All the Wildcats had to do was look at the whiteboard in their dugout for a reminder.
It was what they saw when they grabbed their bat or their glove on the way onto the field.
Arkansas pitcher Autumn Storms was throwing a no-hitter through one-and-a-half trips around the lineup, but Arizona kept loose.
The conversation in between at-bats wasn’t panic, it was calm. The Wildcats knew it was just a matter of time before they broke through.
And they kept looking at the whiteboard and the message on it: One team for coach.
Arizona is playing for something bigger than each individual player — in this postseason it’s for their longtime coach, Mike Candrea.
UA eventually broke through as Sharlize Palacios singled with two outs in the fifth inning. Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza homered to left to give UA a 2-1 lead, and the Wildcats went on to win 4-1 Saturday and clinch a spot in the Women’s College World Series.
No. 11-seeded Arizona (41-13) plays No. 3 seed Alabama (50-7) Thursday at 4 p.m. in Oklahoma City at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.
It is the third game of the day behind James Madison vs. Oklahoma and Georgia against Oklahoma State. UCLA plays Florida State in the nightcap.
This is Arizona’s 24th WCWS appearance. They’ve won it all eight times and been runner-up five times. The last time the Wildcats played in OKC was the last time a World Series was held in 2019. The pandemic shut down softball last season.
“It feels really good (to go back to the WCWS),” Cardoza-Palomino said. “…we know that we’re not done yet. We know the road ahead is still going to be hard. We’re going to take it one game at a time and continue to play our softball that we’ve been playing the past two weeks.
“We know that that’s good enough to beat any team and we’re just going to keep that mindset. … it definitely feels good to be able to know that I’m going to end (my career) at the World Series.“
Before the Fayetteville Super Regional started Friday, there was a lot of talk about Arizona having struggled on the road against ranked teams and how hard it would be to play in front of a packed stadium of fans not cheering for the Wildcats.
Arizona didn’t let any of that get in their heads. They cruised through two games. On Friday, Arizona got on the board first with a two-run shot from Dejah Mulipola and never looked back, winning 10-4. A storm rolled in the day before and cooled it down, creating the right conditions for home runs — seven total were hit. Mulipola crushed two, Palacios had one and Jessie Harper hit No. 91 of her career.
The Wildcats woke up on Saturday needing only one game to move to the round of eight. They were calm and didn’t let this game get too big. Even when the Arkansas took an early 1-0 lead and the fans got loud, UA just kept grinding. When Palacios broke up the no-hitter it was exactly what the Wildcats needed.
“We knew we were going to find a hole,” Palamino-Cardoza said. “… I think that really sparked us in saying, ‘we can hit this pitcher and we can continue to win this game.’ I think that is what we needed and that is what we rolled with.”
Palamino-Cardoza was the only Wildcat to get a good bead on the ball a few innings before with a long fly to right field. It took a little adjustment to get ahold of one her next at-bat.
“To see her put a great swing on a good pitch and hit a ball out, put us ahead 2-1, was very fitting,” Candrea said. “She’s one of those kids that you pull for (through) ups and downs but today she was a hero. I think it’s well deserved and I’m just so happy for her.”
In the following inning, the Wildcats put up some insurance runs. This time after two errors by the Arkansas shortstop, they Razorbacks walked Palamino to load the bases. Carlie Scupin crushed a two-run single into right field. All the Wildcats’ runs were driven in by either the oldest player (Palamino-Cardoza) or the youngest (Scupin).
“The always joke with me — I’m now 24, Carly’s 18 — so it’s funny to play with girls younger than me like that, but we now that they can do it and they can take any challenge,” Palomino-Cardoza said. “Janelle (Meoño) Shar (Palacios), Scoop (Scupin), G (Giulia Koutsoyanopulos), and the rest of the freshmen, they all have a presence. … they love Arizona softball just like the seniors do and we all go out and play for each other, play for coach. I think that is that mindset that we have has been helping us.“
Arizona is putting it all together at the right time: offense, defense, pitching and even mentally. They swept both the Tucson Regional and the Fayetteville Super Regional. Next up is an opportunity to win Arizona’s ninth championship.
“It’s very rewarding right now to see it happen,” Candrea said. “It was a very challenging road. I don’t think people understand how tough it is just to get there. I’m enjoying this moment very much so. And I’m enjoying this team. I think from here on out, whatever happens is going to happen but what they’ve proven to me is that they’re going to be great people the rest of their life and to me that’s important.”
The players are doing it for their coach and Candrea appreciates that. However, as usual he brushes that off. This was never about him, it’s about the young women he coaches.
“It takes a village to make this thing work,” Candrea said. “I really want to thank (UA assistants) Caitlin (Lowe) and Taryn (Mowatt-McKinney) for the job they’ve done. I couldn’t ask for better people on our staff. There are a lot of people on our staff that have done the work — it’s all of us.”
“I’m honored that they think it’s for me but it’s really not about me, it’s about the players and it’s about the program. I’m the gatekeeper. I’ve always felt that way. If you really think about it, you’re here for a short time. I want to do the best job that I can do and keep this program consistent throughout the years and hopefully I’ve done that.”
