Arizona Wildcats Softball 2016-17 regular season recap

The No. 3rd ranked Arizona Wildcats finished the season overall 45-7, 18-6 in the Pac 12 and won the Pac-12 Championship. Up next for the Wildcats? The NCAA Tournament!

One for the record books! The Wildcats 2016-17 season was one to remember. There were many memorable highlights, records, and honors that occurred. From senior Katiyana Mauga breaking the Wildcat home run record, the no-hitter by Danielle “Tooly” O’Toole, freshman Jessie Harper breaking the camera and car glass, multiple players of the week awards, and even a couple players up for year-end awards.

For the season, the Wildcats had a total of 484 hits, compared to their opponents who had 223 – that’s more than double! Mo Mercado and Mandie Perez lead the team in hits with 63. Also, the Cats finished the regular season with 88 home runs, and their opponents only had 23!

More from Wildcats Softball

• Arizona Softball to hire LMU’s Christian Conrad as Pitching Coach
• No. 16 Arizona Softball wallops visiting Weber State
• No. 16 Arizona Softball run-rules Cal State Bakersfield
• No. 13 Arizona Softball splits Friday’s action in Arkansas
• Arizona Softball splits double-header vs No. 7 Arkansas

What stood out more than anything this year would probably be the home runs. There were five players who hit at least 10 or more for the season:

• Mauga led the team with 22 home runs this year
• Freshman Harper finished the season with 19 home runs
• Alyssa Palomino had 16 home runs for the season
• Dejah Mulipola had 11 homes for the season
• Mo Mercado had ten home runs for the season

Here is a couple to relive:

• This home run by Mauga that broke the Wildcat school record of 87:

• This grand slam by Harper against the UCLA Bruins. The power she posses is scary good!

Pitching wasn’t too shabby either. O’Toole finished the season pitching 195 innings and had 191 strikeouts, ERA of 1.08 and an overall record of 27 -4 – the reason why she and Mauga are finalists for USA Softball Player of the Year.

The highlight of the season for O’Toole would be on March 24th, when she pitched her first no-hitter game, with the Cats winning 3-0.

Her teammate, Taylor McQuillin, had a fabulous season as well.  She finished with a 15-3 overall record, pitched 105 innings, 143 strikeouts, and an ERA of 1.87.

Another impressive stat for the Wildcats this year was the margin of victory in some of their games. They finished the regular season scoring a total of 404 runs, and their opponents only scored a total of 85 – say what!! Also, there was a total of 20 games that the Cats won due to the run rule (also known as the mercy rule). Talk about domination and making a statement.

Some other highlights of the year that should not be forgotten:

• Harper, breaking some glass

• On Sunday, March 26th Coach Mike Candrea won his 1500th game. Here is special tribute video that was shown after the game:

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This was a season to remember. So many incredible moments that could be watched over and over again. Up next for the Cats will be the NCAA Tournament. It’s time to Bear Down!