LOS ANGELES – Despite a valiant effort at the plate, California's defensive mistakes were costly on Saturday.
The Golden Bears' four fielding errors proved fatal as they fell 3-1 in game two against Pac-12 rival and 13th-ranked UCLA to lose the series.
Both teams recorded six hits on the night, but Cal (26-15, 3-10 Pac-12) could not find the dish until the sixth inning when
Taurie Pogue RBI singled as a pinch hitter to bring home
Danielle Bowers, who stepped in as a pinch runner for
Alleah Laxamana.
UCLA (32-12, 7-7) capitalized on errors in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings that led to a 3-0 lead.
Bowers' run appeared to give the Bears some momentum with no outs yet in the half, but UCLA pitchers retired a
Jazmyn Jackson and
Lindsay Rood to halt a Cal comeback.
Notably, senior
Vanessa Alvarez forced three walks on the night, but was unable to make her way around the bases to give the Blue and Gold some runs.
The Bears look to avoid the series sweep on Sunday when they return to Easton Stadium for a 5 p.m. (PT) contest. A live broadcast of the final game is available on the Pac-12 Network with live stats available on CalBears.com.
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