LAFAYETTE, La. – Things got a little too spicy for California on Monday as the Golden Bears were unable to find their game against the Ragin' Cajuns to conclude their first tournament of the season.
 
After falling in game 1 of a double header, Cal (3-2) appeared to adjust to the flavor the Ragin' Cajuns pitchers served in game 2, leading on multiple occasions through 4.5 innings. Unfortunately, the Bears gave up a five-spot in the bottom of the fifth inning to finish 0-2 on the day with a 7-3 loss.

The Bears jumped to a 1-0 lead in the opening frame on an RBI single from Mikayla Coelho to bring Lindsay Rood home as the small ball game got going early for Cal. Rood was hit by a pitch to get on and advanced on a ground out.
 
The top of the third produced similar results for Cal, with Coelho connecting on her second RBI single to bring Rood across the plate, after the senior singled to left field to get on.
 
Cal's 2-1 lead was short-lived as Louisiana tied for the second time of the game on a sac fly, but that did not rattle the Bears. 
 
Newcomer Destiny Blueford bombed one through left centerfield to give Cal a 3-2 lead headed into the bottom of the fifth, but that momentum was overcome soon after.

Kamalani Dung picked up her first loss of the season, giving up five hits, four earned runs, and walking seven batters.

Ninemire's Notes
"It was a disappointing two losses," said head coach Diane Ninemire. "We just didn't play our best defense  and ordinarily get better pitching performances. We scored a few runs and could've had an opportunity to win games, but we weren't able to close it. This was a very good team that we played and I think there were some great signs that will propel us into next week's games in Florida. I'm really happy to see how we battled back after the first loss. So we'll get back to work and go after it."
 
Cal will continue on to Florida for the ESPN St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational from Feb. 14-17. The Bears will face four top-25 teams in the five-game stretch beginning with No. 16 Texas to open the weekend at 10 a.m. (PT) on Thursday. Friday at 9:30 a.m.
 
Cal sees No. 23 James Madison who bested the Bears a season ago in Hawaii. No. 22 Oklahoma State and Notre Dame, which is receiving votes, round out Saturday with games at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively.
 
To close off at 10-day road trip, Cal face No. 21 Minnesota on Sunday at 7 a.m. The Bears last faced Minnesota in 2017 in Berkeley when they were blanked 10-0 by the Gophers.
 
The contests will be televised and streamed on ESPN platforms.
Game 1: ESPNU
Game 2-5: ESPN3

Game 1
Cal 1, ULL 7

The Golden Bears got a bitter taste of the No. 15 Ragin' Cajuns flavor on Monday evening in game one of a doubleheader as California picked up its first loss of the year in a 7-1 showing.
 
In its first top-25 match-up of the season, Cal was unable to turn hits into runs as they faced the returning 2018 All-Sun-Belt first team pitcher Summer Ellyson, who ranked Top 30 nationally in fewest hits allowed and wins and Top 40 in ERA and total strikeouts last season.
 
Though five different Bears recorded hits, Cal couldn't consistently pull a string of hits together to get more than one run on the day.
 
In the top of the sixth, lead-off hitter Lindsay Rood gave the Bears some life with a double. She found the plate for the lone time of the contest on an RBI single from freshman Amani Bradley. Coelho chipped in a single to put runners on the corners, after Bradley advanced to second on a wild pitch. But a strikeout and a line out into double play dismantled the opportunity.
 
Cal's ace, senior Zoe Conley suffered her first loss of the season giving up six hits, four earned runs, and three walks in 5.2 innings.

The Bears defense struggled, committing back-to-back errors in the bottom of the fifth to get a pair of runners on before Lousiana's Kara Gremillion rattled off a 2 RBI triple to extend the lead to 5-0.

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