Bear Down Fiesta Tournament Central

BEAR DOWN FIESTA
APRIL 9-10 • TUCSON, ARIZ. (HILLENBRAND STADIUM)

THE GAMES

* Exhibition Game

LEADING OFF
 

• It's the Pac-12 bye week eighth-ranked Arizona (22-5, 6-2 Pac-12), which hosts its third tournament of the season, the Bear Down Fiesta, April 9-10 at Hillenbrand Stadium.
• The Wildcats will host New Mexico State (18-6) as well as the Mexican Olympic Team for the two-day, five-game event. All games against Team Mexico will be exhibition games.
• The Mexican National Team features three former Wildcat All-Americans -- Brigette Del Ponte (2010-13), Taylor McQuillin (2016-19) and Danielle O'Toole (2016-17) -- as well as Sharlize Palacios' sister Sashel Palacios. They will be the second Olympic Team to make a stop at Hillenbrand Stadium while training for the Tokyo Olympics after Team USA came to Tucson last February.
• Arizona has won eight straight games, getting back-to-back four-game sweeps in each of the previous two weekends. UA swept Oregon State at home to end March, using a monster weekend from its bats, and then dialed up a terrific pitching performance in a four-game sweep of Stanford in Palo Alto to kick off April.
• During Arizona's four-game sweep of Stanford, Alyssa Denham went 2-0 with two shutouts, including her third career no-hitter. Denham was named the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week, earning already the sixth conference weekly award by a Wildcat this season -- Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza was Pac-12 Player of the Week in week 2 and week 8, Carlie Scupin was the Pac-12 Player and Freshman of the Week in week 3 and Mariah Lopez was the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week in week 5. 
• UA pitchers posted a 1.08 ERA at Stanford, allowing 12 total hits over four games in Palo Alto (.132 opponent average). Overall, Arizona is 14th in the country with a 1.58 ERA. The Wildcats have allowed three-or-fewer runs in 23 of their 27 games, including nine shutouts.
• Arizona returns home to Hillenbrand Stadium, where it has won 20 straight games (dating back to last season. UA is 14-0 at Hillenbrand Stadium this season and 8-5 in road games.
• The Wildcats lead the nation with a .986 fielding percentage, having committed just nine errors in 660 defensive chances. Arizona's school record for fielding percentage in a season is .981 in 2001; the NCAA record is .988 set by Tennessee in 2007.
• Senior catcher Dejah Mulipola is off to an incredible start to 2021. Mulipola leads the Pac-12 in on-base percentage (.565) and slugging percentage (1.030) and is one off the Pac-12 lead in both home runs (13) and RBI (38). Mulipola, who will compete for the U.S. Olympic Team this summer in Tokyo, is hitting .418, seventh best batting average in the Pac-12.
• Mulipola has reached base in every game this season (27) and has a 29-game reached-base streak dating back to 2019. That is tied for the longest on-base streak since 2004 (when game-by-game statistics become available).
• Freshman left fielder Janelle Meoño enters the week on a 13-game hitting streak, the longest of her career and longest by a Wildcat since Reyna Carranco's 15-gamer in 2019. Meoño is tied for the team lead, hitting .418 this season.
• Senior shortstop Jessie Harper has eight home runs this season, giving her 84 for her career. That's tied for seventh in NCAA history. She is one of 11 players in NCAA history with at least 80 career homers; five of the top eight home run hitters in NCAA history are Wildcats -- Katiyana Mauga (92), Stacie Chambers (87), Leah Braatz (85), Laura Espinoza (85) and Jessie Harper (84) -- are Wildcats. 
• Arizona has outscored its opponents 177-43 through 23 games with three more home runs (46) than total runs allowed by its pitchers (43).
• The Wildcats have two of the top four home run hitters in the country. Jessie Harper is the active career leader with 84 home runs, 11 shy of the NCAA record, while Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza is tied for third among active players with 66 homers.
• Arizona head coach Mike Candrea is the winningest coach in NCAA softball history, with 1,650 wins. He leads Michigan's Carol Hutchins by seven wins entering the week.
• Each of Arizona's five losses have come on the road to ranked opponents. They have all come by two runs or fewer.

For Arizona's complete notes, click HERE.