KAJIKAWA CLASSIC
FEB. 9-11 • TEMPE, ARIZ.
 
Game Notes: #7 Arizona (3-1) • Northwestern (3-1) • #24 Oklahoma State (3-1) • UC Davis (1-2) • Fresno State (1-2) • New Mexico (1-2) 

WEEKLY NOTES

 
THIS WEEK: Seventh-ranked Arizona is set to begin the 2018 campaign at the Kajikawa Classic, returning the tournament after a four-year hiatus from an event it had previously attended 25 of the previous 26 years. The Wildcats will face Northwestern, No. 24 Oklahoma State, UC Davis, Fresno State and New Mexico over a three-day span in two different locations in Tempe. Arizona opens the season vs. the Wildcats (11:30 a.m.) and Cowgirls (5 p.m.) on Friday at Farrington Stadium in a pair of games televised by the Pac-12 Network. On Saturday, UA will face UC Davis (11:45 a.m.) and Fresno State (5 p.m.) before wrapping up the event on Sunday vs. New Mexico (2 p.m.).
 
OPPONENTS
Northwestern: The Wildcats return 14 letterwinners and seven starters from its 25-29 team a season ago. Northwestern returns four of its top five hitters, led by Sabrina Rabin, who hit .354 and stole 27 bases in 2017. Arizona is 18-2 all-time against Northwestern and has won four straight, including an 11-3 victory in week 1 of last season.
Oklahoma State: The Cowgirls are ranked No. 24 in the NFCA top 25, their first preseason ranking since 2011. OSU returns much of its core from last season's 38-9 season and NCAA Regional Championship appearance, including two-time All-American Vanessa Shippy, who was named to the USA Softball Player of the Watch List. Arizona is 19-9 all-time vs. Oklahoma State and has won eight straight meetings, most recently a three-game series sweep in Tucson to open the 2015 season.
UC Davis: The Aggies return 13 letterwinners from their 22-23 team a season ago. Katie Kibby, who led the team with 15 wins in 2017, returns to lead the pitching staff while Ashley Lotoszynski, who led the team with 10 doubles, five homers and 30 RBI, returns to lead the offense. Arizona won the programs' only meeting in 2012.
Fresno State: The Bulldogs, who return 13 letterwinners from their 35-23, NCAA Regional team a season ago, are receiving votes in the preseason top 25. They return first baseman Savannah McHellon, who hit 10 homers and drove in 44 runs a season ago. Two of the most dominant programs during the 1990s, Arizona and Fresno State have a storied history that has seen 51 total meetings over the years. UA owns a 38-13 overall advantage in the series and has won 11 in-a-row, most recently a 7-1 victory in 2015.
New Mexico: The Paula Congleton era is set to commence at New Mexico; the New Mexico alum takes over a club that went 20-30 in 2017. Chelsea Johnson, who led the team with seven home runs a season ago, returns to lead the offense. Arizona has won 30 of the 31 matchups all-time between the two clubs, including 26 in-a-row. The two teams last met in 2014, when Arizona defeated New Mexico 8-0.
 
WHO'S HOT? (Fall edition)
Jenna Kean: It was a terrific debut for the freshman from Los Alamitos, California, who led the team with 14 hits during the fall, going 14-for-19 (.737) with four steals in four tries. She led off and played centerfield in all six contests she was healthy for.
Taylor McQuillin: The junior was nearly untouchable during the fall, when she hurled 19 scoreless innings with 27 strikeouts compared to just two walks. McQuillin allowed nine total hits over five appearances.
Robyn Porter: The senior made the most out of her nine at-bats, going 7-for-9 to lead the team with a .778 batting average. She hit two doubles, a homer and led UA with a 1.333 slugging percentage over the seven games.
Jessie Harper: No surprise, the sophomore led UA in doubles (3), home runs (4) and RBI (13) in the fall, when she hit .423 and slugged 1.000.
Hanah Bowen: The freshman struck out 27 batters in 20 innings in her debut in the Hillenbrand circle, going 3-0 with a 1.05 ERA. She allowed just 11 hits (.157 b/avg) over five appearances. Bowen also impressed offensively; she hit .571 with two RBI.
 
ARIZONA AT THE KAJIKAWA CLASSIC: Arizona returns to the Kajikawa Classic for the first time since 2013. UA is 110-20 (.846) in the Arizona-State-hosted tournament, which has gone through other names since the Wildcats first attended in 1985. Thirteen of UA's 20 total losses at the event have come since 2007; Arizona went 3-2 at tournament in 2013, the last time it was there. For a full breakdown of Arizona's history in the Kajikawa Classic, head to page 5.
 
CIRCLE IT: Arizona has finished second in the Pac-12 in each of the last two years (2016 - 2.67, 2017 - 1.45). Each of the last two seasons, Arizona's team ERA and walks-per-seven-innings are trending down while its strikeouts-per-seven-innings are trending upwards. This season, UA will need to replace 2017 Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year and first-team All-American Danielle O'Toole, who led the conference in ERA (1.21) and finished second in strikeouts (210) and victories (30).
 
HARPER HOMERS: Power-hitting shortstop Jessie Harper matched her jersey number with 19 home runs in her rookie campaign and became Arizona's first true freshman to earn first-team NFCA All-America honors since Kenzie Fowler in 2010. The Stevenson Ranch, California native finished second in the Pac-12 in home runs and two shy of the Arizona freshman record. Harper is one of four Wildcats named to the USA Softball Player of the Year Top 50 "Watch List".
 
GEAUXING OUT WITH A BANG: Two-time NFCA All-American outfielder Aleah Craighton is set to finish her career in Tucson after a decorated three-year career at Louisiana Lafayette. Craighton hit .365 in her Ragin Cajun career with 48 homers, 154 RBI and a .794 slugging percentage. She was named a Hero Sports Preseason All-American and is on the USA Softball Player of the Year "Watch List".
 
DEJAH VU: Dejah Mulipola will look to duplicate her impressive rookie campaign in year 2 in Tucson. As a freshman, Mulipola, who was one of 25 finalists for NFCA DI Freshman of the Year, hit .335 with 12 doubles, 12 homers and three triples. Mulipola has caught 60 of UA's 61 games in her career. The sophomore, who will play for USA Softball this summer, was selected to the USA Softball Player of the Year "Watch List".
 
TAYLOR'S TIME: After complementing ace Danielle O'Toole during McQuillin's freshman and sophomore seasons, it's now the junior's time to shine. McQuillin one of the most decorated high school pitchers in recent history has been terrific in her complementary role. Last year, McQuillin was one of 34 finalists for USA Softball Pitcher of the Year; this year, she begins the season on the Top 50 "Watch List". McQuillin finished fifth in the Pac-12 with 159 strikeouts a season ago, giving her 296 for her Wildcat career, just shy of UA's career top 10 after just two seasons.
 
MINOR SETBACKS, MAJOR COMEBACK: A torn right ACL on day 1 of fall practice cost Alyssa Palomino her true freshman season in 2016. In her return in 2017, she was among the conference leaders and national freshman leaders in home runs (16) and RBI (54) heading into the postseason. Two days prior to the Tucson Regional, Palomino tore her left ACL in practice. Now, the redshirt sophomore is ready to overcome both devastating injuries. Palomino has taken ground balls at first base this offseason and may see time at first base, in the outfield or at designated player.
 
QUEEN REYNA: Reyna Carranco led the Wildcats with a .419 batting average in conference play last season and hit .471 over UA's final 33 games of the season. Carranco emerged as one of UA's most consistent bats at the end of last year; she enters 2018 on an eight-game winning streak.
 
HOME RUN U

 
BEATING THE BEST: Since 1994, Arizona is above .500 against ranked teams, top-10 teams and top-five competition. UA is 557-250-1 (.690) against ranked competition, 262-163 (.617) against top-10 teams and 128-111 (.536) against top-five teams.
 
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.
 
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT: This fall, Arizona brought back Wildcat All-American, National Champion and 2007 Women's College World Series MVP Taryne Mowatt as an assistant coach, joining Caitlin Lowe on Mike Candrea's all-Arizona staff. Mowatt and Lowe were teammates on both the 2006 and 2007 NCAA Championship sqad. Their combined four NCAA titles in addition to Coach Candrea's eight give Arizona's coaching staff a total of 12 as either a head coach or player, the most in NCAA softball. Add in Director of Recruiting-Operations Stacy Iveson, who helped lead UA to three NCAA titles as an assistant coach (96, 97, 01) before winning four NJCAA titles as a head coach at Pima and Yavapai College, you won't find a staff with championship pedigree quite like Arizona's.
 
FOLLOW THE TEAM: Be sure to follow the Wildcats on their social media platforms. To stay up-to-date on all the latest happenings with the team, follow Arizona softball on Twitter and Instagram (@ArizonaSoftball).