BERKELEY – California has a big weekend ahead.
 
It will mark the Golden Bears' final stretch on the historic Levine-Fricke Field as the athletics department prepares for stadium renovations that will result in a new facility for the 47-year old program in 2021.
 
Adding sentiment to the moment is the celebrating of Cal's six departing seniors in aces Zoe Conley, Kamalani Dung, shortstop and Pac-12 hits and stolen base leader Lindsay Rood, utility player Krysten McCue, pitcher Kourtney Shaw and catcher Mariko Kondo.
 
But, even with all of the celebratory goodbyes and nostalgia in the backdrop, the Bears have a tall order to consider as they make a last-ditch effort for a postseason bid.
 
Cal could make a case for itself, if it pulls off a feat it hasn't been able to since 2013 – a series win over Arizona. The No. 5/4 ranked Wildcats are currently undefeated in Pac-12 play and are riding a 20-game win streak, which includes 12 run-rule wins.
 
The legendary rivalry also bring two of the game's most seasoned and winningest coaches together again, with Cal's Diane Ninemire recording more than 1,300 wins in her 31 years at the helm and UA's Mike Candrea recently celebrating his 1,600th win.
 
The Bears trail in the all-time series 84-31, with their most recent victory in 2016. That note may be of import, as Cal downed Oregon in game 3 last weekend for the first time since 2016.
 
Game 1 is slated for a 3 p.m. (PT) start, while game 2 is scheduled for 1 p.m. (PT) and game 3 for noon.
 
The series will be streamed on Pac-12.com.
 
Bear Bidness

• Lindsay Rood's 68 hits leads the Pac-12 and ties for third in the nation. She also co-leads the conference with 15 doubles.
• Rood and teammate Destiny Blueford rank third in the Pac-12 with four triples, along with a pair of Stanford players
• Rood, who was named Pac-12 Player of the Week on March 12 after going 11-for-17 (.647) in Honolulu, currently ranks fifth in the Pac-12 with a .407 batting average. She continues to top the league with 29 steals in as many attempts
• Mikayla Coelho leads the Bears with seven home runs and her 27 walks ties for second in conference
• Freshman Makena Smith's 30 RBI lead the Bears, while her .315 batting average is third for Cal
• 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
• Senior ace Kamalani Dung (11-9) holds a 2.37 ERA which ranks eighth in the Pac-12 and has struck out 124 batters, seventh most in the league
• Freshman Alexandra Perez's 2.10 ERA ranks seventh in the league behind a 5-0 record in 12 appearances and 43.1 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
• Two of Cal's four victories in March 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 picked up their first victory against the Ducks since 2016, in a 5-3 showing in Eugene on April 20
• Cal's 4-1 win over OSU clipped a 10-game losing streak in conference play beginning on March 23-April 13
• Despite being swept by the No. 1 Bruins, Cal allowed just four runs in the first two games of the series, while UCLA went into the matchup averaging 7.15 runs per outing through the season
• Cal kept the top-ranked Bruins scoreless through 13 innings this series and held them 44 points (.304) under their season average (.348) heading into the weekend
• The Bears have done some of their best offensive work under pressure, recording 62 two-out RBIs so far this season, resulting in more than a quarter of their runs

vs. Arizona

• The Wildcats are currently 38-7 and 15-0 in the league
• Junior Reyna Carranco leads the Pac-12 with a .444 batting average and ranks second in the Pac-12 with 63 hits (tied for 16th nationally)
• Power hitter Jessie Harpers (.371 hitting percentage) leads the conference in runs scored (53), RBI (55) and home runs (21)
• UA is 8-5 against top-25 teams this season
• Over the last three series (nine games), the Wildcats have given up just seven runs

 
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