BERKELEY – The California softball team opens play at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional vs. Southern Illinois on Friday at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
 
The Golden Bears and Salukis are set for a 9 a.m. PT first pitch on ESPN+ with Kevin Fitzgerald and Aleshia Ocasio on the call.
 
No. 9 national seed and regional host LSU will face Jackson State in the second game of the day on Friday at 11:30 a.m. PT on the SEC Network. Friday's winners will square off in the first of three games on Saturday at 10 a.m. PT, while Friday's losing teams will face off in an elimination game for game two (12:30 p.m. PT) of Saturday's tripleheader.
 
The loser of Saturday's first game will take on the winner of the day's second game in an elimination game later on Saturday at 3 p.m. PT. The winner of Saturday's final game will battle the winner of the day's first game on Sunday (11 a.m. PT) with an if-necessary rematch scheduled for 1:30 p.m. PT on Sunday.  
 
REGIONAL LINEUP

• Teams: Cal (36-17) vs. Southern Illinois (42-9), No. 9 LSU (40-15), Jackson State (33-17)
• Location: Tiger Park | Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• First pitch: Friday: 9 a.m. PT

HOW TO FOLLOW

• Friday: Live Stats | ESPN+

SERIES AT A GLANCE

• This will be the fourth matchup all-time between Cal and Southern Illinois. The Bears lead the series 3-0 with the last game coming on March 12, 2006, a 9-0 victory. Cal is 8-3 all-time vs. LSU with the last matchup being a 5-1 loss on Feb. 28, 2020. The Bears and Jackson State have never faced off on the softball field.    

QUICK HITS

• The Bears earned seven all-conference honors on May 7, the most for the program since the 2014 season.
• Tatum Anzaldo became the first Cal player to receive three straight First Team all-conference honors since Jolene Henderson (2011-13).
• Lagi Quiroga was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week on May 6 after hitting .500 with a home run in each game during Cal's series win over Oregon State to close out the regular season.
• Quiroga and Elon Butler tied for the conference home run crown with 16 home runs each, and sit in a four-way tie for fifth on the Cal single season all-time list.  
• Cal's 77 home runs (1.45 per game) led the conference and are 11th nationally. The school record for long balls in a season is 84 in 2012.
• The Bears are among the top three in the Pac-12 in several other offensive categories, including runs (281, 3rd), hits (431, 3rd), doubles (83, 1st), RBI (254, 3rd) and extra-base hits (164, 1st).
• Anzaldo is on a tear as of late, hitting .489 in the last 25 games with 43 hits, three home runs, nine doubles and 15 RBI. She has at least one hit in 27 of the last 31 games and has reached base in 46 of the 51 games she has played.
• Anzaldo reached a career milestone on April 17 at Fresno State, notching her 200th career base hit. The senior from Whittier also set a new career best with four base hits in the game (4-for-4).
• The Bears check in at No. 22 in the final NCAA RPI of the season. Cal was No. 9 in the initial rankings, its highest since reaching No. 2 in 2012.
• Cal is ranked No. 19 in the most recent NFCA poll and No. 24 by D1 Softball, while the Bears are receiving votes in the USA Softball and the Softball America rankings.
• Acacia Anders became the second Golden Bear to win Pac-12 Player of the Week honors this season March 25 after hitting .500 (8-for-16), collecting two home runs and three doubles to go with six RBI. Her two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning vs. then-No. 21 Arizona ignited then-No. 19 Cal's comeback from five runs down to take a 7-6 win in nine innings. The Vacaville native hit another two-run shot in the sixth inning the next day, extending Cal's lead to 8-4 as the Bears hung on for an 8-7 victory to secure the series. Anders scored five runs and tallied a .529 on base percentage with a 1.063 slugging percentage.
• Anders has 18 doubles to top the Pac-12, tying the single-season program record. Her 40 RBI are tied for seventh in the conference.
• Butler was named Cal's first Pac-12 Player of the Week this season Feb. 20 after a standout performance during the Golden Bears' undefeated weekend at the Littlewood Classic. Butler hit .600 (9-for-15) in Cal's five victories, collecting two home runs and two doubles to go with seven RBI. Her two-run homer tied the game against then-No. 17/21 Virginia Tech as the Bears went on to a 6-5, eight-inning victory over the Hokies.  
• Butler's .771 slugging percentage is third in the Pac-12. 
• Cal finished with a trio of players in the top nine of the conference in home runs as Tianna Bell finished tied for ninth with 12.  

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