By the time Katiyana Mauga stepped to the plate in the second inning, dusk had turned to dark and lights from the nearby Spring Fling lit up the sky.
On another night, Mauga’s ensuing home run — a blast hit well over Hillenbrand Stadium’s center field wall — would have been a significant one.
On Friday, though, it was just another dinger.
The Wildcats hit seven home runs against Stanford on the way to a 20-1, five-inning victory. Five of those blasts came in the first inning alone, setting a school record for a single frame.
“We just kept hitting it hard. I was so amazed with how many home runs we had, just one after another,” said freshman Jessie Harper, who hit two home runs. “I just saw how many home runs there were and I was just thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, we just keep putting the bat on the ball.’”
Arizona, which extended its winning streak to 23 games, had a first-inning statline that would suffice for a full game or two:
- 16 batters to the plate,
- 13 runs scored,
- nine hits and
- five home runs.
All but one of Arizona’s batters finished with a hit. Mo Mercado and Harper both registered two hits in the first inning, and both of Harper’s hits were home runs. The freshman first baseman now leads the Pac-12 with 14 home runs.
The others to hit home runs in the first frame — freshman catcher Dejah Mulipola, who hit a 3-run shot to left field, the first of the night; Mercado, a 2-run home run to left field; and redshirt freshman Alyssa Palomino, who one-upped her teammates with a grand slam.
“It’s obviously a lot more fun than when we’re not doing it,” Palomino said. “We’re loose, we can have fun in the dugout. Games like this definitely make this more fun. It’s just crazy how sometimes the ball can jump off the bat like that.”
The Wildcats (38-1, 10-0 Pac-12) raised Stanford pitcher Carolyn Lee’s season ERA from 3.35 to 3.91. She was lifted after allowing eight earned runs without recording an out.
It took a reliever to record Arizona’s first out of the game; that came when Ashleigh Hughes, the No. 9 hitter, rapped into a fielder’s choice.
“It was just one of those nights,” UA coach Mike Candrea said. “We saw the ball pretty big and cashed in and put a bunch of runs up.”
Arizona slowed down in the second inning, but still scored five more runs to take an 18-0 lead.
It started with Palomino’s 3-run triple, followed immediately by Mauga’s 13th homer of the season.
“That’s a tough lineup, when things go bad (for the opposing pitcher) to look at,” Candrea said. “It’s just nonstop.”
Candrea emptied his bench in the third inning, though even the Wildcats’ reserves found some success. Backup catcher Hillary Edior went deep in the fourth inning.
The Wildcats finished with 17 hits. Six players — Mercado, Mauga, Harper, outfielder Mandie Perez and second baseman Reyna Carranco — finished with at least two hits.
The offensive explosion gave Danielle O’Toole (20-1) some rest, too. The senior pitched three innings, allowing three hits and striking out three, before Nancy Bowling closed the game out. Bowling allowed two hits and one run in two innings.
Arizona will face Stanford (16-17, 0-7) again on Saturday at 3 p.m.
“Right now the team is very positive, having fun and playing Wiffle ball,” Candrea said. “I keep saying that, but it’s true. It’s nice to see, we just gotta keep it there.”
