TUCSON, Ariz. – For the eighth straight year, Arizona softball won its season-opener, defeating Fordham 8-1 at Hillenbrand Stadium on Thursday evening.
 
The Wildcats' new-look lineup plated eight runs on nine hits while Danielle O'Toole settled in to allow one hit to the final 23 batters she faced in a complete-game victory.
 
Katiyana Mauga, who will spend 2017 chasing both the Arizona and NCAA career home run records, got off on the right foot, blasting a homer, her 68th career, one of her two RBI.
 
Eight different Wildcats recorded hits in the contest, with catcher Dejah Mulipola going 2-for-2 in her debut. In addition to Mauga's two-RBI night, Tamara Statman drove in a pair with a pinch-hit single in the third.
 
The 2016 Pac-12 wins leader Danielle O'Toole picked up her first in 2017 with a complete-game gem. After allowing three hits and a run to the first three batters she faced, she retired 21 of the next 23. O'Toole struck out nine and walked one while allowing four hits in the game.
 
The Rams, coming off a victory over #21 Baylor earlier in the day, committed three errors leading to a pair of unearned runs for the Cats.
 
Fordham started the game with three consecutive singles to take the early lead, but O'Toole settled in to limit the damage to a 1-0 deficit after half an inning.
 
UA responded with three singles of its own to start the bottom half. The third single, an RBI base hit to left by Palomino, included two errors that allowed all three runners to score and give the Cats a 3-1 lead after the first.
 
The Cats added another three runs in the third, kicked off by Katiyana Mauga's first home run of the season, a leadoff homer to left. Tamara Statman followed with a two-out, two-run pinch hit single to give the Cats a 6-1 lead.
 
In the fourth, Mauga plated Mulipola with a sacrifice fly before Mo Mercado reached on a three-base error and scored on a wild pitch.
 
Up Next: The Hillenbrand Invitational continues with five games on Friday, with Arizona taking on Cal State Northridge at 5 p.m. MST. The tournament's full schedule can be found here.
 
Follow Arizona Softball: For further coverage of Arizona softball, visit ArizonaWildcats.com and follow the team's Twitter and Instagram accounts (@UA_Softball).