BERKELEY – Despite the sun peeking through after some brief afternoon rainfall in Strawberry Canyon, the day concluded grimly for California as it opened its fourth Pac-12 series of the season with a loss at the hands of a visiting No. 16 Washington on Friday.
 
The Golden Bears (21-16, 1-8 Pac-12) were silenced at home to begin their weekend series, falling to the Huskies 8-0.
 
The Cal defense struggled early behind senior ace Zoe Conley, committing two errors that helped put the Huskies (30-6, 7-3 Pac-12) up 3-0 in the second. Washington tagged on an additional two runs in the fifth and three in the sixth that sealed the early victory.
 
Conley finished the afternoon with six strikeouts, allowing nine hits and four walks in the six-inning effort at Levine-Fricke Field.
 
The Bears' offense struggled as well, finishing the game with four hits. Utility player Jordan Fines, who moved into the infield from right during game 2 versus No. 1 UCLA, singled on a grounder to second for the team's first hit in the third, while Makenna Smith followed with a base-hit in the bottom of the fifth.
 
Sophomores Mikayla Coehlo and Lauren Espalin both laced a pair of singles with two outs in the sixth, but Cal was unable to sustain any momentum.
 
Cal clipped a six-game losing streak with a midweek win at home against the Pacific Tigers, but momentum from the 5-1 victory appeared to be short-lived.
Errors continue to plague the Bears as four runs were brought in on defensive mishaps Friday. Cal has now recorded errors in five of its last six league games.
 
The series continues on Saturday at 1 p.m. (PT) with live stream available on Pac-12.com.
 
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