'I'm still loved here': Ex-UA star Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza returns home as part of Oregon staff

Following Friday’s and Saturday’s Arizona-Oregon softball games, Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza took photos at home plate with former teammate Jessie Harper and one of her former coaches, Caitlin Lowe.

Yet something was different. For one thing, Palomino-Cardoza was wearing Oregon gear.

After spending six years as one of the top players in UA history, Palomino-Cardoza is serving as a volunteer coach for the Ducks.

She said her return to Hillenbrand Stadium was special.

“It just the sense of peace and knowing that I’m still loved here, no matter what,” Palomino-Cardoza said. “(It’s) that sense of home. It was really bittersweet walking on this field again. Last time we were here, we got to go to Super Regionals. It was a bittersweet feeling and I loved it.”

Those in the home dugout weren’t quite ready to see Palomino-Cardoza to switch sides so quickly.

“She texted me … and she was like, ‘I’m coming,’ and I was like, ‘Whoa, you are not allowed to come back here green,’’ said UA pitcher Devyn Netz, Palomino-Cardoza’s close friend and former road roommate. “And, she goes, ‘Well, too bad.’”

All was forgiven, especially when the Wildcats won two of three games — the series clinched behind Netz’s performance on Saturday. She pitched four innings, striking out five, walking one and giving up four runs on five hits against the explosive Oregon offense.

The No. 25-ranked Wildcats (23-15) will take on UTEP in a doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon starting at 2 p.m. at Hillenbrand.

Netz said she loved seeing her old friend again.

“I love ‘Lyss.’ I miss her a lot and it’s very weird to see her on the other side, but you know what? It doesn’t change the fact that I love her as my teammate and as a person,” Netz said.

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Palomino-Cardoza finished her UA career last June after helping lead the Wildcats to the Women’s College World Series for the second time in three years. During her long UA career — which included sitting out with torn ACLs in both knees — Palomino-Cardoza was named a two-time NFCA All-American, a four-time All-Pac-12 team member and two-time member of the league’s all-defensive team.

Palomino-Cardoza started 251 games, hitting .346 with 69 home runs and 224 RBIs. She only committed four errors in five years as a Wildcat, posting a career .990 fielding percentage while playing mostly center field.

One of her biggest hits came in last season’s NCAA Super Regionals. Down 1-0 at Arkansas, Palomino-Cardoza crushed a two-run home run over the left-field fence to help the Wildcats beat the Razorbacks and make it back to the WCWS.

Now, Palomino-Cardoza is seeing things from a different vantage point. Oregon coach Melyssa Lombardi learned the game from softball coach great Patty Gasso of Oklahoma. Palomino-Cardoza learned from UA’s Mike Candrea, who retired in June following 36 years and eight national titles.

Funny thing is, “honestly, it’s not much different with how the (Arizona) program is run,” Palomino-Cardoza said.

“We want to be a winning team, a winning program and that’s what it was like here (at Arizona),” she said. “It means being tough but being able to have fun. That’s the same goal we have.”

Palomino-Cardoza is the latest UA star to step into coaching. Lowe, the Wildcats’ first-year head coach, was — like Palomino-Cardoza — a star outfielder for the Wildcats. Pitching coach Taryne Mowatt-McKinney helped lead the UA to a national title as a player. Harper is a graduate assistant on Lowe’s staff, and former pitcher Danielle O’Toole is the volunteer pitching coach at Cal State Fullerton.

Palomino-shares her knowledge of hitting and fielding with the Ducks’ young players, but mostly talks about the big stuff.

“I think one of the biggest things we tell them is just risk it,” she said. “To not be scared every time you step out in the field. To go make that play. To go swing at the first pitch because you never know what can happen. And to just always be ready and on their toes. To go out after every opponent like you’re not going to beat me. You just have that strong mentality every time you step onto that field.”

The Ducks’ volunteer assistant says she’s still learning how things work as a college coach.

“(I) definitely have more respect for my coaches than I had last year,” she said. “It’s definitely a hard job, but just learning more about how the game works and how to be able to be a coach to these girls. How to get to know them on a deeper level than just them being a softball player. It’s been a lot of fun.”