BERKELEY - After picking up three wins out of five games for the second straight week, the California softball team continues its string of three straight weeks of in-state tournaments this week with the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic from Feb. 21-23 at Big League Dreams Sports Park in Cathedral City, Calif.. Before the tournament, the Golden Bears will make a short trip on Wednesday to play Saint Mary's in Moraga at 2 p.m. 

Fans can watch the Mary Nutter Classic via FloSoftball by clicking here but it is a pay-by-subscription website. 
 
The Bears will be joined in the Mary Nutter Classic with 2019 NCAA Tournament squads Auburn and No. 18 Missouri, along with Nebraska and New Mexico. Wednesday will mark the third meeting this season between Cal and Saint Mary's with the Bears picking up two wins over the Gaels last weekend in Fresno.   

Through 10 games, Cal boasts three batters hitting .400 or better - Kacey Zobac (.429), Amani Bradley (.412) and Makena Smith (.400). Batting in the leadoff spot, Bradley started the campaign with an eight-game hitting streak and has hit safely in nine of the first 10 contests. A true freshman, Zobac slugged her first career home run in the second game of the year, and followed that with a .571 average in last weekend's tournament at Fresno State. Cal's RBI leader in 2019, Smith heads to Moraga riding a five-game hitting streak, having hit safely in every game last weekend. The 2019 Pac-12 All-Freshman Team selection enjoyed a three-hit game against Michigan State during the Florida International Tournament. She and Bradley are the only Bears to start every game this season.  

One of the youngest teams in the country, Zobac is one of 10 true freshmen for the Bears in 2020. In Cal's game against Fresno State last Saturday, Smith was the only non-freshman in the infield. Smith was at first base, and the rest of the Bears' infield consisted of true freshmen - Kennedy Thomas at shortstop, Kacey Zobac at catcher, D'Asha Saiki at second and Sophie Medellin/Nicole Hammoude at third. 

Zobac wasn't the only newcomer to contribute during the first two weeks. Saiki hasn't shown any freshman jitters at the plate. In Cal's 8-0 win over Fordham last week, she collected five RBI, which ties for a Pac-12 game high. Thomas paces her squad with a .469 on-base percentage. The shortstop ranks second in the Pac-12 with nine walks.   
 
Losing three of its four pitchers from last season to graduation, junior transfer (Texas) Chloe Romero carried the load last weekend, compiling 21 and two-thirds innings of work in Fresno. Romero picked up two of Cal's wins, posting an ERA of 1.62, which lowered her season ERA to 2.89. She threw a complete-game shutout in Cal's first game in Fresno against Saint Mary's, striking out seven Gaels in the five-inning contest. She threw another complete game against SMC, this time going the full seven innings in the Bears' 5-2 victory. She ranks eighth in the Pac-12 in innings pitched (26.1) while fellow starting pitcher Alexandra Perez ranks third (36.1).   

The Bears remain in California next week for the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton from Feb. 27-March 1. Cal will be joined by Cal State Fullerton, LSU, BYU and Grand Canyon University in Orange County. Cal will close out nonconference tournament play the following week at the JMU Dukes Invitational from March 6-8 in Harrisonburg, Va.
 
Cal All-Time Against The Tournament Field
• Cal will face four opponents once each at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic - Auburn, Missouri, Nebraska and New Mexico. Auburn and Missouri were both NCAA Tournament teams a year ago, and the Tigers are currently ranked No. 18 in the NFCA poll.  
• Cal is winless in three meetings against Auburn, with the last meeting taking place in 2017. The Bears own a winning record all-time against Missouri at 5-2, but the most-recent meeting in 2016 went the Tigers' way, 6-5, in eight innings. Cal and Nebraska have an even all-time record at 15-15. The Bears beat the Cornhuskers, 2-0, in 2017. Cal is enjoying a 4-1 all-time record against New Mexico, including an 8-1 win in 2014.  
• The Bears have consistently dominated the series with Saint Mary's taking an all-time record of 63-2 against the Gaels into their meeting in Moraga on Wednesday. It will be the third meeting of 2020 between Cal and SMC after the Bears defeated the Gaels, 9-0 in five innings and 5-2, in Fresno last weekend. 

Last Week At The Fresno State Kickoff Invitational
The Bears went 3-2 at last weekend's Fresno State Kickoff Invitational at Margie Wright Diamond. Cal opened the tournament winning its first three, including two 5-inning mercy-rule victories over Saint Mary's and Fordham. The second win over the Gaels gave the Bears a five-game winning streak, and a run differential of 35-7 in those games. The Bears then fell to host Fresno State, 9-3, before leaving Fresno with a 5-2 loss to Cal Poly. For the tournament, Kacey Zobac hit .571 in three of the five games played. In addition, four other Bears hit .400 or better including fellow freshmen D'Asha Saiki (.429) and Candace Yingling (.400). Saiki was the hero in Cal's win over Fordham. She slugged three hits, including a double, and collected five RBI on the day.   

Smith Enjoying A Five-Game Hitting Streak, Nine Of 10 For Bradley
Cal's All-Pac-12 Freshman Team selection a year ago, Makena Smith hit safely in every game in the Fresno State Kickoff Invitational last week. Her .471 batting average was second on the team after Kacey Zobac's .571. Smith finished 8-for-17 with a double and three RBI, She also stole two bases. On the year, Smith's .400 batting average ranks third on the team after Zobac and Amani Bradley. 
Cal's leadoff hitter, Bradley has hit safely in nine of 10 games this season, and posted an eight-game hitting streak to start the season. Her .412 batting average and .459 on-base percentage rank second on the team. She and Smith are the only two Bears to start every game in 2020. 

Freshmen Make Their Presence Felt 
Cal's infield against Fresno State last Saturday featured all true freshmen in the infield except Makena Smith at first base. The rookies have been contributing through the first two weeks of the season. In Fresno, three of the five Bears who hit .400 or higher were freshmen - Kacey Zobac, D'Asha Saiki and Candace Yingling - and Zobac paced her squad with a .571 batting average. Zobac's .429 batting average on the year also tops her team. Zobac is also enjoying a seven-game hitting streak, and she's hit safely in every game she's started in 2020. Shortstop Kennedy Thomas leads the team in on-base percentage on the year at .469, and ranks second in the Pac-12 in walks with nine. Yingling started the year 3-for-3 at the plate with a sacrifice fly and earned her first career start in Cal's most-recent game vs. Cal Poly.  
 
Romero Logs 21-Plus Innings In Fresno 
With two pitchers carrying the load for the Bears through the season's first two weeks, it was Chloe Romero who posted 21 and two-thirds innings of work in Fresno last week. Romero picked up two of Cal's wins, posting an ERA of 1.62, which lowered her season ERA to 2.89. She picked up two complete games, one a five-inning shutout in Cal's 9-0 win over Saint Mary's, and the other a 5-2 win over the Gaels. Romero struck out a season-high seven batters in the shutout win over SMC. The other starting pitcher, Alexandra Perez, picked up one win over the weekend and her ERA on the season stands at 2.92. The duo combined for 22 strikeouts over the course of the weekend. In the two games combined on the first day against Saint Mary's and Fordham, the Bears' pitching between Perez and Romero allowed just two hits while striking out 15 batters. Romero ranks eighth in the Pac-12 in innings pitched (26.1), while Perez ranks third (36.1). After totaling 45 innings of work as a freshman in 2019, Perez logged 28 innings at the Felsberg Invitational in the first week of the season. Perez went 3-1, posting an ERA of 2.00 along with 11 strikeouts at the Florida International tournament.