KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Wildcats stood around at Lee Stadium on Friday afternoon, waiting for something, anything, to happen.
It was raining, their game delayed after 2½ innings. Eventually, the wait reached three hours. What can you do, sitting in a dugout at an empty stadium, on a rainy day, for that long?
Well, when there’s music, as there was blasting through the stadium’s sound system all day, it was simple, at least for Danielle O’Toole and the Wildcats: dance.
O’Toole often led the dancing , at one point busting out the moves to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and dancing along with her teammates to “Electric Slide.” The game, against Ohio State, wound up being postponed until the following morning, but O’Toole admitted that, despite the long wait, this was an experience she’d never forget, the dancing around, laughing with her teammates.
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She was having fun, and this was before anyone knew just what kind of weekend O’Toole had in store. Now that was fun.
O’Toole closed out the last four innings against Ohio State, holding the Buckeyes without a run, getting a shutout over the two days. Against Tennessee on Saturday afternoon, she had a performance that even UA coach Mike Candrea — he of 30 years experience and eight national titles — lauded as one of the best he’s seen in the postseason.
With her help, Arizona is off to Auburn, Alabama, to face the fourth-seeded Tigers in the Super Regionals, beginning Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
In that second game, O’Toole allowed a lead-off single, then didn’t allow another baserunner , retiring 21 straight as the UA won, 4-0.
“I was proud we played loose this weekend,” Candrea said on Sunday. “She (O’Toole) had a lot to do with it. When you have someone who can put zeroes up, it allows you to be a lot looser.”
She fell into some trouble in Sunday’s regional championship against the Volunteers, allowing a three-run homer in the fourth inning and promptly getting pulled for Taylor McQuillin. But she returned three innings later to close out an extra-inning win by retiring six straight batters.
All told, O’Toole (25-10) shut down Ohio State and Tennes see in 17 of the 18 innings she pitched, while allowing four hits, walking two and striking out 14.
Candrea started O’Toole in all three games, and don’t be surprised if he continues to do that for the best-of-three series at Auburn.
“I’ll tell you what,” said Tennessee coach Ralph Weekly, “the person that has the best pitcher is going to win. And this kid was really, really hot.”
The San Diego State transfer’s hot streak dates back to the end of the regular season: Including the regional, O’Toole is 7-0 with an 0.99 ERA in her last seven starts with 23 hits allowed and 44 strikeouts in 42.1 innings pitched. She was an All-Pac-12 selection and her 25 wins are the most for an Arizona pitcher since Kenzie Fowler went 38-9 in 2010.
That also was the last time Candrea really had a primo pitcher at the top of his rotation.
Coincidentally, that’s also the last time Arizona made it to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, and he did that by riding his star pitcher all the way to the national championship series, where Arizona lost to UCLA.
Fowler started all 12 postseason games for Arizona that year, pitched 69 innings and went 7-3 with a 2.43 ERA.
Candrea is no stranger to putting all his eggs into one pitching basket, either.
In 2007, Taryne Mowatt started every game, and then pitched every single inning in Oklahoma City going, 11-2 with an 0.67 ERA. Arizona won the title, the last time it did so.
In 2003, Alicia Hollowell pitched in every game and started all but one, going 6-2 with a 1.62 ERA as the Wildcats finished in third place.
In 2002, Jennie Finch didn’t pitch in the first regional game, but did every game thereafter, going 5-2 with a 1.45 ERA in leading the UA to the national title game before losing to California.
In 1997, Nancy Evans also didn’t pitch the first game, but every one after that in a title-winning campaign where she went 6-1 with a 1.29 ERA.
In 1993, Susie Parra carried Arizona to a championship with a 6-1 record and an 0.39 ERA.
“At this stage, you ride the hot hand,” Candrea said. “It could be anyone, but she’s deserved this moment, she’s worked hard for this moment, and I’m just very proud of her the way she’s embraced going on the road and being a road warrior.”
Back in February, the Wildcats familiarized themselves with SEC country at the Easton Bama Bash in Tuscaloosa, about 150 miles away from Auburn, and took down a prominent SEC opponent in Tennessee over the weekend. Last year, the Wildcats traveled to LSU and lost in the Super Regional.
Still, Arizona doesn’t have much familiarity with Auburn outside of its coach, Clint Myers, who coached at ASU for eight years.
Know this — Auburn is dangerous, batting .329 as a team with three batters over .400 and three hitting 12 or more home runs. The Tigers’ 20-2 win over Arizona in March 2015 shows that the program isn’t a one-year wonder.
O’Toole said she’ll never forget the moments she had dancing with her teammates during that rainy day in Knoxville.
If history is going to remember her for her postseason prowess in the same light as Fowler, Finch, Hollowell, Evans and Parra, the Wildcats will have to dance their way through Auburn and back to Oklahoma City.
“They don’t know us, they don’t know anything about us,” O’Toole said. “Bring it.”
