Early in Saturday’s game against Arizona State, Arizona Wildcats catcher Dejah Mulipola was hit in the mouth by a pitch. Mulipola left the game, bloodied, and didn’t return.
In the fourth inning, the UA’s Ashleigh Hughes misplayed a ball, leading to a Sun Devils triple.
The third-ranked Wildcats fell to No. 23 Arizona State 5-2, the victim of a 1-2 punch involving bad luck and poor defense. The teams will play the third and decisive game of their series at 5 p.m. Sunday.
“I really think the games like this, the mistakes are going to be what cost you and we made one, I think, in right field. That one could’ve been caught, should’ve been caught,” UA coach Mike Candrea said, referring to Hughes’ miscue. “That really changed the complexion of the game, but that’s the way it goes. I told the kids: I don’t know if we came out hungry enough today.”
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Saturday was the first time Arizona (46-5, 16-4 Pac-12) had ever faced Giselle Juarez, and the ASU freshman did a good job of silencing the Wildcats’ bats.
Shortstop Mo Mercado managed a double in the second inning but was left stranded.
In a complete-game effort, Juarez (6-4) struck out seven batters, walked one and allowed six hits, four of them coming in the final two innings.
“We gave away a lot of at-bats tonight,” Candrea said. “When that happens, I have to give the pitcher a little bit of credit there.”
The Wildcats were trailing 5-0 in the bottom of the sixth when Hiliary Edior — who entered the game at catcher when Mulipola was hit — doubled down the left field line. Katiyana Mauga then launched a two-run shot to left field, her 22nd home run of the season and No. 89 in her career, putting her just six off from tying the NCAA record.
Tamara Statman led off the seventh with a single and, after an out, Hughes singled. Mandie Perez and Edior both grounded out, ending the game.
“That’s how the game tests you: You get knocked down and it’s kind of how you answer back after that,” Hughes said. “It’s good that Kati comes up and Hilary gets on and I tried to do my job and get on base. Everybody is just doing their job, and it’s great when we can try to make a comeback.”
UA pitcher Taylor McQuillin (15-2) had an up-and-down evening, though she finished with 11 strikeouts. McQuillin gave up a second-inning homer to ASU’s Ulufa Leilua, then surrendered the fourth-inning triple that was misplayed in the outfield.
Hughes said the ball “was just moving and moving and those obviously are hard to catch.”
McQuillin struck out five of ASU’s last seven batters, but one of those two other at-bats was a home run, hit down the left field line by Marisa Stankiewicz.
“I definitely think that after the first home run I kinda settled a little bit, got it out of my system and just kept cruising through,” said McQuillin, who also walked three batters and gave up six hits. “Some things don’t fall our way, but the second home run just comes out of nowhere. It’s not a surprise, they’re a good hitting team. I think I started to improve as the game went on, just obviously I fell short today.”
Inside pitch
- Candrea said that Mulipola was “all right” after getting hit in the mouth. “Nothing moved, so she should be able to recoup from that,” he said. It’s unclear if Mulipola will be available to play Sunday. Edior, who replaced Mulipola at catcher, finished 1 for 3 with a run scored.
Contact:zrosenblatt@tucson.com or 573-4145. On Twitter: @ZackBlatt
