BERKELEY – Now that No. 24 California (34-13, 7-10 Pac-12) has finished its non-conference slate, it gets ready for a truly gritty end to the regular season as the Golden Bears play their penultimate Pac-12 series against top-ranked UCLA this weekend at Levine-Fricke Field.
The Friday-Sunday series will pit the Bears, who are on an eight-game win streak, against its second, number-one team this season after facing then-No. 1 Washington on April 15 in Seattle.
Friday's opener is scheduled for a 3 p.m. (PT) start, while Saturday's contest begins at 1:30 p.m. and Sunday's closer at 2 p.m. Cal alum Kate Scott leads the play-by-play for the weekend on the Pac-12 Network. Live stats will be available on CalBears.com.
The weekend also welcomes former Bears for Cal softball's annual alumni celebration, with special events and acknowledgements planned throughout Saturday's contest. Blue and Gold standouts, including
Nisa Ontiveros (2013-16), Danielle Henderson (2012-15), Candace Harper-Balbuena (1999-02), Cheyenne Cordes (2012-15) and 2018 Cal Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Kristina Thorson (2003-06), are expected to attend along with other alumni.
Spectators will see a Cal team that has bounced back after a difficult start to its conference schedule. Cal recently swept Utah and Stanford in back-to-back series and the Bears have outscored their opponents 29-6 in the last six league contests, including a pair of shutouts against the Cardinal to contribute to an eight-game win streak.
Last time out,
Jazmyn Jackson propelled the Bears to an 8-1 victory with her first collegiate grand slam at Stanford, as she paces the team with a .358 batting average, 57 hits and 31 RBI, also adding 33 runs.
Jackson and junior
Lindsay Rood have been the one-two punch that tilt the opposing defenses with Rood sitting just behind Jackson in the lineup and on the ledger with a .340 clip at the plate. Rood however, knows her way around the bases leading the Pac-12 with 26 steals, and heading the Bears with 42 runs and 14 doubles.
Cal continues alternating between starting pitchers
Kamalani Dung (2.01, 18-3) and
Zoe Conley (2.03, 15-10) who have gone undefeated over the past two weeks, with Conley's seven saves to head the conference. The duo tag-teamed their Bay Area rivals last weekend giving up just one run in the series to Stanford.
Cal will need to be firing on all cylinders as they face a three-loss UCLA and hope to keep the series win streak alive.
Scouting UCLA
The Bruins (45-3, 15-3 Pac-12) are riding an 11-game win streak and have dropped just one league series to open conference at Oregon (1-2) in March. The in-state opponents have been propelled by powerful hitting and balanced by great pitching. Bruins batters hold four of the five top spots in conference with redshirt freshman Aaliyah Jordan's .472 batting average pacing the entire Pac-12. She is supported by Kylee Perez (.416), Bubba Nickels (.404) and Rachel Garcia (.385) who rank second, fourth and fifth, respectively. Collectively, the foursome accounts for 151 runs, which significantly surpasses the 98 runs allowed this season.
In the circle, dual-threat Garcia holds the cards with a 17-1 record and 1.10 ERA, fourth-best in the Pac-12, while undefeated Holly Azevedo (14-0, 1.93) covers her share of the load forcefully. The Bears could potentially see Selina Ta'amilo (10-2, 2.38) as well who can start or come in as clean up.
Cal was swept in 2017 after giving up a near-win in the series opener at Easton Stadium in Los Angeles. The Bears look for their first win over the Bruins since 2013, when Cal posted a 5-1 decision in LA.
For more information on Cal softball, follow the team @CalSB on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
