Friday’s game
Jessie Harper felt relaxed when she stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning, bases loaded, no outs and a hit would win the game.
On her first pitch, Harper, a freshman, came guns blazing and launched a ball into foul territory. The count 2-2, recent history indicated that Harper was more likely to strike out than strike a winning hit. Harper was hitless in Arizona’s three NCAA Regional games last weekend, 0 for 13 in total sans a hit in her first three at bats on Friday. Make that 1 for 14. Harper had the game-winning hit, a walk-off single to center field that scored outfielder Mandie Perez to win the game 3-2, putting Arizona one win away from its first Women’s College World Series Appearance since 2010.
Oh, Friday was also Harper’s birthday. This beats a birthday cake. “Tonight was just a great night for the birthday girl here, coming through at the end,” UA coach Mike Candrea said. “It felt good to see her come through on her birthday.”
Harper had been Arizona’s stabilizing force at the middle of the lineup, behind star slugger Katiyana Mauga, all season long. She’s second on the team with 19 home runs and almost single-handedly helped the Wildcats beat UCLA on the road to win the Pac-12 championship a couple weeks ago, hitting a grand slam in the first inning. Similarly, Perez, Mauga and shortstop Mo Mercado were all on base, with no outs, that time, too.
In those situations, she’s comfortable, even if she was in the midst of the worst slump of the season.
“It started off great with Mandie getting on and then it just kind of went from there. Kati got on, and then Mo. I was just trying to get the ball up in the air as far as it could possibly go just so Mandie could score somehow just on tagging or a ground ball,” Harper said. “It was easier knowing they (got on base) and all had my back. The fans were amazing. It was just an awesome feeling to do it for the team, and they set it up perfectly where they were able to get on.”
After the game, Candrea went so far as to compare Harper’s demeanor and poise as a true freshman to one of Arizona’s all-time great hitters: Leah O’BrienAmico, who won four NCAA titles at Arizona. Candrea switched Mercado and Harper in the lineup on Friday, putting Harper in the clean-up spot.
"She’s always got a smile on her face, handles the pressure well,” Candrea said. “It was a challenge for her to struggle a little bit because she really hasn’t struggled a lot throughout the whole year and went back to work during the week and stayed positive, came out tonight and squared one up… it felt good to see her come through on her birthday.”
Before Harper’s hit, the Wildcats were helped by Danielle O’Toole’s performance in the circle. The Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year was stellar through five innings, only allowing four hits and no runs, but she got into some trouble in the sixth when Kyla Walker led off with a triple and Ari Hawkins followed that up with a two-run home run to left field. From there, O’Toole (30-4) retired Baylor’s next six batters to close the game out. She finished allowing six hits overall with four strikeouts and no walks.
“She’s got a great demeanor,” Candrea said. “I’ve never seen her where her emotions were controlling her. She seems to always be in control.”