Dejah Mulipola lifted her right arm in the air as she rounded first base. Her teammates quickly joined to meet her at home plate.
The no-doubt home run was exactly what No. 6 Arizona needed.
Mulipola, Arizona’s star catcher, unloaded on a 2-2 pitch from Washington’s Taran Alvelo with two outs in the top of the eighth to propel the Wildcats to a 3-1 victory over No. 3 Washington in the opening game of the Women’s College World Series on Thursday at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium.
Arizona (48-12) finally got one on its Pac-12 rival, too.