SACRAMENTO – A sunny day in Sacramento was picturesque for California's season opener against UC Santa Barbara in the 2018 Capitol City Classic on Friday.
 
The Golden Bears (1-0, 0-0 Pac-12), who sported bright gold uniforms to match the day's backdrop, downed their in-state opponent 2-0 in decorated fashion, cementing their first W of the season on a two-run homer from junior Lindsay Rood that also bought in Sabrina Nunez.
 
Nunez, a freshman, was stellar offensively in her collegiate debut to earn the first hit of the game, draw a walk and record two stolen bases.
 
"I was super nervous and amped up at first, because I've been dreaming of being a Golden Bear my whole life," said Nunez, a Larkspur, Calif., native. "After my first at-bat, I settled in and felt at home."
 
Newcomer Mikayla Coelho also tallied a hit and stolen base as the Bears recorded their 169th win over the Gauchos.
 
"The freshmen did really well and I thought our base running was exceptional, said head coach Diane Ninemire. "It looks like we've got some speed and that'll help us continue to steal bases and that'll be useful as we go along the stretch."
 
In the circle, junior Zoe Conley picked up her first win of the season in a complete game effort, retiring eight batters, to match her 2017 season-high.
 
"I thought Zoe pitched a very good game, but we were timid at the plate a little bit and putting pressure on ourselves," said Ninemire. "We've got to attack a little bit more. Sometimes that happens in first games, so tomorrow we have to come out and relax. We have to play like we can and score like we can keep the pressure off our pitchers."
 
A late offensive effort kept UCSB (1-1, 0-0 Big West) in the game, as the Bears gave up three hits, but defense zoned in to seal Cal's second consecutive season-opening victory.
 
Cal faces Santa Clara Saturday at 1:10 p.m. (PT) and then host-team Sacramento State at 3:15 p.m.
 
For more information on Cal softball, follow the team @CalS