Softball Opens 2020 Season At Felsberg Invitational In Miami

Thursday, February 6

Miami, FL

2:00 PM

California

FIU

Mikayla Coelho Paced Cal In Homers And Walk In 2019

Softball Opens 2020 Season At Felsberg Invitational In Miami

2/3/2020 5:44 PM | Softball

Game Notes Live Stats

The Bears Will Play Five Games In Four Days

By: Cal Athletics

BERKELEY - Promising youth mixed in with some reliable upperclassmen make up the recipe for the California softball team when the Golden Bears begin the 2020 campaign at the Felsberg Invitational from Feb. 6-9 hosted by Florida International. Michigan State, Penn State and Syracuse will also join the Bears in the Sunshine State. Cal opens the season on Thursday, Feb. 6, against FIU at 5 pm ET, 2 pm PT.

More information on live stats and video live streams will be announced later this week.

"They're all high-quality teams," head coach Diane Ninemire said. "They're going to be challenging. Us being an unknown, nobody will know much about our team for a long time, and that will be a good thing for us."

One of the youngest teams in the country, Cal boasts 11 newcomers in 2020, including 10 true freshmen. Junior pitcher Chloe Romero transferred to Cal after spending her freshman season at the University of Texas.

Returning in 2020 is sophomore Makena Smith who enjoyed a breakout rookie season that ended with her being named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. Ninemire projects Smith to bat in the leadoff spot and hopefully provide a spark for the Bears' offense.

Other key contributors in the batting order will be center field Amani Bradley and outfielder Mikayla Coelho, who paced her squad in home runs (8) and walks (27) a year ago. Ninemire has been impressed with true freshman Aleia Agbayani thus far, and she is confident Agbayani can contribute in center field. Stalwarts Sabrina Nunez and Jordan Fines will round out the outfield.

Smith will play catcher and first base, and she'll be joined by a familiar face in the infield in junior Karlee Sparacino. After primarily playing third base last year, Sparacino will move over to second in 2020. Ninemire is counting on Sparacino's athleticism and strong bat. Rounding out the infield will be freshman Sophie Medellin at third, freshman Nicole Hammoude at shortstop and freshman Candace Yingling at first when Smith is catching. Ninemire said Kennedy Thomas has looked solid at catcher, as well, while Kacey Zobac can go behind the dish or play outfield, and Lauren Espalin can catch or provide a strong bat as a designated player.

Losing three of their four pitchers from last season to graduation, freshman Sona Halajian is projected to be the Bears' top starting pitcher to begin the year. She'll be joined by Romero, fellow freshman Maggie Joseph and the lone returning pitcher Alexandra Perez. Ninemire has been impressed with the work Perez has put in during the offseason.

According the Ninemire, a big factor in Cal's success this season will be how well the Bears play defense and how well the pitchers fare in the circle. At the plate, Ninemire wants to see her Bears be aggressive and not wait until they're in a two-strike count before they lock in.

Despite half the roster being new, Ninemire and the rest of her coaching staff are looking forward to the depth they have. To them, it's not a matter of having a large number of utility players on the bench but rather watching all of them compete for spots in the lineup. There will be a lot of early shuffling around with lineups and positions to see how things shake up. Ninemire is looking forward to having quality bats on the bench.

Cal All-Time Against The Tournament Field
Cal will face four opponents in five games at the Felsberg Invitational - host Florida International, Michigan State, Penn State and Syracuse. The Bears will face the Nittany Lions twice over the course of the four days.
History will be on the Bears' side in this tournament as they are a combined 26-2 against their opponents this weekend. Cal will meet Florida International in the season opener, and the Bears are 5-0 all-time against FIU with the last meeting taking place in 2012.
The most-recent meeting for Cal against the field was a 2013 meeting against Syracuse, a 8-1 loss to the Orange, the only time the Bears have been defeated by Syracuse in school history.

Last Year's Season-Opening Tournament
The Bears got off to a strong start to the 2019 campaign, opening the season at the Ragin' Cajuns Classic in Louisiana. Cal won the first three games of the tournament by a combined score of 20-1. The Bears finished the tournament 3-2 with a wins over Fordham, Incarnate Word and Texas A&M Corpus Christi before falling to host Louisiana-Lafayette twice.
Playing in her first collegiate game in the Blue and Gold, Makena Smith blasted her first home run in the fourth inning, part of a five-run frame for the Bears en route to a 9-0 shutout win over Fordham.

Sophomore Smith Seeks Strong Second Season
After a breakout freshman season in 2019, including being named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team, sophomore Makena Smith returns in 2020 as one of the Bears' leaders. Likely to begin the season atop the batting order, Smith will once again see time behind the plate and at first base.
Last year, Smith ranked 18th in the conference in RBI with a team-best 37. She recorded the second-highest on-base percentage on the team at .408 and the third-highest batting average on the team at .315. As a rookie, Smith started all 55 games rotating between catcher and first base with a .987 fielding percentage. The native of Murietta, Calif. finished the season tied for second on the team in home runs with 5, and she also paced her squad with 52 hits, 29 runs and four doubles.

Lots Of New Faces
Cal boasts 21 players on its roster in 2020, more than half of them are playing their first season in Berkeley - 10 true freshman and one transfer. The transfer is Chloe Romero, a pitcher who transferred to Cal after playing last season at Texas.
Seven of the true freshmen are California natives - infielder Nicole Hammoude (Oakland), catcher Kennedy Thomas (Elk Grove), infielder Candace Yingling (Temecula), infielder Sophie Medellin (Santa Clarita), infielder Tatum Anzaldo (Whittier), catcher Kacey Zobac (San Jose) and pitcher Sona Halajian (San Anselmo).
The three non-California natives are catcher Maggie Joseph (Sparks, Nev.) and two natives of Mililani, Hawaii, infielder D'Asha Saiki and infielder/outfielder Aleia Agbayani.

Mikayla Looks To Mash Again
Junior Mikayla Coelho returns as one of the Bears' long ball threats. After leading Cal in homers and RBIs as a freshman, the first freshman to do so since Veronica Nelson in 2000. Coelho once again topped the Cal chart in homers in 2019 with eight along with a team-best 27 walks, also good for 11th in the Pac-12. The native of Tracy, Calif., also finished second on the team in runs (32) and RBI (29). She completed her sophomore year with a .262 batting average, 39 hits and seven doubles.

Arioto Headed To The Olympics
Former California softball player Valerie Arioto was named to the 2020 U.S. Olympic Softball Team, as announced in October by USA Softball. Arioto represents one of 15 athletes selected to represent Team USA in softball at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Arioto garnered All-America honors three times in her career, as well as being named the Pac-12 Player of the Year as a senior in 2012. A three-time all-conference first-team selection, she advanced to USA Softball's Top-3 watch list for Player of the Year in 2012, as well. She also received the Tom Hansen Conference Medal and the Lowe's Senior Class award. Softball is returning to the Olympic Games after it was last contested in 2008. The Tokyo Games kick off July 24, 2020 and will conclude August 9, 2020. Softball competition is slated to run July 22-28, and will be held at Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium and Yokohama Baseball Stadium.

Golden Heart
Senior utility player and team captain Jordan Fines enjoyed a breakout season in 2019. The Elk Grove native appeared in 46 games with 43 starts as the Bears' most versatile utility player rotating in both the infield and the outfield. She recorded a .264 batting average, 23 runs, 32 hits, two doubles and 18 RBI on the year. She boasted the productive season after being diagnosed with Lyme disease. Also with a heart for people, she started the Golden Girls organization at Cal Athletics, to connect, empower and support the female student-athletes at Cal. She hosts multiple meetings monthly where student-athletes discuss topics unique to their experience as women in sport and also hold community service events and attend competitions across the 30 Cal sports to unite the student-athlete population. Fines also initiated a pay-it-forward service day, where she and some of her teammates gifted care packages to homeless victims in Berkeley.
Fines is multi-annually involved in feeds organized by her aunt that give homemade holiday meals to the less fortunate all across Sacramento County. Fines has carried this tradition to her surrounding community in Oakland and Berkeley with the help of some teammates and members of the Cal Football team. Collectively, the squad has fed approximately 200 people in the Berkeley area over the past three years with the help of friends and family.
Fines is a sociology major and will earn her bachelor's degree from Cal this spring. After graduation, she will work with Teach For America in the California Capital Valley and has been assigned to teach elementary school - all subjects. Simultaneously, she will be working towards her master's in education from Loyola Marymount University. Regularly mentoring elementary school students, Fines aspires to be a principal.

Anderson, Ninemire Inducted Into Cal Athletic Hall Of Fame
California head coach Diane Ninemire and former Golden Bears' pitcher Kelly Anderson (2002-05) were inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, part of the 34th class of inductees.
As Cal's ace in 2005, Anderson led Cal to a Pac-10 championship, tallying 28 of the Bears' 52 wins that season. A three-time All-Pac-10 selection, she ranks second all-time at Cal with seven no-hitters in her career. Anderson was a member of Cal's 2002 Women's College World Series championship team and helped the Bears to three more appearances in Oklahoma City, including the NCAA final in both 2003 and '04 when she was named to the WCWS All-Tournament teams. Off the diamond, Anderson claimed 2004 and '05 Pac-10 All-Academic first-team honors and was a 2003 second-team selection.
The winningest coach in Cal history for any sport, Ninemire has guided the Cal softball team for 32 years and accumulated 1,345 victories during her career. She has guided Cal to 30 trips to the NCAA Tournament, qualifying for the Women's College World Series 12 times and winning the national title in 2002 – the first NCAA team championship for a women's sport at Cal. During one remarkable stretch, she led Cal to seven consecutive trips to the WCWS, including three straight appearances in the NCAA title game (2002-04). Ninemire has mentored 19 players to All-America status and more than 160 All-Pac-12 performers. She was voted the 1991 and 2012 Pac-12 Coach of the Year and inducted into the NFCA Hall of Fame in 2009.

The Doctor Is In
Last summer, Cal announced the hiring of three-time collegiate Division II All-American pitcher Dr. Megan Brown as the new assistant coach for pitching. Brown, who played at Florida Southern College from 2003-07, will work with the Golden Bears' young pitching staff, including returner Alexandra Perez. Brown brings nearly a decade of coaching experience at all levels to the program including time as an international coach. Brown has also coached overseas, spending four years in London as the pitching coach for the Great Britain Women's National Team. She earned her PhD in kinesiology at Auburn in 2013, while also working as a private instructor.

One More Season At Levine-Fricke Field
Cal softball will soon have a new stadium to call home under a plan announced by Chancellor Christ in the summer of 2018. Demolition of the site was originally expected to begin in the fall of 2019, with the Golden Bears moving into their facility for the 2021 season. However, several factors contributed to the decision to delay construction until the conclusion of the 2020 season, primarily design changes to accommodate the necessary program elements and to fit within the aesthetics of Strawberry Canyon. The project also needed to secure additional funding to support these changes, provide sufficient time for design and environmental reviews and not disrupt the season by breaking ground after the competitive year begins.
Located on the current site of Levine-Fricke Field, once completed, the new stadium will include expanded permanent seating for 1,500 fans, covered batting cages, locker rooms, a video board, restrooms, field lighting and an elevated press box, among other amenities. The facility will be configured to meet current field dimension standards, allowing Cal the ability to host NCAA postseason games.

Next Up
Following the initial tournament in Florida this week, the Bears return to California for the next three tournaments starting with the Fresno State Invitational against the Bulldogs, Saint Mary's, Fordham and Cal Poly. The tournament goes from Feb. 14-16. The following two in-state tournaments are the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs and the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton. Sandwiched between the tournaments is a contest at Saint Mary's on Feb. 19.