(OKLAHOMA CITY) Dejah Mulipola and Jessie Harper have been two of the best home run hitters in the country all season long. Nothing changed on Thursday in the first game of the Women’s College World Series.
Arizona rode their power to a 3-1, eight-inning win over Pac-12 rival Washington.
First it was Harper, who broke a scoreless tie in the sixth inning with her 29th home run of the season.
After Washington answered in the bottom of that inning with a home run of its own, it looked like momentum had swung toward the Huskies. The thing about home run hitters, though, is they can change the complexion of a game with one swing.
Mulipola’s two-run shot in the top of the eighth her 23rd of the year gave Arizona starter Taylor McQuillin the cushion she needed to deliver a win to the Wildcats.
Coming into the matchup, it was the Huskies who seemed to have the Wildcats’ number. Washington had traveled to Tucson at the start of May and walked away with a sweep. But Arizona seems to have come out stronger on the other side.
The Wildcats took two of three from UCLA to close the regular season and are perfect so far in the NCAA tournament.
“It’s so amazing, especially because we got swept by Washington,” Mulipola said after Thursday’s win. “So to come back and have them our first game and have a W is amazing.”
McQuillin gave up six hits but held Washington to just one run — a solo homer from freshman Sami Reynolds in the bottom of the sixth. She pitched all eight innings for the Wildcats, striking out seven batters en route to her 24th win on the season.
Arizona, which tied Oklahoma for the national home run lead with 108, will play the winner of UCLA and Minnesota on Friday.
