BERKELEY – The California softball team is set to open the NCAA Tournament at the Norman Regional on Friday-Sunday at Marita Hynes Field in Norman, Oklahoma.
 
After falling in Friday's opener to Missouri, the Bears begin play on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. PT against Hofstra. With a victory, Cal will face the loser of the game between No. 1 Oklahoma and Missouri scheduled for noon PT on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. PT. 
 
The winner of Saturday's final game will take on the winner of the day's first game on Sunday (11 a.m. PT) with an if-necessary rematch scheduled for later on Sunday.
 
TOURNAMENT LINEUP

• Teams: Cal (33-20-1) vs. Hofstra (29-26) | No. 1 Oklahoma (52-1) vs. Missouri (35-24)
• Location: Marita Hynes Field | Norman, Oklahoma
• First pitch: Saturday, 2:30 p.m. PT

HOW TO FOLLOW

• Saturday: Live Stats | ESPN+

SERIES AT A GLANCE

• California leads the all-time series with Missouri, 5-3, but the Tigers won the most recent matchup 11-7 at the Mary Nutter Classic in 2020.
• The Bears are 11-7 vs. Oklahoma with the Sooners winning 8-0 (5) last season in Hawai'i. Cal has faced Hofstra three times, winning all of them, including most recently a 15-2 decision in 2002.     

QUICK HITS

• The Bears check in at No. 29 in this week's NCAA RPI ratings after reaching No. 20 in March, their highest standing since the 2018 season. Cal has been in the top 30 in the RPI for eight straight weeks.
• California entered a national poll in April for the first time since the 2018 season, checking in at No. 25 in the D1Softball rankings. The Bears are receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Today poll.
• Makena Smith was selected with the 15th pick in the Women's Pro Fastpitch draft on April 17 by the Smash It Sports Vipers out of Oxford, Alabama. Smith was the fourth Pac-12 player selected and one of five total student-athletes from the conference.
• Smith etched her name into the record books on April 19 during Cal's 9-8, 13-inning, comeback win vs. Santa Clara. The Murrieta, California, native moved into fifth place on the Bears' career RBI list with 154, passing Melanie McCart (153, 1994-97). Smith is sitting at 159 career RBI, seven short of tying Danielle Henderson (166, 2012-15) for fourth place.
• Further cementing her Cal legacy, Smith passed Lindsey Ziegenhirt (42, 2010-13) in career home runs with her 43rd long ball on April 30 vs. Oregon. She is now four homers away from tying Haley Woods (48, 2003-06) for fourth all-time after hitting her 14^th of the year and 44^th of her career on May 6 at Arizona.
• Cal's 9-8, 13-inning victory vs. Santa Clara was its longest game since a 1-0, 12-inning loss to Stanford in 2010.
• The Bears scored two runs off of Stanford ace NiJaree Canady in the Big Series on April 21-23. The freshman came into the series leading the nation with a 0.12 ERA and had allowed just one run all season in 58 innings pitched.  
• Elon Butler was named the Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Week on April 3 after hitting .500 with five RBI, two home runs and a double in the series against then-No. 24 Utah. Butler blasted a 3-run shot in the third inning and a solo shot in the sixth frame that turned out to be the game-winner in Cal's series-clinching win over the Utes.   
• Cal took down then-No. 2 UCLA on March 11 in an 8-0 run-rule victory in five innings for its first win over a top-5 team since the 2012 season, when the Bears swept No. 3 Washington in three games March 30-April 2 in Berkeley.
• The Bears finished atop the Pac-12 in both home runs and doubles this season. Cal crushed 67 long balls to rank 17th in the NCAA and is 34th nationally with 78 doubles.
• Cal's 67 home runs are second on the team single-season record list, passing last year's 57 home runs (fourth) and 2013's 64 home runs as a team (third). The school single-season record is 84 in 2012.
• The Bears' 78 doubles are second on the team single-season record list, two short of tying the program record (80).
• With 1.26 home runs per game, Cal ranks 17th in the country and leads the Pac-12.
• Cal's 151 extra-base hits (67 HR, 78 2B, 6 3B) were the most in the Pac-12 with UCLA (146) in second and Arizona/Washington (136) tied for third.
• Cal has seven players with at least five home runs - Smith (14), Kacey Zobac (9), Butler (9), Sophie Medellin (8), Acacia Anders (6), Tianna Bell (5) and Sona Halajian (5).
• Smith tied for fifth in the Pac-12 with 13 doubles, one shy of a five-way tie for first, and tied for third with 14 home runs. Her .691 SLG is fifth in the conference.
• Zobac's .467 OBP is eighth in the conference; she finished in a seven-way tie for sixth in the Pac-12 with 12 doubles and was second with 31 walks.
• Tatum Anzaldo has been on a tear since returning to the lineup on March 3 against Miami (Ohio), going 49-for-123 (.398).
• Anzaldo finished tied for the Pac-12 lead with 32 hits in conference games.
• Anzaldo (.390), Smith (.352), Zobac (.338) and Mika Lee (.327) are all above .300 to lead the Bears offensively.   

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