THE GAME (Times MST)
49 | Saturday, May 5 |  1,  0 | Recap | Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery
50 | Saturday, May 5 |  9,  0 (6 inn.) | Recap | Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery
51 | Sunday, May 6 (1 p.m.) |  vs.  | Live Stream | Radio: 1400 KTUC | Live Stats | Twitter Updates | Tickets

Parking: Parking in the lots surrounding Hillenbrand Stadium as well as Cherry and Second Street garages will be free of charge all weekend.
   

---

LEADING OFF

• Winners of six straight and eight of its last nine, No. 10 Arizona is set to host Grand Canyon for a three-game series during its Pac-12 bye week. 
• During Arizona's recent nine-game surge, the Wildcats' success has began in the circle. Arizona has not allowed more than three runs in any of the last nine games. Arizona's two pitchers, Taylor McQuillin and Alyssa Denham, have combined for a 1.08 ERA and have twice as many strikeouts (66) as they do hits allowed (33).
• The Wildcats just completed five straight weekends vs. ranked Pac-12 opponents, including four top-10 opponents. UA faced No. 1 Washington, No. 22 California and No. 5 Oregon, No. 4 UCLA and No. 8 Arizona State in consecutive weeks. UA played 12 games against top-10 competition in a 17-game span. This season, Arizona has played 13 games against top-10 teams this season, the most since facing 13 in 2011. 
• Arizona is tied for second nationally, with 65 home runs, three behind national leader Coastal Carolina. The Wildcats are trying to lead the country for the second straight season after hitting 94 a season ago. If UA is able to accomplish the feat, it will be the first time since UTSA in 2004 and 2005. UA hit six home runs last week to cross the 60-homer plateau for the fifth straight season. 
• Alyssa Palomino and Jessie Harper are tied for the Pac-12 lead with 15 home runs, while Dejah Mulipola is tied for sixth with 11. Arizona is the only team in the country with two players with at least 15 home runs and one of only four teams nationally with three players with more than 10 home runs (Campbell, Fordham, James Madison).
• Taylor McQuillin has 10 shutouts this season, two off the NCAA lead and the most by a Wildcat since Kenzie Fowler in 2015 (15). Three of them have come against ranked teams, including one-hitters vs. No. 4 Oklahoma (2/24) and No. 22 Cal (3/29). She also has a no-hitter this season (2/11 vs. New Mexico).
• Despite returning six starters and 12 letterwinners from the 2017 Pac-12 Championship team, seven of the nine positions feature a new face in 2018. Only two players (catcher Dejah Mulipola and second baseman Reyna Carranco) are in the same position as last year; Jessie Harper (1B to SS), Alyssa Palomino (CF to 1B), Ashleigh Hughes (RF to CF) are all playing new positions. 
• Head Coach Mike Candrea is second in NCAA history with 1,555 career victories, 12 behind Michigan's Carol Hutchins (1,567).
• The top six Wildcat hitters (by batting average) are all underclassmen, including five sophomores. The sophomore class is hitting .332 with 46 home runs while all other classes are hitting a combined .267 with 19 home runs.

THIS WEEK: No. 10 Arizona (35-13, 11-10 Pac-12) has followed a six-game losing streak with eight wins in their next nine, including six straight wins off the heels of a three-game sweep of Oregon State in which Arizona outscored the Beavers 24-3 over three games at Hillenbrand Stadium. After six straight weekends against the other top six teams in the Pac-12, Arizona's conference bye week is upon it. UA welcomes in Grand Canyon for a three-game series that begins with a Saturday doubleheader at 4 p.m. MST. The Cats and the Antelopes conclude their series on Sunday at noon.

SCOUTING THE ANTELOPES: Grand Canyon (27-23, 8-6 WAC) is coming off a 3-0 week against UMKC in Phoenix last week to put the final touches on an 8-6 conference season, good for the No. 4 seed in the WAC Tournament ... The Antelopes have one of the top offenses in the nation -- their .314 average ranks 18th in the country -- led by Niki Gonzalez (.370, 14 2B, 12 HR, 44 RBI, .712 slg%) and Sierra Smith (.377, 11 2B, 5 3B, 4 HR, 12 SB) ... The GCU pitching staff has three pitchers with at least eight wins, led by Brianna Aguilar (10-13, 3.44 ERA, 69 Ks, 138.1 IP).

ARIZONA vs. GRAND CANYON: Arizona and Grand Canyon have met four times, with Arizona winning all four, including three shutouts. UA swept a doubleheader with GCU last season, defeating the Lopes 6-2 and 13-0 (5) on March 29.

WHO'S HOT?
Aleah Craighton: The senior's bat has been on fire recently, showing the power that helped her receive two All-America nods at Louisiana Lafayette. Craighton has seven hits in her last 16 at-bats (.438), including four extra-base hits (2 2B, 2 HR), good for a .938 slugging percentage in Arizona's six-game winning streak.
The pitchers: Taylor McQuillin (4-1) and Alyssa Denham (4-0) have a combined 1.08 ERA over Arizona's last nine games. They have combined to strike out 66 batters while allowing just 33 hits in the last 58.1 innings. Denham has led the way with a 0.88 ERA in that tame frame.
Ivy Davis: Over the first 37 games of the season, UA designated players were a combined 17-for-83 (.205) with two total home runs. Ivy Davis has received the last 11 starts at DP and is leading the Wildcats in home runs (4) and RBI (12) in those 11 games.
Carli Campbell: The freshman has at least one hit in six of her last seven games and is hitting .500 in that span (8-for-16) to lead the team.
Jessie Harper: The sophomore had two home runs, two doubles and four RBI against Oregon State over the weekend. She has at least one hit in eight of UA's last nine games and has eight RBI in that span. 

LAST WEEK: CATS SWEEP OREGON STATE

• Arizona swept Oregon State in dominant fashion, outscoring the Beavers 24-3 over the three-game series.
• UA picked up a pair of run-rule victories, a 9-0 five-inning win in game 1 and a 9-1 six-inning game in game 3. They were the first two mercy victories for UA in conference play this year. UA had three mercy victories in conference play during its Pac-12 Championship run a year ago.
• Arizona hit two home runs in each game. Jessie Harper and Aleah Craighton each had two.
• Taylor McQuillin threw a one-hit shutout in game 1. For the weekend, she went 2-0 with a save and a 0.54 ERA over 13 innings.
• Eight different Wildcats had at least one RBI in the series. Ivy Davis led the way with six, four of which came on her first career grand slam that ended game 3.

THE CHASE FOR HISTORY: Two legends, two Hall of Famers, Arizona's Mike Candrea and Michigan's Carol Hutchins, are battling it out to become the winningest coach in the sport's history. Hutchins currently has a 12-win advantage on Candrea. Below are some notes on their chase for history.

• Last year Candrea became the first coach in NCAA softball history to reach 1,500 Division I victories. Candrea, who is 1,555-401-2 (.798), trails only Michigan's Carol Hutchins (1,567-500-5, .756) in NCAA history. Candrea's victories have occurred over 31 years of coaching at Arizona while Hutchins is in her 35th 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.

CIRCLE IT: Arizona has finished second in the Pac-12 in ERA in each of the last two years (2016 - 2.67, 2017 - 1.45) and sits sixth in the conference in 2018 with a 2.07 ERA. This season, UA has been tasked with replacing 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). Taylor McQuillin (22-9, 1.74 ERA) has filled that void thus far. She leads the Pac-12 in wins (22), is second in strikeouts (229) and shutouts (10), is sixth in opp. batting average (.165) and is seventh in ERA (1.74).

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 is backing it up in 2018, she recorded back-to-back two-homer games vs. Fresno State and New Mexico in week 1, the first time a Wildcat had accomplished that since 2013 (Lauren Young). Harper, who finished second in the Pac-12 in home runs last season, is tied for the Pac-12 lead this year (15) while her team-high 47 RBI are third in the league. Over half of her RBI have come with two out (25 of 47). Her 25 two-out RBI are more than double what the next Wildcat has this year (Mulipola, Martinez - 11). Harper, the week 6 Pac-12 Player of the Week, was 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 preseason first-team All-American by three publications and was on the USA Softball Player of the Year "Watch List". Craighton leads the team this season with 24 walks. She is seventh among all active players in the NCAA in career home runs (56) and 12th in RBI (182).

QUEEN REYNA: After posting just five extra base hits in 57 games as a freshman (3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run), Reyna Carranco has 13 in 43 games this season. She has 11 doubles to go along with two home runs. Carranco missed five games with a fractured nose and a concussion when she was hit by a 70 mph Taran Alvelo pitch in the face in game 1 vs. Washington (3/23), but returned four weeks ago vs. Oregon.

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, was terrific in her complementary role. Last year, McQuillin was one of 34 finalists for USA Softball Pitcher of the Year; this year, she began the season on the Top 50 "Watch List". McQuillin, the week 3 ESPNW Player and Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week after her dominance at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic that included a one-hit shutout of No. 4 Oklahoma, is two off the NCAA lead with nine shutouts and is 13th with 22 victories. The junior, who is 13th nationally with 229 strikeouts this year, sits eighth in school history in career strikeouts.

MINOR SETBACKS, MAJOR COMEBACK: A torn right ACL on day 1 of fall practice (Sept., 2015) 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 last year's Tucson Regional, Palomino tore her left ACL in practice. Now, the redshirt sophomore is in the process of overcoming both devastating injuries. Palomino, who made the switch from the outfield to first base this season, is tied for the Pac-12 lead in home runs (15) and is top 10 in batting average (6th - .382), slugging percentage (2nd - .765) and on-base percentage (6th - .469). Though her average has dipped under .400 for the first time since week 3, she is trying to become the 13th player in school history to hit .400 with double digit home runs in a season. Palomino was named Arizona Athletics' Sophomore Female Student Athlete of the Year.

HOME RUN U

• Arizona has hit 2,076 home runs since softball became a Division I sport in 1982, the most of any team in NCAA history. 
• Arizona has four of the top six home run hitters in NCAA history,  including Katiyana Mauga, who hit a Pac-12 record 92 from 2014-17, three shy of the NCAA record.
• The Wildcats led the country with 94 home runs last season, their third time in the last nine years pacing the NCAA. Overall, UA has led the country nine times since 1994.
• Arizona has hit 100-or-more home runs six times in program history. Only two other schools have hit the century mark more than twice (UTSA and Louisiana Lafayette).
• UA has hit 65 home runs this season, second most in the country.

BEATING THE BEST: Since 1994, Arizona is above .500 against ranked teams, top-10 teams and top-five competition. UA is 565-261-1 (.690) against ranked competition, 265-173 (.617) against top-10 teams and 129-120 (.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 squad. 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).