Despite all the changes coming to the 蜜柚直播 softball program, with coach Mike Candrea gone after 36 seasons and an accomplished senior class waving goodbye, the Wildcats players still feel a close connection.
鈥淭his year, we鈥檙e closer than last year,鈥 center fielder Janelle Meo帽o said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e built a foundation within ourselves to become more like a family.鈥
蜜柚直播鈥檚 high expectations remain the same heading into Thursday night鈥檚 season opener against Southern Utah. The Wildcats are ranked No. 9 in preseason poll, just two spots below their final 2021 ranking. They have been picked to finish third in a deep Pac-12 in coach Caitlin Lowe鈥檚 first season.
Meo帽o, the reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, is among a list of players ready to step into the full spotlight and prove what they can do. Catcher Sharlize Palacios will step into the catcher鈥檚 spot vacated by the departed Dejah Mulipola, and Hanah Bowen will return to the circle as the team鈥檚 top pitcher.
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蜜柚直播鈥檚 season begins Thursday, with the newly named Candrea Classic starting Friday at Hillenbrand Stadium. The Wildcats will take on No. 2 Alabama at 6 p.m. Saturday in a rematch of last year鈥檚 Women鈥檚 College World Series opener, which the Crimson Tide won 5-1.
The Wildcats will play 19 of their first 24 games at home. It鈥檚 a change from the last two seasons. The COVID-19 pandemic threw the softball world into chaos in 2020, and the WCWS was not played. Seniors were given an extra year of eligibility, and so 蜜柚直播鈥檚 stars, led by All-Americans Jessie Harper and Mulipola, came back for another run. There were no fall exhibitions in 2020, premier 2021 nonconference tournaments were canceled due to the pandemic, and the Wildcats鈥 season-opening tournament in Austin fell victim to a snowstorm.
Last year鈥檚 first bonding experience came on a hastily-organized weeklong bus tour of Florida. The Wildcats went just 4-3.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 enjoy losing,鈥 Bowen said. 鈥淏ut to be honest, when you lose, you get so down on yourself, but you have to bring each other up. That鈥檚 what made us strong and made us believe we could count on each other.鈥
Meo帽o remembers the four-hour trek from Orlando to Tallahassee following a crushing 2-1 defeat to then-No. 25 Central Florida.
鈥淚t was a rough day that whole day,鈥 Meo帽o said. 鈥淲e woke up at 5 in the morning, drove to (Orlando). We鈥檙e all super tired. We鈥檙e sitting around waiting for the game to start, asking whether we should go change. I could have slept, honestly. And then we lost. Then, we鈥檙e silent for four hours on this bus, because after a loss, you can鈥檛 really be excited.鈥
First-year head coach Caitlin Lowe, right, talks with the outfielders during a practice last week.
The Wildcats turned their season around, winning an NCAA regional at Hillenbrand and a Super Regional in Arkansas to advance to the Oklahoma City for the WCWS. The team fell to Alabama and Florida State in what became the final two games of Candrea鈥檚 career. He retired days later, and Lowe was named his replacement instantly.
When the UA鈥檚 2022 schedule ramps up 鈥 Pac-12 play begins with games against No. 3 UCLA, No. 21 蜜柚直播 State and No. 7 Washington, all 2021 regional hosts 鈥 the Wildcats will draw on last season鈥檚 experience. After all, the program hasn鈥檛 changed as much as it seems.
Lowe is a former 蜜柚直播 star and was a longtime Wildcats assistant before being promoted. Candrea is still on campus, working as an adviser to the UA coaches. Harper and Mulipola are both graduate assistants, and Taryne Mowatt-McKinney still guides the team鈥檚 pitchers.
鈥淣othing鈥檚 really different, to be honest,鈥 Bowen said.
