After opening their season at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, where they went 4-1, the Arizona Wildcats softball team is home.
Arizona will open the four-day Hillenbrand Invitational on Thursday night with a game against Colorado State. The team will play doubleheaders Friday and Saturday, then wrap up the tournament Sunday afternoon. The invitational includes six schools — Arizona, Troy, Montana, Louisiana-Monroe, Bryant and Colorado State — and 16 games.
The Wildcats are ranked No. 12 nationally after advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals a year ago.
Sophomore shortstop Jessie Harper said she’s excited to get the season started at home.
“I love playing here in front of the fans and I’m excited for the freshmen to experience the atmosphere during the season,” Harper said. “So I think we’re going to come out with a bunch of energy and I’m excited to see what we bring this weekend.”
Coach Mike Candrea said fans can expect to see a similar approach and lineup as last week, when the UA won four games — and fell to Oklahoma State — in Tempe.
Ashleigh Hughes will most likely lead off. She spent most of the 2017 season in the No. 9 hole. The job is always the same, Hughes said: get on base.
“Coach makes his decisions and I just do my best to just roll with it, trust him and just kind of approach it with the attitude that I’m always going to do the best that I can,” Hughes said. “No different really, not any more difficult. Same job, just a different number.”
Reyna Carranco, Harper and Dejah Mulipola will hit after Hughes in the lineup. The fifth and sixth spots will most likely switch between Alyssa Palomino and Aleah Craighton, depending on “who’s swinging the bat at that time,” Candrea said.
Malia Martinez, Carli Campbell and Jenna Kean will most likely round out the bottom of the lineup.
“I think right now that (lineup) provides us the best opportunity to score runs,” Candrea said. “I feel very comfortable with some of the kids coming off the bench, but they have to buy into that. They have to be prepared.”
Taylor McQuillin will most likely get Thursday’s start, and pitch extensively during the weekend. She went 3-1 at the Kajikawa, allowing 13 hits with a 2.80 ERA in 15 innings. The junior pitched her first no-hitter Sunday, when Arizona beat New Mexico 8-0 in five innings.
McQuillin said was glad she was able to come back and improve. She struggled in Friday’s second game against Oklahoma State, taking the loss.
“The past is the past. You’ve got to keep moving forward,” she said. “You’ve got to keep doing better, start over and keep moving on.”
Alyssa Denham also threw well last weekend, and Hanah Bowen could see more time in the circle.
“This is the time of year to be able to change and try some different things and see what works best,” Candrea said.
To that end, Candrea is finding a way to motivate his team. The UA’s best player every week will receive a golden jersey from the coaching staff. It’s the same approach employed by UA basketball coach Sean Miller.
Candrea hopes his team will be ready to play this weekend. The team admittedly suffered from some jitters last weekend.
“(There’s) a lot of different parts to this team right now, and I knew it was going to be a process,” Candrea said. “It’s going to take some time, but I like where we’re at right now. I think we’re starting to understand what it takes to play the game at a high level.”
