
HIGH EXPECTATIONS: Arizona was ranked No. 10 in the Preseason NFCA Top 25, its highest preseason ranking since 2012, and picked to finish second in the Pac-12 by the coaches prior to the season, its highest since 2011. Why?

• Arizona returned 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.

 
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).
 
UP NEXT: The winner of the Tucson Regional will meet the winner of the Waco Regional to go to OKC.