Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza has a new name and a new position, but her swing is still sweet.
The reigning Pac-12 home-run queen had two hits and homered in her first at-bat, as No. 7 Arizona staved off No. 19 Michigan 2-1 on Friday in Tampa, Florida to open the 2019 season.
The Wildcats will face host USF in the second game of Friday’s doubleheader later in the evening, their second of five games in the USF Opening Weekend Invitational this weekend.
Starting in center field for the first time since 2017, Palomino-Cardoza led off the home half of the first with a dinger to right, giving the Wildcats an early lead which they did not relent.