The 13th-ranked 蜜柚直播 Wildcats will play their third tournament in as many weeks starting Thursday, when they open the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, California.
The UA鈥檚 first trip out of state is no vacation: The Wildcats will play North Carolina, Missouri, St. John鈥檚, Cal State Northridge and No. 4 Oklahoma over their three days in the California desert.
The tourney follows the Hillenbrand Invitational where, after cancellations and delays, the Wildcats finally opened their home schedule. Before that, the UA went 4-1 at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe.
Sophomore pitcher Alyssa Denham said she鈥檚 looking forward to some competitive games this week. 蜜柚直播 is 8-1 in its young season.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so much fun stepping on the field with this group of girls and just being in this atmosphere is amazing,鈥 Denham said.
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The Wildcats play doubleheaders Thursday and Friday with a lone game against the No. 4 Sooners wrapping things up on Saturday.
UA coach Mike Candrea acknowledged the first two days will be a challenge, in part because the team plays so few doubleheaders 鈥 and almost all of them are in the beginning of the season.
鈥淒oubleheader mentality is a lot different than playing a single game, but it is what it is and you have to learn how to deal with it,鈥 Candrea said. 鈥淭he competition is going to continue to get stiffer and stiffer.鈥
Candrea said his team also needs to do a better job of making adjustments at the plate. He called its two-strike approach terrible.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just kind of hacking away at things, not trusting our eyes and our hands, but that will come with some maturity and some games,鈥 he said.
Denham and fellow pitcher Taylor McQuillin said they plan to use the Mary Nutter Classic to make some improvements of their own. Denham is 2-0 with a 0.37 ERA in three appearances, while McQuillin (4-1, 1.69) has started five games.
鈥淓very time I come out, I want to get better and that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 working on,鈥 Denham said.
McQuillin, who has struck out 45 batters in five games, said she鈥檚 looking forward to being a little sharper at the start of games. The senior said she wants to get her pitches to move a bit more.
Offensively, McQuillin said the Wildcats just need more timely hits.
鈥淚f we can just get those key hits to fall when they fall, it鈥檚 going to happen,鈥 McQuillin said. 鈥淲e just have to keep swinging the bats like we鈥檙e swinging. They鈥檒l come.鈥
Contact reporter Norma Gonzalez at 520-262-3265 or ngonzalez@tucson.com.
Norma Gonzalez
Sports reporter
