The UA softball team broke a six-game losing streak Wednesday by sweeping New Mexico State in a doubleheader, but coach Mike Candrea still had problems with his team.
At least in the first game.
Candrea said Game 1 was emotionally draining. Ace Taylor McQuillin allowed three runs in the sixth inning, and while the Wildcats would win — and take the nightcap, too — Candrea had seen enough.
The longtime coach blew up at his players in between games, telling them to fix their mindset.
“The game’s 90 percent mental,” Candrea said. “And if it’s 90 percent mental and you don’t take care of what’s between your ears, then your physical skills can’t do what they’re capable of doing. I’m going to fight like hell trying to get this group to understand that. But that’s really what it’s all about.”
The 13th-ranked Wildcats need to get right, and fast. They will take on No. 8 Arizona State on Friday night in the first game of a three-game series in Tempe.
The rivalry series is another chance for Arizona to earn quality wins against a top-10 team. The Wildcats have been swept at No. 1 Washington and at No. 5 Oregon, and suffered a sweep at home when No. 4 UCLA took care of business last weekend.
While the Wildcats’ mindset may have suffered in Game 1 Wednesday, their offense was strong throughout both games. Arizona finished with a total of 16 runs and 14 hits, six of which were home runs.
Arizona is averaging 1.37 homers per game, most in the country. The Wildcats are the only team in the league to feature three players with 10 or more home runs.
Alyssa Palomino leads the Pac-12 with 14 homers. Jessie Harper is right behind with 13, and Dejah Mulipola is seventh with 10.
“It shows that our bats are super hot,” pitcher Alyssa Denham said. “Everyone can do it. Everyone in our lineup can hit a bomb.”
Mulipola said she believes the Wildcats’ hot bats will give them a “good confidence boost” against Arizona State.
Candrea agreed.
“It’ll be a good weekend for us,” Candrea said. “We need to prove to ourselves right now that we can go on the road in a tough environment and win. Because that’s, at the end of the year, that’s what it’s all about.”
The Arizona State series will mark the end of a tough stretch on Arizona’s schedule. The UA will finish its season with nonconference games against Grand Canyon and New Mexico, and Pac-12 series against Stanford and Oregon State. The Cardinal and Beavers enter the weekend with a combined 9-18 record in conference play.
Candrea said the Wildcats control their own destiny. It’s just a matter of getting right mentally.
“It is what it is,” Candrea said. “We know what’s in front of us and we just have to step up to the challenge and go out and play softball.”
