W O M E N pS C O LLE G E W O R LD S E R IE S M E D IA G U ID E Stacie Chambers – 31 HR ~ Jenae Leles – 23 HR ~ Brittany Lastrapes – 17 HR ~ Sam Banister – 16 HR 21 WCWS Appearances Since 1988 EIGHT-TIME NATIONAL CHAMPIONS Women’s College World Series Edition ~ Arizona Athletics Media Relations Contact: Matt Alvarez ~ Office: (520) 621-4163 ~ Cell: (520) 576-3239 ~ Fax: (520) 621-2681 [email protected] ~ arizonaathletics.com 2009 Arizona Softball Schedule Wildcats Make 21st Women’s College World Series February 6 Kansas+ L, 1-5 6 UTEP+ W, 8-5 The Pinnacle: Arizona (46-15) will take their nation-leading .344 team batting 7 No. 9 Northwestern+ L, 1-3 average and NCAA-record 134 home runs into Oklahoma City, where they will 7 No. 23 Nevada+ W, 7-2 undoubtedly face the most dominant pitching seen all season. The Cats finished 8 UC Santa Barbara+ Rained Out third in the powerhouse Pac-10 conference after controlling their own destiny for 13 Marshall# W, 10-4 much of the league season, and went 5-1 in the NCAA Softball Championship 13 USF# W, 7-2 (8) preliminary rounds to clinch their 21st berth in the Women’s College World 14 Illinois# W, 7-4 Series. UA has been to every Series but one (2004) since 1988. The Wildcats 14 USF# W, 6-4 won the title in 2006 and 2007. Arizona will play the team ranked first in the 15 Hofstra# W, 10-0 (5) 20 North Dakota State^ W, 10-0 (5) national polls for most of the season, Florida, in Game Four and both teams’ 20 Utah^ W, 16-1 (5) series opener on Thursday, May 28 at 8 p.m. CT (6 p.m. Tucson time). The 21 Utah^ W, 12-1 (5) game and every game of the Women’s College World Series will be shown live 21 North Dakota State^ W, 9-2 on ESPN from ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. 22 North Dakota State^ W, 12-0 (5) 22 Utah^ W, 6-1 How UA Did It: The Cats, the NCAA’s No. 9 seed in the tournament, swept 27 at No. 21 Texas A&M L, 5-6 (9) through the Louisville, Ky. Regional wil victories of 9-3 over UT Martin, 18-4 over 28 at No. 21 Texas A&M W, 9-4 host Louisville and 4-2 over Purdue, only to be shipped to the Bay Area for Super March 1 at No. 21 Texas A&M L, 4-5 (8) Regional action. Arizona fell to eighth-seeded Stanford 6-4 in the opener, but 4 UTEP W, 20-1 (5) rallied for two victories while facing elimination: 7-3 in the second game, and 6-5 UTEP W, 5-2 in the Super Regional championship game for the trip to Oklahoma City. 6 Minnesota$ W, 10-4 Minnesota$ W, 20-3 (5) Arizona’s NCAA Appearance: Arizona is appearing in its 23rd consecutive 7 Creighton$ L, 0-6 NCAA Championships and 23rd overall since 1987, all under the aegis of coach Creighton$ W, 19-2 (5) Mike Candrea – or under the tutilige of assistant coach Larry Ray in 2004 and 8 St. Joseph’s$ W, 14-4 (5) St. Joseph’s$ W, 20-1 (5) 2008, when Candrea was on the pre-Olympic tour with the U.S. National Team. 10 Simon Fraser W, 9-0 (5) Softball became a Division I sport in 1982 and Arizona did not qualify for the first Simon Fraser W, 11-0 (5) five tournaments but has thereafter. Arizona has now won a regional 21 times to 13 Texas~ W, 6-5 advance to the Women’s College World Series, an event it has won eight times, 13 New Mexico~ W, 9-1 (5) including two of the past three seasons. Arizona has been host 17 times – 1988, 14 Penn State~ L, 6-9 1990, 1992-95, 1997-2001, 2003-07, and the Super Regional in 2008. The team 14 Notre Dame~ W, 10-1 (5) traveled to NCAA Regional sites five previous times – 1987, 1989 and 1991 in 15 No. 10 Michigan~ L, 0-4 Tempe, 1996 in Tallahassee, Fla., 2002 in Minneapolis, 2008 in Hempstead, 18 at New Mexico State W, 8-5 at New Mexico State W, 10-5 N.Y. and 2009 in Louisville, Ky. UA had been host four of the five years the 27 Oregon State* W, 12-9 NCAA has held Super Regionals; the lone exception was this season’s shipment 28 Oregon* (KCUB 1290 AM) W, 11-3 (5) to Palo Alto, Calif. 29 Oregon* (KCUB 1290 AM) W, 7-6 April Arizona Overall in the NCAAs: Arizona has a record of 134-37 in NCAA play, 3 at No. 3 Washington* L, 0-6 including a mark of 67-8 in preliminary Regional action. In early-rounds Regional 4 at No. 7 UCLA* (KCUB 1290 AM) W, 9-2 play away from Tucson the Cats have a 18-3 record -- 0-2 in 1987, 3-0 in 1989, 5 at No. 7 UCLA* (KCUB 1290 AM) L, 2-3 2-0 in 1991, 3-0 in 1996, 4-1 in 2002, 3-0 in 2008 and 3-0 in 2009. Arizona is 10- 10 No. 5 Arizona State* (KCUB 1400 AM) W, 10-8 17 No. 2 Stanford* (CBS College Sports TV) W, 12-4 (6) 3 in Super Regional play and 57-27 in Women’s College World Series action. 18 No. 14 California* (KCUB 1290 AM) W, 11-2 (5) Arizona is 21-2 in its first games of the 23 NCAA Championships in which it has 19 No. 14 California* W, 7-5 played. The two losses came in 1987 to Arizona State at Tempe, 4-3, and to 24 No. 2 UCLA* L, 1-2 Arizona State in Tucson in 1990, 1-0. In 2004 the Cats played host under the 25 No. 3 Washington* (KCUB 1290 AM) L, 1-4 previous eight-team Regional set up and were bumped from the WCWS by 26 No. 3 Washington* (KCUB 1290 AM) W, 11-0 (5) losing to Oklahoma and Louisiana-Lafayette in Tucson. 29 No. 6 Arizona State (resumed from 4/11) W, 3-2 at No. 6 Arizona State* (KCUB 1290 AM) W, 10-6 Arizona Head Coach Mike Candrea: Candrea enters his 24th season at the May 1 at No. 13 California* (FSN TV) Rained Out helm of the Arizona softball program. He boasts a 1,177-242-2 (.828) record in 2 at No. 3 Stanford* L, 3-4 his 22nd season in the dugout. In the two seasons away from Tucson, he 3 at No. 3 Stanford* L, 1-2 coached the U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal in Athens, Greece and a silver in 7 at Oregon* L, 1-2 Beijing, China. He was named a finalist for USOC Coach of the Year on March 8 at Oregon State* W, 10-0 (5) 19, 2008, and won the award in 2004. In January, he was inducted into the 9 at Oregon State* W, 12-2 inaugural Hall Of Fame class at Central Arizona College. Candrea also was 15 UT Martin –Regional, Louisville, Ky. W, 9-3 awarded the Olympic Shield award, the U.S. Olympic Committee’s most 16 No. 18 Louisville – Regional, Louisville, Ky.W, 18-4 (5) prestigious award, marking the first time in history the award was given to an 17 Purdue – Regional, Louisville, Ky. W, 4-2 21 No. 5 Stanford – Super Regional, Palo Alto L, 4-6 Olympic coach. He has led Arizona to eight national championships, 10 Pac-10 22 No. 5 Stanford – Super Regional, Palo Alto W, 7-3 titles and is one of just five Division I coaches to have won over 1,100 career 22 No. 5 Stanford – Super Regional, Palo Alto W, 6-5 games. Arizona in the Polls Arizona vs. the WCWS Field in ’09: The Cats played seven games against the This Week’s Polls (underlined in WCWS) WCWS field, and posted a 4-3 record against those squads. UA was 1-2 against USA Today/NFCA (italics on 2009 schedule) Washington, 0-1 against Michigan and swept the three-game series vs. Arizona 1. Florida State. 2. UCLA 3. Washington Previous NCAA Marks Against the WCWS Field: Arizona played previous 4. Alabama NCAA games against half of the teams in the WCWS field. UA is 6-1 against 5. Stanford 6. Arizona Pac-10 foe Washington, all in WCWS games. Arizona is 1-1 against Alabama – 7. Michigan all in the Series, 2-0 against Michigan in NCAA play and 9-3 against ASU 8. Georgia including a victory over the Sun Devils in the 2002 WCWS. UA has not played 9. Arizona State Florida, Georgia or Missouri in postseason play. 10. Oklahoma 11. Ohio State Arizona vs. the Entire NCAA Field: Arizona played to a 16-10 record against 12. Missouri teams selected for the NCAA Championships in 2008. In fact, the only other 13. Northwestern teams to beat Arizona in 2009 were Kansas, Creighton, Penn State and Oregon. 14. California 15. North Carolina Arizona played 13 teams selected for NCAA play this year, one testament to the 16. Florida State Wildcats’ strength of scheduling. Of the fellow Pac-10 teams in the NCAAs, UA 17. Georgia Tech was 1-2 against UCLA, 1-2 against Washington, 1-2 against Stanford, 2-0 18.