Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza and Jessie Harper picked up where they left off a season ago, when the junior All-Americans each homered twice to help the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildcats softball team to an opening-day sweep on Friday. No. 7 ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ beat No. 19 Michigan 2-1, and South Florida 4-1 in Tampa, Florida.
Palomino-Cardoza and Harper were the Wildcats' power duo a season ago, hitting 19 and 18 home runs, respectively, to lead the Pac-12. Their performances Friday supported complete-game shutouts by UA pitchers Taylor McQuillin and Alyssa Denham.
McQuillin allowed one run on four hits and struck out seven Michigan hitters in the Wildcats' opener. Then Denham tossed a career-high 11 strikeouts in the win against South Florida.
Against the USF, Harper hit mulitple home runs for the eighth time in her career. Palomino-Cardoza had a homer in each game; she was a combined 4 for 7 at the plate with two runs and three RBIs.
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ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ turns to Saturday’s double-header, when they’ll take on No. 5 Florida at 10:45 a.m. and Illinois State at 3:45 p.m.
This article was compiled in part from a press release.
