THIS WEEK: The sixth-ranked Wildcats (15-1) return home for a three-game series with Texas (11-5) this weekend, March 3-5. The series is a brief break from pre-conference tournament life for the Cats and Longhorns, who both won four games at the highly-competitive Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, Calif., last weekend. Arizona's 4-1 showing earned it a three-spot boost in the NFCA Top 25 this week, bumping the Cats to No. 6, their highest ranking since week 5 of 2014. Arizona and Texas will rekindle a long and competitive series this weekend -- UA and Texas played 17 times from 1997 to 2009, but just once since then (last year). Overall, Arizona leads the all-time series 11-7, including a 3-2, extra-inning victory against the Longhorns in 2016.
 
CATS AT A GLANCE

• Through 16 games this season, the Wildcats are outscoring their opponents 145-17. Their offense has hit more home runs (23) than their opponents have total runs (17). UA has nearly as many extra-base hits (54) as its opponents have total hits (59).
• Mo Mercado had herself a weekend in Palm Springs. The senior hit .846 with three doubles, a homer and 11 RBI. She was named NFCA and USA Softball National Player of the Week as well as Pac-12 Player of the Week.
• Danielle O'Toole kept on dominating as well. She went 2-1 with a 0.44 ERA and fanned 23 batters in 16 innings. 12 of her innings came against ranked teams, including six against No. 1 Florida State, and she allowed one run on six total hits. She was named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week.
• Three weeks into the season, four different Wildcats have received Pac-12 weekly awards. Katiyana Mauga was Pac-12 Player of the Week in week 1, Dejah Mulipola was Pac-12 Freshman of the Week in week 2 and Danielle O'Toole (pitcher) and Mo Mercado (player) were honored in week 3.
• Arizona's NFCA ranking of No. 6 is its highest since week 5 of the 2014 season. Arizona has not been in the top five since week 4 of 2011 (#4).
• Arizona is third in the country in batting average (.375) and seventh nationally with a 0.93 ERA. Arizona is the only team in the country in the top 10 in both categories.
• Katiyana Mauga's career home run chase is off to good start. The senior has seven homers in 17 games, third in the NCAA, giving her 74 career homers, 13 shy of Stacie Chambers and the Arizona record and 21 shy of Oklahoma's Lauren Chamberlain and the NCAA record. Mauga, who is hitting .382 and slugging 1.059 with 16 RBI, was named Pac-12 Player of the Week in week 1.
• Danielle O'Toole is 8-1 with a 0.39 ERA in 54.0 innings. She is second in the NCAA in wins and 16th with 62 strikeouts. Her 0.39 ERA ranks 12th in the country, but second among pitchers with at least 40 innings. The senior has a 62/7 strikeout to walk ratio and has limited opponents to a .155 batting average.
• 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 second best record at 15-1.
• Dejah Mulipola's .550 average leads the NCAA (among players with at least 25 at-bats).
• Arizona is the only school in the country with two players slugging over 1.000 (min. 25 at-bats). Dejah Mulipola leads the Pac-12 and is fourth nationally with a 1.075 slugging percentage and Katiyana Mauga is second and fifth, respectively, with a 1.059 slugging percentage.
• Arizona has scored an average of 2.69 runs in the first inning this year. Its opponents are averaging 1.06 runs. Per game.
• Arizona's freshmen have more combined home runs (14) than 241 Division I teams.

 
SCOUTING TEXAS: The Longhorns (11-5) have already played eight teams either ranked or receiving votes in the NFCA Top 25, including victories over Notre Dame (RV), Missouri (No. 20) and Tennessee (No. 15) ... Texas has a very deep pitching staff, with five different pitchers logging more than 16 innings on the year, including reigning Big 12 Pitcher of the Week Tiarra Davis, who has a 2.39 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 26.1 innings this season ... Kelli Hanzel, hitting .414 in 29 at-bats, leads an offense that has outscored its opponents 102-69.
 
CATS vs. THE LONGHORNS: Arizona holds an 11-7 all-time series advantage over Texas. The two teams met 17 times from 1997-2009, but just once since then, a 3-2, eight-inning UA victory last season. This will be Texas' first trip to Hillenbrand Stadium. Arizona has won three straight games in the series, dating back to the 2006 Women's College World Series, where Arizona defeated UT on its way to a NCAA Championship.
 
WHO'S HOT?

• Mo Mercado: "I don't know of anyone in all my years of coaching that had a better weekend than Mo had," - Mike Candrea. Mo Mercado hit .846 with three doubles, a homer and 11 RBI. She was named national player of the year by every major publication.
• Danielle O'Toole: Tooly allowed a run three batters into the 2017 season. Since then, the conference's leader in ERA has posted a 0.26 ERA and has allowed one hit every two innings. She leads the Pac-12 with 62 strikeouts. O'Toole was named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week in week 3.
• Dejah Mulipola: She leads the nation (min. 25 AB) with her .550 batting average and leads the Pac-12 in RBI (21) and slugging percentage (1.079). Not bad for a freshman.
• The Bench: Arizona's hitting .375 as a team, third best in the country. While the starting lineup has a lot to do with that, the bench has been productive when given the chance. This weekend, Arizona's bench went 9-for-21 (.429) with nine RBI.
• Nancy Bowling: With Arizona's pitching staff already depleted last weekend, UA was counting on Bowling for quite a few innings. Then Bowling got sick. She battled and gave Arizona 11 really good innings, going 2-0 in Palm Springs. She's now 4-0 this season and is 15-0 since her last loss (in 2013).

 
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 74 career home runs in 191 games played. That's 13 shy of Arizona's record (87 - Stacie Chambers, 08-11), 16 shy of the Pac-12 record (90 - Stacey Nuveman, UCLA, 97-02) and 21 shy of the NCAA record (95 - Lauren Chamberlain, Oklahoma, 12-15).
• The senior is tied for third in the NCAA with seven 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 74 career homers lead all active hitters in the NCAA by a wide margin. No other player has more than 60.

 
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 674-86 (.887) record all-time at Hillenbrand Stadium. Arizona has won 12 straight games at Hillenbrand Stadium.
 
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 0.93 ERA 16 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 1,088 games at Arizona, combined for 731 hits, 131 home runs, 524 RBI, 717.2 IP, 639 strikeouts and 76 pitching victories. Here are some notes on each senior's career contributions:

• Nancy Bowling: A 36-game starter in her career in the circle, plus 32 games at first base. Has not lost a pitching decision since her freshman year (15-0 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 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 (198) of her Arizona career and has put up a .359 average in 601 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 182-game starter who was named first-team all-conference as a redshirt junior in 2016. Owns a career .334 average and a stellar .426 on-base percentage.
• Eva Watson: Has battled injuries, but led Arizona in batting average in 2016 (.387). Has appeared in 145 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 545-244-1 (.700) against ranked competition, 256-162 (.624) against top-10 teams and 128-111 (.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 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).