WEEK 1 (FEB. 6-8): OKLAHOMA STATE // Tucson

#14/12 Arizona Wildcats (2-0) // Oklahoma State Cowgirls (0-2)

THE GAMES

Date Time (MST) (Rank) Opponent Location

Friday, Feb. 6 (Arizona 12, Oklahoma State 2; 5 innings)

Saturday, Feb. 7 (Arizona 5, Oklahoma State 0)

Sunday, Feb. 8 12:00 p.m. Oklahoma State Hillenbrand Stadium

FOLLOW THE CATS

Live Stream: http://pac-12.com/videos/university-arizona-2

Live Stats: http://arizonalivestats.com

Live Updates: Twitter: @UA_Softball (twitter.com/ua_softball)

THIS WEEK: 14th-ranked Arizona (0-0) welcomes Oklahoma State (0-0) to beautiful Rita Hillenbrand Stadium Feb. 6-8 for a three-game series to begin the 2015 campaign. The Wildcats return much of what was widely considered the best offense in the nation a season ago and feature a young but promising pitching staff headed by junior Nancy Bowling. Arizona will look to roll over its success from a 44-16 2014 campaign that saw the Wildcats set an NCAA record with a .636 slugging percentage and lead the NCAA with 107 home runs. The three-game series vs. Oklahoma State is the first of what will be nine straight games at home to open the 2015 season. Arizona went 31-3 in the friendly confines of Hillenbrand Stadium and owns a 614-72 (.895) all-time record over 21 seasons.

LEADING OFF

- Arizona begins the 2015 season ranked 14th in the NFCA/USA Today Preseason Top 25 and 12th by USA Softball.

- Four Wildcats (Kellie Fox, Chelsea Goodacre and Katiyana Mauga) were named to the USA Softball Player of the Year Watch List. Arizona’s four players were more than any other school in the country.

- Head coach Mike Candrea is set to begin his 30th year at the helm of the Arizona softball program. Candrea, who missed the 2004 and 2008 seasons for Olympic runs as the head coach of Team USA, owns a 1,387-338-2 (.804) all-time record, the second-most wins in NCAA history.

- Arizona is 614-72 (.895) all-time at Hillenbrand Stadium. More impressively, UA has lost just 17 nonconference games in the stadium’s 21 years; its 368-17 record in such games equates to 96 victories in every 100 games.

- In 2014, Arizona finished at or near the top of nearly every offensive ranking in the NCAA. Arizona led the nation in home runs (107), scoring (7.5 runs per game) and slugging percentage (.636). Arizona finished second in batting average (.350).

- Arizona returns 2014 NFCA All-Americans Hallie Wilson (1st team) and Kellie Fox (3rd team). Both players competed for the U.S. National Team during the summer and Fox will be competing for Team USA again after the 2015 season.

- The Cats have six new faces this season (Alexis Dotson, Ashleigh Hughes, Danielle O’Toole, Trish Parks, Robyn Porter and Aireal Sakasegawa), though you will only see five of them on the field this season - O’Toole, a transfer from San Diego State and reigning Mountain West Pitcher of the Year, will have to sit out this season per NCAA transfer rules. Additionally, Arizona welcomes back Mandie Perez, a 55-game starter in 2013, who redshirted last season with a torn ACL.

- Arizona is 16-9 all-time vs. Oklahoma State with the last meeting coming on Feb. 24, 2012 in the Mary Nutter Classic. Arizona won the game 8-0 in six innings in a game in which Chelsea Goodacre hit two home runs.

MATCHUP: Arizona takes on Oklahoma State, a team which returns six offensive starters and three pitchers from a 26-28 2014 campaign. Shelby Davis (41 steals, .385 avg) leads an offense which outscored its opponents 209-194 last season. Ace Simone Freeman (21-17, 2.31 ERA) anchors a deep pitching staff for the second consecutive year.

Series History: Arizona 16-9 // First Meeting: 1990 // Last Meeting: 2/24/2012; Arizona 8, Oklahoma State 0 (6 innings); Palm Springs, Calif. (Mary Nutter Classic)

HEAD COACH MIKE CANDREA: Arizona head coach Mike Candrea is in his 30th year at the helm of the Arizona softball program with a career record of 1,387-338-2 (.804). A winner of eight national championships (1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2006, 2007), Arizona has made 22 trips to the Women’s College World Series under his guidance, missing just five times in the last 27 years (2004, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014). In 2012, Candrea became the sport’s fastest ever, and second all-time, to reach 1,300 wins. Under Candrea, Arizona has a spectacular postseason record of 155-50. Fifty-two All-Americans with a staggering 92 total citations have played in the program since Candrea took over.

THE RANKINGS: Arizona opened the season 14th in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll and 12th in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25.

RECENT RESULTS: Arizona was swept at the 2014 Lafayette Super Regional, falling two wins shy of the program’s 23rd Women’s College World Series. Hallie Wilson and Katiyana Mauga homered in the two games.

5/23/14 - Arizona Falls to UL-Lafayette, 5-3: Two-out hitting and clutch pitching by Louisiana- Lafayette’s Christina Hamilton led the Ragin’ Cajuns to a 5-3 game 1 victory over Arizona in the Lafayette Super Regional on Friday night at Lamson Park.

In the complete-game victory, Hamilton struck out four and walked four, while allowing seven hits and three runs (two earned).

For Arizona, Estela Piñon took the loss, going three innings and allowing five runs on five hits with a strikeout and four walks. Shelby Babcock pitched the final three innings and allowed no runs on one hit with two strikeouts and five walks.

5/24/14 - Cats Fall Short with 7-1, Season-Ending Loss: The Arizona softball season came to an end Saturday when the Wildcats were bested by Louisiana Lafayette, 7-1 at Lamson Park in the Lafayette Super Regional.

The victory sent the Ragin’ Cajuns to the Women’s College World Series.

Arizona (44-16) was unable to muster much offense off of Christina Hamilton, who went the distance for the victory. Hamilton allowed one run on four hits with no walks and two strikeouts in the outing.

Six of Lafayette’s seven runs came with two out, a day after all five of ULL’s runs came with two out in game one.

RECENT RESULTS VS. OKLAHOMA STATE

2/25/12 - Freshmen Lead Cats in Rout of Oklahoma State: After posting four scoreless innings, Arizona’s bats came alive in the fifth as the Wildcats (10-4) mercied 21st-ranked Oklahoma State, 8-0 in six innings.

UA hit four homers in the game, with freshmen combining for three of them. After entering the game with one home run on the season; freshman Chelsea Goodacre hit two on consecutive at-bats in the game. Shelby Pendley hit her team-best sixth home run and Brigette Del Ponte hit a two-run shot.

Kenzie Fowler (4-0) tossed a complete-game two hitter. The junior struck out nine while allowing only four base-runners on the game. At the Cathedral City Classic, Fowler has pitched two shutouts and allowed only five hits in 12 innings.

The defense behind her was stellar as the Wildcats recorded their seventh consecutive, and 10th of the past 11, game without an error. Arizona’s longest such streak in 2011 was five games.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Wildcats went 31-3 last season inside the friendly confines of Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium. Since its opening in 1993, Arizona has put up a 613-72 record on the field. That’s a .895 winning percentage at home in the last 21 years. Hillenbrand has led the nation in attendance nine times since 1994 and set the NCAA record in attendance in 2011 when 77,129 fans turned the turnstiles (since broken by Alabama). For the sixth consecutive season, Arizona drew over 2,000 fans per game in 2014. In 29 home dates, the Wildcats averaged 2,117 per contest.

BEATING THE BEST: In 2014, Arizona played 26 games against teams ranked in the NFCA Top 25, including nine against the top 10 and nine against the top five. UA was 12-14 against the top 25, 3-6 against the top 10 and 3-6 against the top five. Since 1994, Arizona is 524-211-1 (.715) against ranked competition, 253-145 (.636) against top-10 teams and 123-99 (.554) against top-five teams.

FRESH FACES: The Cats have six newcomers this season (Alexis Dotson, Ashleigh Hughes, Danielle O’Toole, Trish Parks, Robyn Porter and Aireal Sakasegawa), though you will only see five of them on the field this season - O’Toole, a transfer from San Diego State and reigning Mountain West Pitcher of the Year, will have to sit out this season per NCAA transfer rules. Additionally, Arizona welcomes back Mandie Perez, a 55-game starter in 2013, who redshirted last season with a torn ACL.

FOLLOW THE TEAM: Be sure to follow the Wildcats on their various social media platforms. To stay up-to-date on all the latest happenings with the team, follow Arizona softball on Twitter (@UA_Softball) and for behind-the-scenes photos and infographics, follow the team on Instagram (@UA_Softball).

UP NEXT: Arizona hosts the Hillenbrand Invitational next week (Feb. 12-15). UA will welcome Drake, Loyola Marymount, Wright State, San Jose State and Loyola Marymount for the four-day, 16-game event.