Jessie Harper, Arizona Wildcats give US Olympic softball team all it can handle in close loss

Jessie Harper blasted a foul ball to the top of the training facility in left field.

She flashed a frustrated glance before retaking her spot in the batter’s box. The gall of Arizona’s perfectionist shortstop was a sight to see, as she expressed disappointment with being kept at only one homer against the USA Olympic team.

She’d get her way one pitch later, rocketing a flyball over the scoreboard in right field off former UCLA great Ally Carda. One inning earlier, she took Texas-legend Cat Osterman, 15 years her senior, over the left-field fence.

Two of softball’s greatest pitchers flummoxed by a 21-year-old in back-to-back innings.

It was a special moment for the Wildcat.

“I thought the crowd was really a big part of that,” coach Mike Candrea said. “She fouls it off and the crowd really got into it, and next thing you know, whacko. She’s a phenomenal hitter, and I think this was Harper’s opportunity to say, ‘Hey don’t forget about me.’”

Harper's homers turned Dejah Mulipola’s welcome-home party into a contest, which Team USA won 5-4. It was the closest call the national team has had 10 games into the “Stand By Her” tour, coming after a combined score of 22-0 against Liberty and No. 14 Oklahoma State.

In the fifth inning, No. 5 Arizona (9-1) got freshman Sharlize Palacios to second, but reliever Keliani Ricketts induced a groundout from freshman Bella Dayton. Arizona wouldn’t come that close to scoring again.

Before the fireworks, there was plenty of pregame recognition of Arizona’s star catcher Mulipola, who's redshirting this year to compete for Team USA. Her highlight video shown on the scoreboard, she exchanged the lineup cards and even shared a hug with Candrea before he tossed her the ceremonial first pitch.

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“When my team hugged me I was about to cry,” Mulipola said. “It was a lot of emotions and a lot of feelings, but they were all good.

Her night didn’t go as smoothly once the game started. She reached on an error by Harper in her first at-bat but was stranded at third. An inning later, Mulipola singled in a run but got doubled off first base on a line drive to Harper. She was replaced by Taylor Edwards in the sixth to a large ovation.

That same crowd got testy toward the end, rooting for its Wildcats to do what seemed impossible, beat the best in the world at their own game. They couldn’t quite do it, as Ricketts and Monica Abbott shut the door, but battling to the final out showed what makes this team so special.

With a three-run first-inning homer from Ali Aguilar, the USA team seemed like it would run away with the victory, and that was even before adding one more run in each of the second and third innings to make it 5-0.

Instead, Alyssa Denham and Mariah Lopez combined for four shutout innings, allowing just two hits and a walk with five strikeouts against one of the best lineups ever assembled. That kept Arizona alive until Harper could do her damage. They had some help from the defense, particularly Malia Martinez, who might have had one of her best nights ever at third base.

Usually it’s the national team putting pressure on the college one. Instead, the Wildcats had pushed USA so close to the brink that it brought in all-time college strikeout queen Abbott in to close the seventh inning. That’s a good sign for things to come, as Arizona heads to the prestigious Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic this weekend, where they face Texas A&M, Missouri, San Diego State, Florida and Auburn.