SACRAMENTO – Despite a late start, California's hitting was right on time as the Golden Bears (2-0) notched their second win of the 2018 Classic City Classic with a 6-1 decision against Santa Clara (0-4) on Saturday afternoon.
 
With the first game of the day between host-team Sacramento State and UC Santa Barbara, who Cal shutout 2-0 on Friday, running long, the Bears-Broncos matchup began more than hour after its originally scheduled time.
 
But the Bears' swinging was right on time as Taurie Pogue sent one over the fences for a three-run homer to bring in freshman Mikayla Coelho and senior Kobie Pettis. It was her second hit of the game and fourth RBI as the Meridian, Idaho, native, sent Coelho across the plate in the opening frame on an RBI single to give Cal a 4-0 lead.
 
"Taurie was the key player today with her home run, great catch in right field and her RBI. She really produced the runs for us today," said head coach Diane Ninemire.
 
Transfer junior Marcella Kay added a two-run homer of her own in the top of the sixth to post the Bear's final score. She also brought home freshman Karlee Sparacino who led off with a single.
 
"I'm really happy we came out swinging today at the plate," said Pogue. "We were aggressive and had a better approach this game. We have such great chemistry on this team, and when we get rolling, we are tough to beat. We have some things to clean up, but tomorrow is a new day, and we are going to come out strong and play our very best."
 
In a near shutout, late fielding errors allowed the Broncos to score a single run in the bottom of the seventh before the Bears put the game away.
 
During her first outing in the Blue and Gold, transfer junior Kamalani Dung delivered eight strikeouts to capture her first win as a Bear.
 
"Kama threw a good game with that number of strikeouts," Ninemire said. "I thought we played a good game today. Tomorrow we have to play a lot better defense. We'll be looking for another good outing for Zoe (Conley) and Kama against Santa Clara and Sac State."
 
Cal's Saturday matchup versus host-team Sacramento State was postponed due to impending darkness because of previous games running long.  
 
The Bears will face Santa Clara to open the final day of the tournament at noon, before facing Sacramento State at 2:30p.m.
 
For more information on Cal softball, follow the team @CalSB on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.