BERKELEY – It's the beginning of the end.
 
No. 24 California closes the regular season against No. 2 Oregon in a Thursday-Saturday slate at Levine-Fricke Field. Games 1 and 2 are scheduled for 3 p.m. (PT), while the series closer is slated for noon. The games will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks, with Kate Scott on play-by-play.
 
In the same weekend, UC Berkeley commencement ceremonies will be held and with that the Golden Bears also prepare to say goodbye to senior foursome Kristin Cullen, Jazmyn Jackson, Kobie Pettis and Taurie Pogue. Senior day ceremonies for Cal softball will take place before Saturday's game.
 
Cal (34-16, 7-13 Pac-12) hopes to channel the emotion into production on the field as it gets ready for a battle against its third top-two team this season.
 
The Bears hope to recover from a gritty sweep of top-ranked UCLA a week ago, where they ran the gamut of their pitching staff and scored their first run in the second game of the series. The Bears threw four different pitchers into the mix including starters Zoe Conley, Kamalani Dung and before bringing Cullen in for her first start of the season, and freshman outfielder Mikayla Coelho who made her second collegiate appearance in the circle.
 
Conley (2.05), who threw 7.0 innings over the weekend, closes the season as Cal's single-season saves record holder with seven saves to also lead the conference.
 
The determination of the Blue and Gold shined in the final game of the series with the Bruins after the Bears tied things up with a four-run fourth inning, but that momentum was not able to be sustained as the Bears fell 10-5 to close the weekend.
 
Junior Lindsay Rood (.345) jumped to the top of the stat sheet for Cal from the plate and also leads with 45 runs and seven triples, a league high. Her 14 doubles is tied for third in the conference. Equally impressive, Rood remains perfect on the season in stolen base attempts, robbing 30 bags so far to lead the Pac-12.
 
Scouting Oregon
The Ducks (44-7, 18-3 Pac-12) close the season in a three-way battle with UCLA and Arizona State for the conference title as they head to Berkeley. Led at the plate by trio Jenna Lilley (.373), Alexis Mack (.364) and Gwen Svekis (.331), Oregon has collectively batted .320 while limiting opponents to a .177 clip at the plate. The threesome accounts for 112 of the team's 313 runs scored, with Svekis' 15 homers toping the ledger, third most in the Pac-12. The Ducks pack power in the circle with a collective conference best ERA 1.14, paced by league leader Megan Kleist (0.91). The Bears will also likely see Miranda Elish (1.09) who has just one loss on the season. Cal will also look for its first win against Oregon since 2016 when it posted a 15-4 win in Berkeley on May 7.

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