Alyssa Palomino finally ready to give 100 percent for Arizona Wildcats in NCAA Regionals

Alyssa Palomino just needed to get through Thursday’s practice.

The Mission Viejo, California, native did, and now she’ll be able to do what she’s been waiting for her entire college career: play in an NCAA softball regional.

“I’m just excited to get out there,” Palomino said. “I’ve had butterflies all week long.”

Palomino missed her entire first season at Arizona with a torn ACL in her right knee.

Then, two days before Arizona was set to host last year’s NCAA Regionals, Palomino injured her left knee. An MRI two days later confirmed it was another ACL tear.

Now, the redshirt sophomore is more than ready to start the postseason. The Wildcats will host Saint Francis (Pa.) at 8:30 p.m. Friday in their regional opener. The three-day series will whittle down four NCAA tournament participants to one.

Palomino plans to play all weekend. She’s battled knee soreness and food poisoning, but is practicing at full strength.

“I’m feeling a lot better,” she said. “Like I said before, I’m not going to be 100 percent the rest of the year, but I’ll give 100 percent of what I do have. I’m feeling good and ready to get after it.”

Palomino isn’t the only Wildcat looking to get back on the field. Ashleigh Hughes broke her left hand during the Arizona State series, forcing her to sit out with a cast. She came back as a pinch runner in the last of three games against Grand Canyon.

Now, it looks like she may start contributing more on the field.

“She swung the bat the last couple of days,” Candrea said of the senior. “I think she’s ready to go.”

The Wildcats will have to play a minimum of three games to get through the double-elimination regional and move onto the Super Regional. First, they have to get through the Red Flash.

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This isn’t the first trip to Tucson for the team from Pennsylvania. Saint Francis played in the Tucson Regional last year, and was eliminated by South Carolina. The team visited in 2016 for the Wildcat Invitational; Arizona won that game, 6-4.

The familiarity with Tucson and Hillenbrand Stadium is something Saint Francis hopes will help get it through regionals this time around.

“I think each year we’ve gotten a little more comfortable with where we’re at,” Saint Francis senior infielder Madison Cabell said. “I know the first time we came here, it was more of a learning experience rather after it, but this year it’s a lot more calm.”

Saint Francis is riding a 19-game winning streak; it haven’t lost a Northeast Conference game in more than two years.

Recently, Saint Francis has also become known for its ability to hit the longball. The team averages 1.48 home runs per game, the second-best mark in the country. Arizona is ranked fourth with 1.35 homers per game.

Saint Francis’ Jennifer Patrick-Swift said she and her coaching staff changed the team’s batting approach three years ago to emulate Major League Baseball’s sluggers. She said she’s glad the team has bought into it.

Abby Trahan is happy she doesn’t have to pitch against her team’s lineup.

“I’m so glad I pitch for this team and not against this team,” the Red Flash pitcher said. “We don’t have very many holes … because our swing is just so powerful.”

Arizona ace Taylor McQuillin will have to throw her game and be able to make adjustments from one inning to the next to successfully shut down the Red Flash bats, UA coach Mike Candrea said.

The Wildcats have been watching film on Saint Francis. Regardless, McQuillin said she won’t change the way she goes into the circle Friday.

“I don’t think that it changes very much,” McQuillin said. “Like we said, this is a very crucial point of the season.”