Dejah Mulipola’s homer lifts Arizona softball past Washington in extras to open Women’s College World Series

OKLAHOMA CITY — Dejah Mulipola hit a two-out, two-run homer in the eighth inning to propel Arizona to a 3-1 win over Washington to open the Women’s College World Series.

It was the first WCWS game to require extra innings since the 2017 championship series. The Wildcats will face the winner of the UCLA-Minnesota game on Friday.

Arizona ace Taylor McQuillin outdueled UW’s Taran Alvelo, as Arizona beat the Huskies for the first time in its last seven tries. Washington swept Arizona in Tucson earlier this month.

McQuillin struck out seven; Alvelo fanned 11. Both surrendered six hits.

There was no score until the sixth when Arizona shortstop Jessie Harper broke the seal by clubbing a solo homer to right-center.

UW’s Sami Reynolds quickly evened the game back up by depositing the first pitch of the bottom of sixth into the right-field bleachers.

Arizona put two on to lead off the seventh, but Alvelo fanned Hanah Bowen and Peanut Martinez before getting pinch-hitter T Statman to ground out.

The Huskies found themselves in an identical spot in bottom half of the frame, but Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza made a stretching grab in right center before McQuillin induced a groundout to escape the jam.

Alvelo was dominant from the start, striking out the side in the first inning. By the end of the fourth, she had seven punch outs.

The Wildcats did not crack the hit column until Malia Martinez doubled off the right-field wall with one out in the fourth.

It was Martinez who singled to right to get Mulipola to the plate in the eighth.

The Huskies put two runners on in the seventh, but McQuillin retired Morganne Flores and Reynolds to send the game to extras.

Both teams went hitless with runners in scoring position.

No. Doubter.#WCWS | @ArizonaSoftball pic.twitter.com/Wo1k5OGEkU

— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) May 30, 2019

This story will be updated.

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