Arizona softball: Pitcher Floyd continues shimmy trend

The shimmy lives on 

The Arizona Wildcats’ original shimmier is on his way out of town.

Basketball star Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has the NBA on his mind. Which begs the question: Who steps into the shimmying spotlight?

Michelle Floyd seems up to the task.

The UA softball hurler has incorporated a shimmy into her pitching routine since a mid-March game against San Diego State.

Between each pitch, Floyd uses the shoulder-shake as an opportunity to loosen up.

“First time I saw it, I looked at her and said, ‘I can’t believe it,’” coach Mike Candrea said. “It was working, so whatever it takes, you let her do it.”

“She’s been watching too much basketball,” he added, laughing. “I think Rondae had a big influence on her.”

Floyd had one of her better outings of the season against the Aztecs, pitching six innings and allowing one earned run with four strikeouts. Also, in her first eight games with the shimmy, Arizona was 7-2 and Floyd had a 3.19 ERA.

Since then, though, the Cats are 3-3 — including two losses to Utah this past weekend — and Floyd has struggled a bit, with a 6.63 ERA.

“I’ve seen it sometimes have a positive effect — and sometimes not have a positive effect,” Candrea said. “We’re still trying to figure out whether it’s something we want to keep in her repertoire.”

Arizona will look to bounce back against Stanford, the Pac-12’s last-place team, in a three-game series starting Friday at Hillenbrand Stadium. 

The power of Mauga 

Katiyana Mauga has quickly become one of the most dangerous hitters in the Pac-12 and the nation.

Saturday, the slugging sophomore belted her 20th home run of the season in Arizona’s lone win against the Utes.

Mauga has already tied her home run total from last year with nine regular-season games remaining. At this rate, she’ll be moving up the Arizona all-time leaderboard in no time. Mauga is two homers away from entering the single-season top 10, and if she finished with 25 or more long balls, she’ll be just the ninth Wildcat to ever do so.

Just a sophomore, Mauga is only 12 homers away from cracking the Wildcats’ top 10 in career home runs. This season, she’s hitting .351 with 59 RBIs.

“Kati is a good hitter,” Candrea said. “She’s got quick hands, very aggressive. I think one area she’s improved upon is walking into the batter’s box with a plan — not just hitting pitches, but being able to split the plate in half, or whatever she’s trying to do in that particular moment, and being able to stick with the plan.” 

Arizona recruit's milestone  

Candrea’s 2016 recruiting class is considered one of the nation’s best, particularly in pitching.

One of the pitchers, Taylor McQuillin from Mission Viejo, California, was named national Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior in 2014. As a senior, the lefty has continued to be dominant — she’s 18-0 with a 0.29 ERA and 225 strikeouts.

McQuillin is certainly the star of the 2016 class, but Scottsdale Horizon High School pitcher Tamara Statman, another 2016 commit, has made headlines recently, too.

Monday, Statman became the first pitcher to record 1,000 career strikeouts from 43 feet in Arizona state high school history, and she’s also only the third pitcher nationally to reach that milestone from that distance. Statman is 20-5 on the season for Horizon, with a 1.52 ERA and 214 strikeouts in 147 1/3 innings. 

Cats drop in the polls  

Arizona’s two losses to Utah affected its standing in the national rankings. In the USA Today/NFCA coaches poll, the Wildcats dropped from No. 16 to 19, and in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, they went from No. 15 to 16.

Arizona’s RPI also dropped, from No. 11 nationally to 12th.