Leading by example, UA's Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza off to a fast start in unprecedented sixth season

Janelle Meoño hesitated.

It was a tough question to answer. Everyone in the Arizona softball program knows the redshirt freshman is destined to be the team’s next great center fielder. But as Meoño answered questions on Wednesday, the current holder of that spot, sixth-year senior Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza, was sitting right next to her.

“Alyssa is there and I’m happy to play next to Alyssa,” Meoño said. “So, yeah, in the future I can see myself...”

Palomino-Cardoza came to the rescue.

“I’m going to answer that for her. Yes she will be Arizona’s center fielder,” Palomino-Cardoza interjected.

There’s a behind-the-scenes joke that the Wildcats’ freshmen are Palomino-Cardoza’s grandkids. But that joke was also made about Meoño’s freshman class last season. The reality is there aren’t many college softball careers that can compare to Palomino-Cardoza’s when it comes to both longevity and success.

Palomino-Cardoza’s enrolled at the UA in the fall of 2016, then suffered a torn ACL and missed the entire 2017 season. Ever since, the two-time First Team All-American has been the heart of the outfield. And while she may not be the fastest player or even have the strongest arm, her consistency has been an invaluable asset to the program.

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Now in her sixth season, Palomino-Cardoza feels she’s continually improving her game.

“There’s new stuff I learn about every day,” Palomino-Cardoza said. “It’s just not being complacent. I’m going to get progressively better and that’s the mindset I have. I can’t stay the same.”

The numbers back her up. Over the Hillenbrand Invitational’s five games last weekend, Palomino-Cardoza went 8 for 12 with two home runs, five walks and four RBIs. Even her outs mostly came on hard line drives. On Tuesday, Palomino-Cardoza was named Pac-12 Player of the Week.

“I just have more comfort and confidence stepping into the box, the mindset of, ‘You’re not going to get me out,’” Palomino-Cardoza said. “I’m done playing around.”

Palomino-Cardoza will look to keep it going in this weekend’s Wildcat Invitational. The third-ranked Wildcats (5-0) will play BYU and Colorado State on Thursday, Seattle University on Friday, Oregon State on Saturday and Colorado State — again — on Sunday. For the first time this season, there will be some fans in the stands: Players have been allotted four tickets apiece for family members.

Coach Mike Candrea hopes to have fans back by the end of March, but knows the decision lies with the university’s administration and Pima County health officials.

“I can whine all I want and ask all I want, but at the end of the day it’s going to be up to them,” Candrea said. “They’ve done a wonderful job about it. From here on, I think they are feeling better about the situation we’re in, but we need to hold their guard up to make sure something crazy doesn’t happen.”