THIS WEEK: After an 11-0 start in two home tournaments, the ninth-ranked Wildcats are set to hit the road for the first time in 2017. The Wildcats head to Palm Springs, Calif., for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic where Arizona will face top-ranked Florida State (10-0) and #23 BYU (5-2) as well as Louisville (7-2), Purdue (1-8) and LIU Brooklyn (3-6).
 
CATS AT A GLANCE

• Arizona is 11-0 for the first time since 2006. The 11-game winning streak is UA's longest since winning 16 straight from Feb. 26-March 18, 2010.
• UA improved one spot to No. 9 in the NFCA Top 25. It marks Arizona's highest ranking since week 2 of 2016, also the week Arizona went to the Mary Nutter last season. Those Wildcats went 2-3 in Palm Springs.
• Arizona is third nationally in ERA (0.71), ninth in batting average (.384) and 15th in fielding percentage (.983). The Wildcats are one of two teams in the country in the top 15 in all three categories (UCLA).
• Katiyana Mauga's career home run chase is off to good start. The senior has six homers in 11 games, teid for second in the NCAA, giving her 73 career homers, 14 shy of Stacie Chambers and the Arizona record and 22 shy of Oklahoma's Lauren Chamberlain and the NCAA record. Mauga, who is hitting .440 and slugging 1.240 with 13 RBI, was named Pac-12 Player of the Week in week 1.
• Danielle O'Toole is 6-0 with a 0.37 ERA in 38.0 innings. She leads all players with more than 30 innings in ERA and her six victories are tied for second most nationally. The senior has a 39/2 strikeout to walk ratio and has limited opponents to a .168 batting average.
• O'Toole threw a five-hit shutout vs. No. 21 Baylor in her second start of the season. The transfer, in her second year at Arizona, has five seven-inning shutouts vs. ranked teams.
• Arizona is one of four Pac-12 teams in the top 10 in this week's NFCA poll. The Wildcats, who were picked second in the conference's preseason coaches poll, have the league's best record at 11-0.
• Dejah Mulipola hit .643 with two doubles, a triple and two homers while leading the teams in both runs driven in (14) and runs scored (7) in the Wildcat Invitational, helping her secure Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors. The freshman leads Arizona with a .593 average while slugging 1.111 on the season.
• Arizona has scored an average of 3.1 runs in the first inning this year. Its opponents are averaging 0.9 runs. Per game.
• The Wildcats are set to face their first top-five opponent of the season when they meet No. 1 Florida State on Saturday night. UA is 128-110 vs. top-five competition in school history, including 16 wins over No. 1 teams. Arizona last beat No. 1 on May 8, 2015 (Oregon).
• Arizona's freshmen have more combined home runs (10) than 221 Division I teams.

 
OPPONENTS

• Louisville: The Cardinals (7-2) went 3-1 at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Chapel Hill, N.C., last weekend with a pair of victories over Purdue and a split vs. Ohio State. The offense is hitting .317 and outscoring opponents 67-25 while Maryssa Becker (6-1, 0.94 ERA) leads the way for a pitching staff that owns a 2.25 ERA. Arizona will be the first ranked opponent the Cardinals see this year. UA is 3-0 all-time vs. Louisville, with its most recent victory coming over the 24th-ranked Cardinals in the 2010 Judi Garman Classic (11-3).
• BYU: The 23rd-ranked Cougars (5-2) went 3-0 at the DeMarini Desert Classic in Las Vegas last weekend with victories over Hawaii, Texas State and Nevada. The Cougars come to Palm Springs battle tested, having already faced three top-10 teams, including a victory over Washington 4-2 in Puerto Vallarta in the third game of the year. BYU ace McKenna Bull (4-0, 2.55 ERA) is one of the most experienced pitchers in the NCAA and defeated UA at Hillenbrand in 2016. Overall, Arizona is 6-1 all-time vs. the Cougars, including a two-game split in the 2016 Wildcat Invitational.
• Purdue: The Boilermakers (1-8) went 0-4 at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Chapel Hill, N.C., last weekend with a pair of losses to Louisville and host North Carolina each. The pitchers have struggled to a team 6.29 ERA, but Maya Hughes (.370 avg, 5 R) and Kristen Hoppman (.345 avg, 7 SB) are bright spots offensively. Arizona is 4-0 all-time vs. the Boilermakers, including a 11-1, five-inning victory in the 2016 Hillenbrand Invitational.
• LIU Brooklyn: The Blackbirds (3-6) went 3-2 at the Orange Blossom Tournament in Orlando, Fla., last weekend, with victories over George Washington, Providence and Marshall and losses to Stetson and Delaware. Schae Dickson leads the team offensively, hitting .435 with two doubles and a homer. The pitchers have struggled to a 7.38 ERA.
• Florida State: The top-ranked Seminoles (10-0) lead the nation in ERA (0.22), much thanks to NFCA Pitcher of the Week Jessica Burroughs, who is 5-0 with a 0.51 ERA. The Seminoles went 4-0 at last weekend's Big Ten/ACC Challenge in Tallahassee with a pair of victories over Northwestern and Nebraska each. The Seminoles have not faced a ranked team yet this year, but will face four of them in Palm Springs. Arizona is 13-0 all-time against Florida State, but have not met since the 2008 Judi Garman Classic, when Arizona won 13-2 in six innings.

 
ARIZONA IN THE MARY NUTTER COLLEGIATE CLASSIC: Arizona is 37-14 all-time at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic (formally known as the Cathedral City Classic), a tournament that consistently features some of the nation's best teams. Arizona, which has competed in the tournament 10 times since 2004, has not swept its games in the event since 2010. UA had a roller coaster of time in Palm Springs in 2016, going 2-3 overall with a shutout win over No. 4 LSU, a 19-4 drubbing of No. 15 UCF and losses to No. 25 Texas A&M, Cal Poly and Central Michigan (full recap on page 5).
 
WHO'S HOT?

• Dejah Mulipola: She just. Keeps. Hitting. In her first 11 career games, Mulipola has six multi-hit games and has scored a run in every game. The week 2 Pac-12 Freshman of the Week is hitting .593 on the year with three doubles and three homers.
• Ashleigh Hughes: With some uncertainty in the 8/9 spots in Arizona's order, someone needed to step up. It's been Ashleigh Hughes. The junior, who plays both second base and right field, is second on the team with a .474 average. Hughes with 6-for-11 in the Wildcat Invitational (.545).
• Danielle O'Toole: Tooly went 3-0 with a 0.39 in the Wildcat Invitational. She walked just one batter in 18 innings pitched and limited opponents to a .133 average. She leads the nation in ERA (0.35) for pitchers with more than 30 innings.
• Katiyana Mauga: While all the talk may about her power, Mauga is a complete hitter, as evidence by her .440 average to go along with her six homers. She's patient, too. Mauga drew seven walks in the Wildcat Invitational and has a team-high nine for the year.
• Alyssa Palomino: After a "disappointing" first week in which Palomino "only" hit .333 with two extra base hits, the freshman settled in in week 2 and drilled three homers, three doubles and drove in 11 runs while hitting .421.

 
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 73 career home runs in 186 games played. That's 14 shy of Arizona's record (87 - Stacie Chambers, 08-11), 17 shy of the Pac-12 record (90 - Stacey Nuveman, UCLA, 97-02) and 22 shy of the NCAA record (95 - Lauren Chamberlain, Oklahoma, 12-15).
• The senior is tied for third in the NCAA with six home runs this season.
• 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 73 career homers lead all active hitters in the NCAA by a wide margin. No other player has more than 60.

 
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 put up a combined 0.71 ERA 11 games into 2017.
 
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 1,071games at Arizona, combined for 711 hits, 129 home runs, 506 RBI, 688.2 IP, 597 strikeouts and 72 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. Has not lost a pitching decision since her freshman year (13-0 from sophomore year on).
• Alexis Dotson: A 79-game starter since transferring from local Pima College after her sophomore year. Owns a career .316 average and has scored 46 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 (193) of her Arizona career and has put up a .349 average in 588 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 177-game starter who was named first-team all-conference as a redshirt junior in 2016. Owns a career .333 average and a stellar .424 on-base percentage.
• Eva Watson: Has battled injuries, but led Arizona in batting average in 2016 (.387). Has appeared in 142 games in her career, including 67 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 544-243-1 (.700) against ranked competition, 256-161 (.624) against top-10 teams and 128-110 (.549) 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 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.

 
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).