Sparked by Reyna Carranco's first homer, No. 9 Wildcats blast Cal

On Sunday, California sent out pitcher Chloe Romero for the second straight day, and the Arizona batters were ready.

The No. 9-ranked Wildcats (33-8, 11-5) chased Romero from the circle with only one out in the second inning during the 11-1 run-rule victory. That big second inning, which included nine runs on 10 hits and an error, sealed Arizona’s 30th-straight home win and its 14th run-rule victory at home in 24 games this season.

“Because we saw her (Saturday), I think we had a little more of an advantage,” Reyna Carranco said. “We were kind of surprised she was throwing again.”

Carranco sparked the onslaught with a two-run homer in the first inning. It was her first home run of the season, partly due to missing more than a month with a thumb injury. The pint-sized second baseman has always brought an unexpected amount of pop, tallying 10 home runs and 46 extra-base hits over her five-year career.

“I’m so excited to have Reyna back,” Jessie Harper said. “She is so truly amazing. She healed up super quick. I never hear her complain about a single thing. She is a grinder and just stepped in there like she never missed a day.”

Harper also hit a homer, as part of that long second inning, which was the 88th of her career, putting her alone in fourth place among the all-time leaders. She is still chasing Katiyana Mauga, 93, and former-Oklahoma star Lauren Chamberlain, 95, for the all-time program and NCAA titles.

“At the end of the day, I am very proud of myself, and I’m happy to be recognized with these amazing players,” Harper said.

Janelle Meono extended her hit streak to 27 games, going 3 for 3 with two RBIs and a double. Dejah Mulipola recorded her team-leading 48th and 49th RBIs of the season with a double of her own, and Sharlize Palacios hit her 15th home run of the season to tie Mulipola for the team lead.

Overall, Arizona went 23 for 52 as a team, a .442 batting average, against Cal’s two pitchers, Romero and Sona Halajian in the Golden Bears’ (16-14, 3-8) first series since April 11 due to COVID-19 issues.

“With protocols, that’s what they had, and they made the best of it,” Harper said. “It’s hard to pitch back-to-back days, especially to our lineup.”

Cal didn’t help itself.

Over the first seven innings of the series, it stranded 12 runners, including Arizona starter Alyssa Denham navigating her way out of a two-on one-out jam in the first inning Sunday.

Denham sat down seven of the final eight batters she faced to improve to 16-5 with a 1.87 ERA this season. Mariah Lopez allowed Cal to score the only run of the series via a sacrifice fly in her first appearance of the series but recorded three straight outs to end the game.

“I liked the way she finished,” coach Mike Candrea said.

Arizona travels to No. 8 Oregon for a four-game series, starting at 4 p.m. Friday in a game that will air on ESPN2. Then, the Wildcats will return home for the regular-season finale, a four-game series against No. 2 UCLA.

Oregon lost the final three games of a four-game set against Arizona State this weekend in Tempe.