TUCSON, Ariz. -- A five-run fourth inning propelled Arizona to a 9-4 win on Saturday and secured Arizona a series win in its Pac-12-opening series with Utah in front of 2,291 people at Hillenbrand Stadium.

Facing a 4-3 deficit in the bottom of the fourth, Alyssa Palomino tied the game with a double before Reyna Carranco gave UA the lead with a two-run single. Dejah Mulipola put the exclamation mark on the inning with a two-run homer to center. It was her seventh of the season, third most on the team, which entered the week No. 1 in the nation in home runs per game.

Alyssa Denham earned the victory for the Cats, improving to 4-1 on the season. She was the victim of some poor defense, as two Wildcat errors led to four unearned runs for the Utes. The sophomore, who lowered her ERA to 1.76 on the season, allowed four hits with two walks and one strikeout in four innings. Taylor McQuillin earned a save, pitching three scoreless innings of two-hit ball with four strikeouts and no walks. It was the second save of the season for McQuillin, the nation's leader in wins with 15.

Carranco led Arizona with three hits in four tries, including her two-run go-ahead single in the fourth. Her three hits brought her over .400 on the season (.402), joining Palomino (.493) as the lone two Cats above .400 on the year.

Arizona improved to 23-3, 2-0 Pac-12 with the win while Utah dropped to 14-9, 0-2 Pac-12 with the loss. The Wildcats will look for the sweep in the conference-opening series on Sunday at noon.

UA took advantage of two Utah errors to score three unearned runs, two of which came on an RBI single from Malia Martinez.

The Cats returned the favor with two errors of their own in the second that led to four unearned Utah runs to give the Utes a 4-3 lead.

In the fourth, Carli Campbell walked and Ashleigh Hughes singled to put two on for Alyssa Palomino, who doubled home Campbell to tie the game. Reyna Carranco followed with a two-run single to give the Cats the lead. Dejah Mulipola's two-run homer put the Cats on top 8-4, thanks to the five-run fourth.

A Carranco two-out single followed by three-straight walks, the final to Aleah Craighton, insured UA's lead in the sixth. 

Up next: Arizona and Utah finish up the series on Sunday at 12 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks.

Follow the Wildcats: Be sure to follow the team on Twitter and Instagram (@ArizonaSoftball) to keep up with the team.