April 23, 2011
Final Stats
BERKELEY - It may have been an overcast day in serene Strawberry Canyon with intermittent glimpses of the sun, but only one aspect of the day mattered, which sophomore hurler Jolene Henderson summed it up nicely.
"It felt like a day to beat Stanford," the right-handed Henderson said.
And beat Stanford, the Bears did. No. 12 California earned a 4-1 win over No. 11/10 Stanford on Saturday afternoon at Levine-Fricke Field. With the win, the Golden Bears get the series title and improve to 30-9 overall and 7-5 in the Pac-10 Conference. Stanford drops to 32-10 and 6-6 in conference play.
Elia Reid hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth to push the Bears to victory.
Cal moves to 58-24 in the all-time series with the Cardinal and avenge last year's series win by Stanford.
Henderson pitched the complete-game win - striking out four and allowing one earned run off eight hits - after pitching the first two games of the series. Despite pitching 21 innings over the course of three days, Henderson noted her arm felt "golden."
In addition to Henderson's workhorse talents, key to the win was top-notch defense, with junior third baseman Jace Williams leading that brigade with six assists.
"After last week, when I had to make some crazy moves and saw my life flash before my eyes, I was just trying to be ready for every pitch because you never know when is a hot pitch is coming," Williams said of patrolling the hot corner. "I was on my toes all weekend."
Williams also helped her team's cause on offense, plating Jamia Reid with a single in with bottom of the third to give the Bears a 1-0 lead.
In the top of the fourth, Stanford had runners at second and third but Jolene Henderson issued a backwards K to Michelle Prong to end the inning.
With one away in the bottom of the fourth, Elia Reid knocked the ball out of the park - temporarily - with her hit tagging the scoreboard in right center for her sixth homer of the year. The long ball also plated Jordan Wallace, who had been tagged by pitcher Teagan Gerhart, to give Cal a 3-0 lead.
Heads-up baserunning by Frani Echavarria upped the Bears' lead to four in the bottom of the fifth, when she scored off a sacrifice fly by designated player Ashley Decker.
"Elia's hit was the difference," Williams said. "Ashley Decker's sac fly was another productive out. We made the defense work and used out speed. We used all our tools today and everyone was on today."
The Cardinal got on the board in the top of the sixth, when Corey Hanewich doubled to the wall in center to score Sarah Hassman.
Sophomore shortstop Britt Vonk led the Bears with two hits while Hanewich paced the Cardinal with three hits.
Next Week on the Diamond:
The Bears close out an incredible 11-game homestand with their final four games at Levine-Fricke Field. Cal kicks off the week with a Wednesday, April 27 tilt against Santa Clara at 3 p.m. The last home Pac-10 series starts Friday, April 29 at 3 p.m. versus defending national champion UCLA. The Bears and their baby sister Bruins continue Saturday, April 30 at 1 p.m. and close the series at noon on Sunday, April 31. Sunday will be a great day to bring the kids.
