THE GAMES (Times MST)
23 | Friday, March 8 |
5,
3 |
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24 | Saturday, March 9 |
11,
3 (5 inn.) |
Recap |
Box Score
25 | Sunday, March 10 (12 p.m.) |
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WEEKLY NOTES
THIS WEEK: For the first time in program history, Arizona (17-5) will welcome the No. 1 team to Tucson for a nonconference three-game series. The 12th-ranked Wildcats welcome in the defending national champions and top-ranked Florida State Seminoles (23-1) for the first ever three-game series in renovated Hillenbrand Stadium in the final nonconference week of the season for the Wildcats. It's alumni weekend for the Wildcats, who will welcome back nearly 100 alumni, many of whom will be getting their first in-person look at the new Hillenbrand Stadium, which received an $8 Million renovation this offseason. The Wildcats and Seminoles are set to meet Friday (6 p.m.), Saturday (6 p.m.) and Sunday (12 p.m.) at Hillenbrand for perhaps the biggest nonconference weekend in Hillenbrand Stadium history.
LEADING OFF
- For the first time in program history, the Wildcats are set to welcome in the nation's top-ranked team for a nonconference three-game series this weekend at Hillenbrand Stadium. The Cats will welcome in defending national champion and unanimous No. 1 team in the country, Florida State, for a three-game series at Hillenbrand, Friday-Sunday.
- The Wildcats have 16 victories over NFCA Top 25 teams in program history, most recently a 6-4 win over No. 1 Oregon on May 8, 2015 at Hillenbrand Stadium.
- Arizona is on a season-long eight-game winning streak and has won 13 of its last 14 games, with its only loss in that span a one-run loss to No. 4 Oklahoma. Florida State just saw its 28-game winning streak end on Wednesday at Grand Canyon.
This weekend's matchup will be between the NCAA's two top home run hitting teams. Florida State leads the country with 40 home runs in 24 games, Arizona is second with 39 in 22 games.
- Jessie Harper has seven home runs in her last 23 at-bats, helping her vault into the NCAA lead with 13 home runs this season. Her amazing stretch over Arizona's last seven games has helped the Cats score 58 runs over the last seven games (8.29/game), their best offensive stretch of the season.
- Harper hit her 12th and 13th home run of the season vs. New Mexico State on Tuesday, tying and then taking the lead in the NCAA. They were home runs No. 49 and 50 in her Wildcat career, becoming the 15th Wildcat and 36th player in Pac-10/12 history to record 50 career home runs. The junior is the third fastest player in Arizona history to 50 home runs.
- In Arizona's doubleheader sweep of New Mexico State, head coach Mike Candrea caught Michigan skipper Carol Hutchins for the NCAA lead in career victories. The two legendary coaches enter the weekend with 1,480 career NCAA wins. Candrea is in his 32nd year of coaching at Arizona while Hutchins is in year 36.
- The Wildcats defeated No. 19 James Madison and No. 23 Minnesota last weekend, bringing their total to four ranked wins through 22 games, their most through 22 since 2014. This week, Arizona is set to play its eighth, ninth and 10th games vs. ranked opponents, its most through 25 games since 1999. UA is currently scheduled to play at least one ranked team in seven of the first eight weeks of the 2019 season.
- UA concluded last weekend's Wildcat Invitational with back-to-back walkoff extra-inning wins, marking the first time since 2001 that Arizona has won two straight games in walkoff fashion in extra innings. The Cats scored one run in the eighth to defeat Kent state, 7-6, on Saturday, before plating three runs in the eighth to defeat 19th-ranked James Madison, 8-6, on Sunday.
- Arizona pitchers lead the Pac-12 with 165 innings, led by Taylor McQuillin, who leads the Pac-12 with 94 strikeouts and has 677 career strikeouts, seventh in Arizona history. The Cats are fourth in the league in team ERA (1.74) and second in opponent batting average (.175).
- The Wildcats are averaging more home runs per game (1.77; most in the country) than the pitching staff allows earned runs per seven innings (1.74; 25th in the country).
#1 FLORIDA STATE (23-1)
- The top-ranked and defending national champion Seminoles had won 28 consecutive games, dating back to their 2018 Women's College World Series run last season, prior to taking their first loss of the season on Wednesday at Grand Canyon.
- Until Wednesday, FSU was one of two remaining unbeaten teams in NCAA Softball this season (Alabama) and already own victories over three top-10 teams: #3 Oklahoma (7-4), #8 LSU (9-1) and #6 Tennessee (5-2).
- Florida State entered the week leading the country in batting average (.386), slugging percentage (.685) and home runs (38) while ranking ninth in the NCAA with a 1.41 ERA.
- The Seminoles are led in the circle by Meghan King, who is 10-1 with a 1.20 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 64 innings pitched.
- Offensively, six different Seminoles are hitting at least .400 with at least 50 at-bats apiece and seven different players have three-or-more home runs. Syndey Sherrill leads in both categories; she's hitting .493 with seven home runs while Cali Harrod is hitting .486 with six homers and 21 stolen bases.
THE WILDCATS vs. THE SEMINOLES
- Arizona is 16-1 all-time vs. Florida State.
- The Wildcats won the first 16 matchups between the two teams, but Florida State bested the Wildcats in their most recent matchup. The Seminoles, who were ranked No. 1 in that meeting as well, defeated No. 9 Arizona 1-0 at the 2017 Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic (Feb. 25, 2017). Meghan King, the Seminoles' ace in 2019, threw 6.2 shutout innings and gave up five hits in the game.
