Mike Candrea doesn’t need to look far to be reminded of Arizona’s last Pac-12 championship. The titles are posted on the outfield wall at Hillenbrand Stadium.
The Wildcats have won 10 conference titles since Candrea was hired more than 30 years ago, but none since 2007. Pac-12 bling isn’t the goal, the Wildcats’ longtime coach said.
“I couldn’t even tell you where half that jewelry is, to tell you the truth,” Candrea said. “It’s a stop along the way.”
The third-ranked UA will travel to No. 12 UCLA this weekend for its last series of the regular season. There’s a lot at stake.
With a sweep of UCLA, Arizona would clinch its first Pac-12 title in a decade.
Arizona has a 17-4 conference record with three conference games left to play. Tenth-ranked Utah is 12-4 with six games left — three at Oregon State this weekend and three against No. 7 Washington next weekend. Rainouts mean the Utes will finish the season having played two fewer conference games than the UA; per conference rules, the championship will be decided by winning percentage.
If Arizona wins two of three against UCLA, Utah would need to win all six of its games to clinch the conference.
If Arizona wins one of three, Utah would have to win five of six.
If the Wildcats are swept, the Utes would have to win four of six.
Oregon still has an outside chance to win the Pac-12, too. The Ducks have a 14-6 conference record with a series remaining against lowly Stanford. The Ducks can win the title by sweeping Stanford and hoping UCLA sweeps Arizona and Utah goes 4-2 or worse the rest of the way.
Candrea wouldn’t mind adding conference title No. 11 to the outfield walls at Hillenbrand, but he knows there’s more at stake.
Arizona’s 10 Pac-12 championships have led to four national titles. In those 10, the Wildcats finished as a national runner-up three times and finished in third place once.
“The goal is to get to Oklahoma City,” UA pitcher Danielle O’Toole said. “We don’t really talk about winning the Pac-12. I know it’s a big deal, especially to this program, and it’s been a while, but (the WCWS) is always the goal. It’s not how you start; it’s how you finish.”
Added catcher Dejah Mulipola: “It’s just one of our milestones to getting to where we want to be at the end of the year.”
Mulipola recovering
Mulipola had what she called “a scary moment” early in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to Arizona State, when Sun Devils pitcher Giselle Juarez hit her in the face with a pitch.
The freshman fell to the ground, bloodied.
“I was just a little worried because when I went down to the floor, I was bleeding and I didn’t know where the blood was coming from, what had happened, if I was missing teeth or not,” Mulipola said.
Mulipola left the game. She woke up the next morning sore and swollen, but returned to help Arizona close out the series with an 8-0 victory.
The Garden Grove, California, native said she’s fine now. The Wildcats need her: The freshman has been a steadying force behind the plate and at the No. 2 spot in the lineup, hitting .347 with 11 home runs and 46 RBIs.
Mulipola had worn a facemask to bat since she was a little girl. She opted against it this season.
“I’ve never experienced it, so I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m never going to get hit in the face. I’ll be fine. Nobody gets hit in the face,’ ” she said. “Then what are the odds? I get hit in the face.”
Mulipola plans to wear a mask again at least “for the remainder of this year,” she said.
“I’ll take it off again at some point. As of now, it’s staying on for a while.”
Inside pitch
- Freshman first baseman Jessie Harper was named the Pac-12 Player and Freshman of the week after a stellar weekend against ASU. Harper hit .667 with two home runs and eight RBIs after slumping with just three hits in Arizona’s previous eight games. Harper said her bounce-back effort came with help from senior shortstop Mo Mercado and undergraduate assistant Chelsea Goodacre.
- Washington moved ahead of Arizona in the latest RPI poll, jumping up to No. 2 as the Wildcats dropped to No. 3. RPI is closely considered when the NCAA selection committee picks seeding for the NCAA Tournament. Florida is No. 1, and Arizona’s weekend opponent, UCLA, is No. 5.
