March 17, 2011
Cleveland State Final Stats
BYU Final Stats
HONOLULU - Thanks to the luck of the Irish and a no-hitter from Jolene Henderson, the No. 9/10 California softball team went a perfect 2-0 on Saint Patrick's Day. Henderson led the Golden Bears (19-2) to a 9-0 decision over Cleveland State and then a 4-2 victory over BYU.
Henderson had a perfect game through four innings versus the Vikings before going on to notch the no-hitter. Following that game, she went the distance with the Cougars for the two-win Thursday.
"It was a good day," Henderson said. "We came out strong the first game and then really battled in the second. We showed a lot of fight and it was a total team effort."
After two scoreless innings against Cleveland State in the first game, the Bears dropped three runs in the third. Cal ended any possibility of a CSU comeback in the fifth with six scores.
For the first time in Honolulu, the opposition scored first in the second game for BYU crossed home twice in the first to build a 2-0 lead. The Cougars, however, could not withstand a four-run third inning by the Bears.
"I thought our aggressive baserunning really put us in a good position to win against BYU!" Jace Williams said. "Our speed put a lot of pressure on their defensive and we capitalized on the few errors they made. We were very aggressive at the plate against Cleveland State. Jolene pitched awesomely and had a perfect game going into the last inning. It was a complete team effort all the way."
Against Cleveland State, Williams paved the way with three hits and two RBI. Frani Echavarria also knocked in two runs of her own while Elia Reid tallied two hits.
The Bears went through three Viking pitchers - Tess Sito (four innings, four earned runs, seven hits), Brittany Bate (0.2 innings, one hit) and Brandy Holmes (0.1 innings, one at bat) - for their nine runs and eight hits. Cleveland State committed three errors.
Williams tallied three RBI versus BYU to pace the Bears. Lead-off hitter Jamia Reid led her team with two hits and was second with one RBI. Henderson gave up six hits but no earned runs in seven innings of work. Tori Almond suffered the loss in four innings of work, allowing all four earned runs.
The Bears' toughest competition will no doubt take place March 18, when Cal takes on No. 20/16 Hawaii (21-5) in an 8 p.m. PT tilt. The Bears will play two bracket games - one on March 18 and another on March 19 - both of which are to be determined.
