Both Stanford and Arizona come into the weekend's match-up having dominated their regional play. Now, Arizona will trip back to Palo Alto for the 2nd time this month to take on the Cardinal in what promises to be one of the most exciting series this weekend. Arizona finished slightly ahead of the Cardinal in Pac-10 play, but host Stanford finished better overall to warrant the #8 seed.
In their first meeting, Arizona run-ruled the Cardinal in six innings winning 12-4. The previous two, however, Arizona's offense and defense struggled somewhat and lost two close one-run games. Stanford's senior pitcher Missy Penna will be looking to lead her team to the WCWS for the first time in a while.
It will be interesting to see if Arizona's pitcher Sarah Akamine can handle her first real post-season go-round, especially on the road. Arizona's offense has shown it can be hit or (slightly) miss. They can score 18 runs in a game that started 7am Tucson time or score 4 runs against a mediocre Big Ten team.
One thing that Arizona has going for them is Coach Candrea. Candrea is one of the best at making adjustments during a game and calling gutsy plays that work and make him look like a genius. Not only that, but its been a while since Candrea's team hasn't gone to the WCWS. The last time Arizona didn't go was during the '04 season when Coach Ray was coach while Candrea coached the Olympic team.
All games will be on the ESPN networks. The first game will be Thursday 6:30pm Tucson time on ESPN2. Game 2 will be on at 5:30pm Friday with a possible Game 3 immediately following Game 2 on ESPN2.
In their first meeting, Arizona run-ruled the Cardinal in six innings winning 12-4. The previous two, however, Arizona's offense and defense struggled somewhat and lost two close one-run games. Stanford's senior pitcher Missy Penna will be looking to lead her team to the WCWS for the first time in a while.
It will be interesting to see if Arizona's pitcher Sarah Akamine can handle her first real post-season go-round, especially on the road. Arizona's offense has shown it can be hit or (slightly) miss. They can score 18 runs in a game that started 7am Tucson time or score 4 runs against a mediocre Big Ten team.
One thing that Arizona has going for them is Coach Candrea. Candrea is one of the best at making adjustments during a game and calling gutsy plays that work and make him look like a genius. Not only that, but its been a while since Candrea's team hasn't gone to the WCWS. The last time Arizona didn't go was during the '04 season when Coach Ray was coach while Candrea coached the Olympic team.
All games will be on the ESPN networks. The first game will be Thursday 6:30pm Tucson time on ESPN2. Game 2 will be on at 5:30pm Friday with a possible Game 3 immediately following Game 2 on ESPN2.
