SACRAMENTO – The Golden Bears have made a case for themselves playing under pressure recently, with three of their last four-games determined by one run. That experience will undoubtedly bode well throughout its powerhouse-laden conference schedule, but it also made a difference today.
 
California (20-9, 1-2 Pac-12) got a bit more practice in a closely-contested outing at Sacramento State (15-13) as the Bears remained scoreless through six innings and behind by a run through three.
 
But in the top of the seventh, three outs away from an upset, Karlee Sparacino, who went 3-for-4 on the day, blazed and RBI double deep to right center to bring home Jordan Fines, who led off the half reaching on an error, and force extra innings with a 1-1 tie.
 
The top of the ninth was all Sparacino as well, as she nailed a two-run shot over the right field wall to give the Bears the 3-1 win. It was the first lead of the day for Cal and the score that went the distance.
 
Interestingly, Cal found its way to victory in the same manner last Sunday in its getaway-day game at Utah when junior Destiny Blueford went yard for the 8-7 game-winning run in the eighth.
 
"Those timely hits from Sparacino made the difference," said head coach Diane Ninemire. "We didn't have our best day as a team, but we showed a lot of character. We were able to maintain and recover.
 
"Our pitching staff also worked in tandem today. I thought Alex (Alexandra Perez) kept her composure and gave us some great innings. Zoe (Conley) came in and owned it."
 
After three scoreless innings, the Hornets stung first getting the first hit of the game to lead off the bottom of the fourth. The runner came around on a stolen base with two outs on the board, followed by an RBI single to get the 1-0 advantage.
 
Cal's defense held strong keeping the Hornets scoreless through the next five, including in a one-out, load-bases fifth inning.
 
Senior Zoe Conley (6-5) picked up the win as she took over in the fifth for freshman Alexandra Perez who gave 4.1 quality innings fanning five, and giving up five hits and the lone run.
 
Conley finished things off in 4.2 innings of work retiring two at the plate and giving up three hits.
 
The Bears head into their official home-opening weekend with a Saturday-Monday series against Bay Area rival Stanford. Game 1 is slated for a 2:30 p.m. (PT) start.
 
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