Opening-weekend gauntlet should be 'good test' for Wildcats, coach Mike Candrea says

Pac-12 coaches on Tuesday picked Arizona to finish third in the conference, behind UCLA and Washington. A week prior, the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll ranked Arizona seventh nationally.

Four Wildcats — Jessie Harper, Taylor McQuillin, Dejah Mulipola and Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza — were named to the USA Softball Player of the Year Top 50 Watch List, which was announced Jan. 30.

Of course, none of that matters. Not today.

“I’m not a real big believer on preseason polls,” coach Mike Candrea said. “The only poll that matters to me is the last one. But I think that in itself is a tribute to those four athletes. They definitely have a body of work that someone has recognized that could be something special.”

Candrea and the Wildcats have their eyes set on Opening Day and playing at the USF Opening Weekend Invitational. Arizona will open the season Friday with games against No. 19 Michigan and tournament host South Florida. The tournament also includes No. 5 Florida, Illinois State and North Carolina State. Arizona will play a total of five games in three days.

Candrea, entering his 34th year as the UA’s skipper, said he’s excited to play such tough opponents right away.

“I think it’s going to be a good test for us to see where we’re at and I think it really has helped elevate the energy and the focus from our players this entire fall,” Candrea said. “And I like it. It’s going to be challenging, but it’s going to be challenging for both them and for us. I like our opportunities because we have, I think, a very mature group right now that will be playing the game.”

Last year, the Wildcats depended heavily on ace Taylor McQuillin during the early season tournaments. This time around, that may not be necessary. The UA’s roster has seven pitchers; five of them — McQuillin, Alyssa Denham, Gina Snyder, Marissa Schuld and Vanessa Foreman — solely contribute on the mound.

The added depth could provide the Wildcats with some new looks this weekend.

“In a perfect world, I would be able to throw everyone a little bit this weekend, but we all know that the world’s not perfect,” Candrea said. “I think time will tell what our needs are and how these games come about. This is not your typical starting weekend.”

Even if McQuillin’s load is lessened this weekend, the senior is still expected to have a big year. The California native pitched 242 innings in 44 appearances a year ago. In contrast, she pitched 148ª innings in 55 appearances throughout her freshman and sophomore seasons. McQuillin improved her ERA to 1.68 and won a career-high 28 games as a junior last year. She pitched 15 shutouts, while giving up 148 hits and 66 runs.

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Candrea said McQuillin is moving the ball well and has picked up some velocity. She’s also throwing inside more.

“She’s been knocking on the door and I think right now she needs to knock the door down,” Candrea said. “In her mindset, she wants to have a great year. Any senior that goes through this four years, the one thing that you want is to be able to put your best effort your senior year and be able to carry a team to where we want to go.”

Offensively, the Wildcats will have some uncommon depth. The lineup has plenty of big, power hitters and is well-rounded with speed and power. Missouri transfer Rylee Pierce should contribute to the lineup immediately. Pierce finished her junior season hitting .335 with 11 doubles, eight home runs, a .439 on-base percentage and a .550 slugging percentage.

“Definitely our offensive game is something that we’re going to have to stay strong with, especially this weekend,” Harper said. “Facing the pitcher that we are, we have to go with a certain game plan that we’ve been trying to work towards all week.”

Candrea has also been moving players to different positions on the field to best serve the lineup. And he will probably continue tweaking the lineup throughout the first few tournaments to best help Arizona.

When asked what he hopes the team takes away from the opening weekend invitational, Candrea had a simple answer: “Five victories.”

“To be honest with you, I really want us to play well,” Candrea said. “Let’s not worry about the end result. Let’s worry about what we’re doing inning to inning, pitch to pitch. And if we’re playing well and we’re playing the game hard and we’re playing the game smart, then I think the process will take care of itself.”

“I think the goal for us it to make sure that we’re playing well both offensively and defensively and we’re getting good pitching. Those are the three ingredients you need to have to take this baby into June.”

Inside pitch

• Formerly listed as Alyssa Palomino on Arizona’s roster, the redshirt junior is now going by Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza. The name change was simple: The outfielder’s stepfather officially legally adopted her last November. “I’ve asked (media relations director) Danny (Martinez) to kind of change everything to honor my step-dad in that aspect,” she said.
• The UA will christen the renovated Hillenbrand Stadium next week.