California Golden Bears Athletics
Sunday, March 24
Berkeley, CA
2:00 PM
California
vs
Stanford
Photo by: Peter Fukumae
Cal Returns Home for Rival Series
3/21/2019 6:31 PM | Softball
BERKELEY – The Bears are officially home.
After nearly 30 games on the road, California begins the back half of the season with its official home opener against Bay Area rival Stanford in a Saturday-Monday series in Strawberry Canyon.
Saturday's contest is marked for a 2:30 p.m. (PT) start, while Sunday's and Monday's matchups are slated for 2 p.m. The games will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.
In their final season at Levine-Fricke Field, the Golden Bears have a lot to prove as they hope to make their 33rd post-season run.
Cal (20-9, 1-2 Pac-12) boasts several highlights up to this point including no hitters, wins over top-25 opponents, league recognition and competitive numbers.
That foundation is of value as the Bears face their longtime rival. Despite Cal's 75-29 series advantage, the Cardinal, which is receiving votes on USA Today/ NFCA Coaches and ESPN.com/USA Softball polls and is 22nd in the RPI, appear to be having a turnaround season with three notable wins over then No. 7 LSU (7-5), powerhouse Michigan (7-1) and then No. 23 Northwestern (1-0).
"We're excited about first Pac-12 home games this weekend, especially with it being our big rivalry with Stanford," said head coach Diane Ninemire. "Stanford is making great strides this season and I know they've added some young players, so we have to be prepared.
"So far, we've had a tough schedule and we had to fight this year. In the Pac-12, every game will be a dog fight. Every at-bat counts and every out counts. We have to go in knowing that."
Cal's last loss to Stanford (19-4, 0-0 Pac-12) was in 2014, in a 14-13 slugfest when the Bears outhit a 21st-ranked Cardinal team. The Bears won that series 2-1 and have swept every year since, but their foes from across the bridge have stayed in the conversation this season after being voted to finish eighth in conference.
BEAR BIDNESS
For more information on Cal softball, follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @CalSB.
After nearly 30 games on the road, California begins the back half of the season with its official home opener against Bay Area rival Stanford in a Saturday-Monday series in Strawberry Canyon.
Saturday's contest is marked for a 2:30 p.m. (PT) start, while Sunday's and Monday's matchups are slated for 2 p.m. The games will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.
In their final season at Levine-Fricke Field, the Golden Bears have a lot to prove as they hope to make their 33rd post-season run.
Cal (20-9, 1-2 Pac-12) boasts several highlights up to this point including no hitters, wins over top-25 opponents, league recognition and competitive numbers.
That foundation is of value as the Bears face their longtime rival. Despite Cal's 75-29 series advantage, the Cardinal, which is receiving votes on USA Today/ NFCA Coaches and ESPN.com/USA Softball polls and is 22nd in the RPI, appear to be having a turnaround season with three notable wins over then No. 7 LSU (7-5), powerhouse Michigan (7-1) and then No. 23 Northwestern (1-0).
"We're excited about first Pac-12 home games this weekend, especially with it being our big rivalry with Stanford," said head coach Diane Ninemire. "Stanford is making great strides this season and I know they've added some young players, so we have to be prepared.
"So far, we've had a tough schedule and we had to fight this year. In the Pac-12, every game will be a dog fight. Every at-bat counts and every out counts. We have to go in knowing that."
Cal's last loss to Stanford (19-4, 0-0 Pac-12) was in 2014, in a 14-13 slugfest when the Bears outhit a 21st-ranked Cardinal team. The Bears won that series 2-1 and have swept every year since, but their foes from across the bridge have stayed in the conversation this season after being voted to finish eighth in conference.
BEAR BIDNESS
- Lindsay Rood's 48 hits leads the nation and she and teammate Destiny Blueford co-lead the Pac-12 with four triples
- Rood, who named Pac-12 Player of the Week on March 12 after going 11-for-17 (.647) in Honolulu, currently paces the Pac-12 with a .475 batting average, which ties for 17th nationally. She continues to top the league with 20 steals in as many attempts.
- Mikayla Coelho leads the Bears with seven home runs, tied for ninth in the league, and her .550 on base percentage tops the Pac-12 list. Her 22 walks is also the most in the league.
- Coelho's .392 batting average ranks 10th in the league and she tops the Cal ledger with 25 RBI
- Cal's defense have held opponents to a .206 batting average, but have collectively batted .318
- Cal's wins over No. 22 James Madison (7-2) and No. 24 Notre Dame (7-6) mark the first time the Bears have downed two non-conference top-25 opponents since 2016 when they outlasted No. 18 Kentucky (5-1) and another 24th-ranked Fighting Irish squad (8-7)
- Cal made a historic run from March 1-9 winning seven consecutive five-inning games, believed to be a program record
- Freshman Alexandra Perez's 1.39 ERA ranks fifth in the league behind a 5-0 record in 10 appearances and 40.1 innings of work
- Zoe Conley pitched her first no-hitter in a Bear's uniform on March 8 against St. Bonaventure in Honolulu; a 12-0 shutout for the Bears
- Cal's last two victories came on game-winning yard balls from junior Destiny Blueford (8-7 vs Utah in eight) and sophomore Karlee Sparacino (3-1 vs Sac State in nine)
- The Bears have done some of their best offensive work under pressure, recording 54 two-out RBIs so far this season
- The weekend marks the Pac-12 opener for the Cardinal, who heads into competition with just four losses
- Stanford was chosen to finish eighth in the league preseason poll, but currently sit in seventh
- Stanford has scored first in 15 of the 23 games this year, and is 14-1 when scoring first
- Utility junior Teaghan Cowles was named Pac-12 and Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week on March 5 after hitting .818 with an .889 OB% and 1.455 SLG% at the Stanford Invitational ... raised her batting average 102 points over five games from March 1-3 (.271 to .373)
- Maddy Dwyer is 6-2 with a 1.43 ERA and one save over 11 appearances (10 starts) ... ranks sixth in the Pac-12 in ERA
For more information on Cal softball, follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @CalSB.
Players Mentioned
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IF
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IF
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