'The best birthday': Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza delivers as Wildcats beat Arkansas, advance to 24th WCWS

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — After choosing to return to Arizona for a sixth season, Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza got a new nickname: "Great Grandma."

On her 24th birthday, the California native may have saved her best batch of goodies for Game 2 of the NCAA Super Regionals. Palomino's two-run, go-ahead home run in the fifth inning gave the Wildcats a lead they would never lose, and 11th-seeded UA advanced to the Women's College World Series with a 4-1 victory over sixth-seeded Arkansas on Saturday afternoon at a sold-out Bogle Field.

Arizona beat the Razorbacks in back-to-back games to advance to their 24th World Series. The Wildcats will open WCWS play against No. 3-seeded Alabama on Thursday at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City.

“We know that we’re not done yet,” Palomino-Cardoza said. “We know the road ahead is still going to be hard, and we're going to take it one game at a time and continue to play our softball that we've been playing the past two weeks. We know that's good enough to beat any team, and we're just going to keep that mindset. I would say this has been the best birthday.”

UA coach Mike Candrea, who has been the subject of retirement rumors in recent weeks, called Saturday's win one that he will always remember. He credited Arizona's seven "super seniors" — players who, like Palomino-Cardoza, opted to return for another year after the coronavirus pandemic wiped out the 2020 season. 

“There’s no doubt this is a moment in time in my life that I will never forget because of what we’ve had to go through,” Candrea said. “No. 1, what was taken away from us in not being able to play the game (last year). Not often do kids gets to that point until they’re done with their careers, but to put your senior year on hold and not know whether you’re going to play or not, I think it kind of woke everyone up and I know we were just biting at the bit to get back together — to get back on the field at Hillenbrand (Stadium) and play the game of softball.”

Candrea applauded his team for peaking at the right time. The Wildcats are a perfect 5-0 in the postseason. They trailed in the Super Regional for less than one inning.

“I think right now we’re playing our best softball, which is what you want at this time of the year,” he said. “We just need to be able to carry that into Oklahoma City because it’s the next big challenge. I’m very proud of this group — a lot of hard work and a lot of dedication to maintain our bubble and be able to even get on the field this year and play. I commend these young ladies for the job they’ve done over these months, and for the senior class and just for everyone, just to be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor all year and have it work out and culminate into a victory and another trip to Oklahoma City is pretty fun for me.”

For Palomino-Cardoza and a crew of six other “super seniors” on the Wildcats roster, the goal was always to make the WCWS. The Wildcats qualified in 2019 following a 10-year absence, and appeared headed that way last year when the pandemic hit.

“We didn’t want to go out the way that ended,” she said. “We knew that coach had our backs, and he did everything he could to get us back — he wanted us back — and that meant a lot to us. To be able to wear (an) Arizona (jersey) again meant a lot, so we all jumped at the chance and we knew we wanted to come back and play one more season. It’s been a fun ride and we’re not done yet.”

Offense was an early struggle for both teams.

Through four innings, it was a pitcher’s duel between starter Alyssa Denham and Arkansas’ Autumn Storms. Arizona couldn’t manage to get on base, and the Hogs never got a runner beyond second base.

Ryan Jackson reached first on an error to lead off the top of the fourth inning, and Denham hit Keely Huffine with a pitch. Two at-bats later, Braxton Burnside hit her second double of the game, sending Jackson home and giving Arkansas a 1-0 advantage. Denham escaped the inning only allowing one run.

The lead would be short-lived. Sharlize Palacios ended Storms’ no-hit bid in the bottom of the fifth when she singled. Palomino-Cardoza batted next, and snuck a home run inside the left field pole to give Arizona a 2-1 edge.

The Wildcats added two insurance runs in the sixth, when Carlie Scupin delivered a two-run single with the bases loaded.

Denham closed the door in the seventh, earning her 19th win of the year. She pitched a complete game, allowing only one run off four hits, and struck out four.

“I told her before the game, I said, 'This is your moment,'” Candrea said. “She went out and threw a hell of a ballgame, and against a really good team. I’m happy for her, and you know, you want all of your pitchers and you want all of your players to feel confident going into Oklahoma City."