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Dejah Mulipola

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Dejah Mulipola
Personal information
Born (1998-02-19) February 19, 1998 (age 26)
Los Alamitos, California
Sport
CountryUSA
SportSoftball
PositionCatcher
Team
Medal record
Women's softball
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo Team
World Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham Team
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2019 Lima Team
Gold medal – first place 2023 Santiago Team

Dejah Monique Mulipola (born February 19, 1998) is an American professional softball catcher. She played college softball at Arizona, where she was named a First Team All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) in 2019 and 2021. She is a member of the United States women's national softball team, winning a silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She played in Athletes Unlimited Softball, where she won the 2022 championship as the top individual points leader.

Early life

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Mulipola is of Samoan and Mexican descent. She was born in Los Alamitos, California to Ed Mulipola and Rosalie Leuta. Her hometown is Garden Grove, California, where she attended Pacifica High School.[1]

Playing career

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College career

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Mulipola began her career for the Wildcats setting personal bests in hits, doubles while also leading the team in triples. On February 19, Mulipola used a double and home run to knock in a career best 6 RBIs to run-rule the Boston College Eagles.[2] In a loss to the Utah Utes on April 14, she had a perfect day at the plate with four hits for another career highlight.[3] As a sophomore Mulipola was named a Second Team All-Pac 12 performer, leading the team in triples, walks and fielding percentage.[4][5] In a run-rule victory against the Texas Longhorns on March 4, Mulipola walked 3 times for another career high.[6]

In 2019, Mulipola achieved First Team All-Pac 12 and National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American citations.[7] She was also named NFCA Catcher of the Year. She had career highs in home runs and walks. Mulipola helped the Wildcats return to the 2019 Women's College World Series for the first time since 2010 before being eliminated by the Alabama Crimson Tide on May 31.[8] She had two hits including a home run in three games at the series.

In 2021, Mulipola once again earned First Team All-Pac 12 and NFCA First Team All-American honors.[9] She was also named a finalist for the Honda Softball Award.[10] She set career highs in batting average, runs batted in and slugging percentage. On February 25, Mulipola hit her 50th career home run, a grand slam off Reggie Kanagawa to run-rule the BYU Cougars.[11] From April 18–May 8 she had her best hitting streak at 10 consecutive games. She hit .428 (12/28) with 9 RBIs, two home runs, three doubles and 4 walks before being shutout by the Oregon Ducks.[12] On May 22 to defeat the Mississippi Rebels, she became the 12th wildcat to join the 50 home run 200 RBI list by collecting 5 RBIs to reach the 200 milestone.[13] Mulipola made her final collegiate appearance in a loss to the Florida State Seminoles on June 5 at the 2021 Women's College World Series and managed only a walk.[14] Mulipola currently ranks as the second best fielding catcher and overall player for the Wildcats in school history with a .996 fielding percentage.

Professional career

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Mulipola was drafted fourth overall in the 2021 Athletes Unlimited Softball draft.[15] She won the 2022 championship as the top individual points leader with 1,782 points.[16] Mulipola would go on to play for the Hitachi Sundiva of the Japan Diamond Softball League and the Oklahoma City Spark, an independent team at the time of her signing.[17]

International career

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Mulipola returned to Arizona for the 2021 season, after missing the 2020 season due to the Stand Beside Her Tour with USA Softball in preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[18] At the Olympics, Mulipola would receive a silver medal as Team USA was defeated by Team Japan in the gold medal game.[19]

On August 31, 2023, Mulipola was named to the U.S. women's national team for the 2023 Pan American Games.[20] She represented the United States at the 2024 Women's Softball World Cup and won a silver medal.[21]

Statistics

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Arizona Wildcats
YEAR G AB R H BA RBI HR 3B 2B TB SLG BB SO SB SBA
2017 60 173 54 58 .335 49 12 3 12 112 .647% 25 29 1 2
2018 59 166 36 52 .313 36 12 3 6 100 .602% 29 42 3 4
2019 62 167 49 52 .311 55 23 0 7 128 .766% 43 45 1 2
2021 56 148 53 57 .385 63 21 0 8 128 .865% 34 31 0 0
TOTALS 237 654 192 219 .335 203 68 6 33 468 .715% 131 147 5 8
Team USA
YEAR G AB R H BA RBI HR 3B 2B TB SLG BB SO SB
2020 9 17 6 8 .470 4 1 0 0 11 .647% 6 2 0
2021 7 17 3 5 .294 1 1 0 0 8 .470% 3 5 0
Olympics 1 2 1 1 .500 0 0 0 0 1 .500% 1 1 0
TOTALS 17 36 10 14 .389 5 2 0 0 20 .555% 10 8 0
Athletes Unlimited
YEAR G AB R H BA RBI HR 3B 2B TB SLG BB SO SB
2021 14 40 4 13 .325 8 2 2 2 25 .625% 6 8 0

References

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  1. ^ "Dejah Mulipola". arizonawildcats.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  2. ^ "Cats Sweep Sunday Doubleheader, Wildcat Invitational". Arizonawildcats.com. February 19, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  3. ^ "Utah Hands Arizona First Conference Loss". Arizonawildcats.com. April 14, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  4. ^ "Dejah Mulipola". Arizonawildcats.com. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  5. ^ "2018 Arizona Softball Overall Statistics" (PDF). Arizonawildcats.com. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  6. ^ "Martinez Goes 4-for-4; Cats Win Series vs. Texas". Arizonawildcats.com. March 4, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  7. ^ "2019 ALL-AMERICAN AWARDS". NFCA.org. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  8. ^ "Cats See Season End at WCWS". Arizonawildcats.com. June 1, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  9. ^ "2021 NFCA Division I All-America Teams". NFCA.org. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  10. ^ "Finalists for Class of 2021 Honda Sport Award for Softball Announced". collegiatewomensportsawards.com. June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  11. ^ "Scupin Homers Thrice, Cats Sweep Thursday Doubleheader". Arizonawildcats.com. February 25, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  12. ^ "#7 Arizona at #12 Oregon" (PDF). Arizonawildcats.com. May 9, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  13. ^ "UA On to Regional Final with 12-6 Win". Arizonawildcats.com. May 22, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  14. ^ "Arizona's Season Ends at the Women's College World Series". Arizonawildcats.com. June 5, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  15. ^ "ATHLETES UNLIMITED SOFTBALL COLLEGE DRAFT: GET TO KNOW THE 12 DRAFTEES". auprosports.com. May 10, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  16. ^ "Dejah Mulipola crowned 2022 Champion in thrilling finale". auprosports.com. August 28, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  17. ^ "OKC Spark Signs Softball Sensation, Dejah Mulipola, for 2024 Season". Oklahoma City Spark. February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  18. ^ "Dejah Mulipola to Return in 2021". University of Arizona Athletics. May 7, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  19. ^ "Mulipola, Team USA Take Silver in Tokyo". arizonawildcats.com. University of Arizona Athletics. July 7, 2021. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  20. ^ "USA Softball announces 16-player Women's National Team roster set to represent Team USA at 2023 Pan American Games". usasoftball.com. August 31, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  21. ^ "Japan outscore USA in the final to become Women's Softball World Champions". wbsc.org. July 20, 2024. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
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