LOS ANGELES – California had something to prove as it walked onto the diamond at historic Easton Stadium to face No. 1 UCLA on Friday.
 
Driven by recent closely-contested losses including a dropped series to Stanford for the first time since 2013 and an even more gut-wrenching upset from UC Davis, the first since 1978, the Golden Bears (20-13, 1-5 Pac-12) were playing to reestablish their identity.
 
They nearly achieved that goal taking the top-ranked, one-loss Bruins to extended innings.
 
The Bears led throughout the evening, behind a valiant pitching effort from Zoe Conley who went the distance. The senior ace gave up seven hits and eight walks, but kept the Bruins (30-1, 4-0 Pac-12) batters off balance for the majority of the night.
 
Conley and the Cal defense kept UCLA scoreless in five innings, clawing out of situations with loaded bases and runners in scoring position on multiple occasions.
 
Unfortunately, late errors were again costly as Cal allowed a tying run to reach in the bottom of the seventh on a play from freshmen catcher Makena Smith to Alexandra Perez at first, trying to turn the double play.
 
The Bears were retired in order in the top of the eighth, and UCLA made its move with back-to-back singles after a pair of walks to bring in the walk-off shot for the 3-2 victory.
 
"I was proud of our effort tonight and I think we fought the whole way. We couldn't come up with key defensive plays to finish things out," said head coach Diane Ninemire. "We showed we have a team that can play with the top team in country and now we need to come back tomorrow with that same intensity.

"I'm really proud of Bobby (Krysten McCue) and (Sabrina) Nunez who both stepped in, in an intense pressure situation. Nunez got us a timely hit against the top pitcher in the country and battled at the plate. If we can get more of that from the team we can have a big day tomorrow."
 
Cal struck first bringing freshman Alexandra Perez on a fielding error that followed a single from Amani Bradley. Perez led off with a 2-2 single to get on early.
 
But, the Bruins were able to even the count on a sac fly that allowed the runner to tag up from the hot corner in the bottom of the inning to keep the battle close.
 
Nunez stepped in to pinch hit for Destiny Blueford in the top of the seventh to bring in Karlee Sparacino, who led off with a clutch first-pitch double after going 0-for-2 in her previous at-bats, and Bears moved ahead 2-1..
 
The sophomore made her way to third on a well-placed sac bunt from senior McCue to put pressure on the Bruins defense.
 
But, the Bruins battled back to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Cal got the second out on a fielder's choice to tag UCLA's Anna Vines out at the plate, but an errant throw gave the Bruins the momentum it needed to close things out.  
 
The last time Cal and UCLA went to extra innings was in 2016 when the Bears fell 3-2 in nine innings.
 
The Bears-Bruins battle continues Saturday night at 7 p.m. (PT) with action broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.
 
For more information on Cal softball, follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @CalSB.