STANFORD, Calif. – The California softball team rallied from two four-run deficits on the way to a 12-11, eight-inning, victory over Miami (Ohio) to split the day at the DeMarini Classic on Saturday.    

The Bears (15-4) got a 6-for-7 day at the plate from Mika Lee in the two games and collected a season-high 17 hits as a team against the RedHawks.  

Game 1 – Villanova 6, Cal 2    
Villanova struck first in the opening frame, scoring four runs on a grand slam after a pair of hits and a walk off of starter Annabel Teperson. Cal went to Haylei Archer out of the bullpen and she was able to get out of the inning with a groundout.

The Bears started to fight back in the second, getting a run on a Lee RBI single and it was 4-1 heading to the home half. With the rain really starting to come down in the fourth the game entered a weather delay at 11:40 a.m. and restarted at 1:05 p.m. with Archer back in the circle.

The Wildcats were able to add to their lead after the restart, getting a clutch two-out, two-run double from leadoff hitter Tess Cites to make it 6-1 going to the fifth. Kacey Zobac came through with a two-out RBI single, making it 6-2, but Tatum Anzaldo got in a rundown between second and third on the play to end the frame.

Sona Halajian took over in the circle in the home fifth, her first appearance since Feb. 12 and retired seven of the eight batters she faced, but Cal wasn't able to mount a rally offensively.

Game 2 – Cal 12, Miami (Ohio) 11 (8)
Scoreless through two innings, Miami was the first on the scoreboard in the third after a single and stolen base led to a run on a two-out base hit to left off of Cal starter Anna Reimers.

The Bears found an answer right away in the home half with a two-out rally. Lee singled through the right side for her fourth base hit of the day and Zobac walked to put runners on first and second. Makena Smith made it count with a double down the line in left to score both runners and make it a 2-1 game.

Using a two-out rally of their own, the RedHawks put up five runs on three hits in the fourth. After a bases loaded walk, Karli Spaid hit a grand slam to center field, forcing the Bears to go to Halajian out of the bullpen to get the final out.

Trailing 6-2, Acacia Anders got a big Cal rally going in the bottom of the frame with a solo home run, making it a three-run game. With two down after a strikeout and groundout, Lee, Zobac and Halajian hit three straight doubles to bring the Bears within a run at 6-5. Butler followed with her second long ball of the weekend, another 2-run shot way out to left and it was 7-6, Cal, after four complete.  

Continuing the back-and-forth game, Miami used a solo shot in the fifth and a 3-run long ball in the sixth to make it 10-7 and added one more on a sacrifice fly foul out to left for a four-run advantage.

For the second time in the game, Cal rallied back from a four-run deficit, this time by chipping away with a pair of runs in both the sixth and seventh innings. Anders recorded a sacrifice fly and Anzaldo laced an RBI single up the middle as it was 11-9 after six, before Butler scored on a Miami throwing error and Saiki tied it with a sacrifice fly of her own.

Reimers was able to strand the RedHawk runner at third in the international tiebreaker, setting Lee up to be the hero in the bottom of the eighth. With Kennedy Thomas placed on second base to start the frame, she moved to third on an Anzaldo sacrifice bunt and scored when Lee powered one over the centerfielder's head for her sixth hit of the day and a walk off win for the Bears.

UP NEXT
Cal finishes play at the DeMarini Invitational on Sunday, March 5, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. against Villanova in the home-opener at Levine-Fricke Field.   

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