The California softball team (10-4) will travel to Fresno to conclude its early season tournament play at the Fresno State Invitational, beginning on Friday.
 
The Golden Bears will play five games in three days, beginning with Southern Utah and Fresno State on Friday. Cal will also take on Cal State Bakersfield and Fresno State on Saturday before closing the weekend against Southern Utah on Sunday.
 
ON DECK
FRIDAY, FEB. 28 – SUNDAY, MARCH 2
Fresno State Invitational | Margie Wright Diamond | Fresno, Calif.
Opponents: Southern Utah, Fresno State, Cal State Bakersfield
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
Southern Utah: Feb. 28 & March 3 | 10:00 AM, 9:30 AM PT | Live Stats | Live Stream: N/A
Fresno State: Feb. 28 & March 1 | 3 PM PT | Live Stats | Live Stream: N/A
Cal State Bakersfield: March 1 | 10 AM PT | Live Stats | Live Stream: N/A
 
BY THE NUMBERS
1 – Kaylee Pond is tied for first in the NCAA in sacrifice flies (4)
 
3 - Cal has tallied three run-rule victories this season, including two straight in walk-off fashion.
 
4 – Cal has won its last four outings: Washington (6-4), Seattle (4-2), LMU (8-0), Washington (15-7).
 
6 – Mia Phillips ranks sixth in the NCAA in triples (3).
 
6 – Through three weeks of the season, six players are hitting at a .300 clip or better with at least 20 at-bats: Acacia Anders (.458), Alyssa Herrera (.412), Lagi Quiroga (.372), Mia Phillips (.368), Elon Butler (.366) and Mika Lee (.343).
 
10 – Three players have tallied at least 10 RBIs on the season: Lagi Quiroga (10), Elon Butler (10) and Kaylee Pond (10).
 
14 – Cal ranks 14th in the NCAA sacrifice flies (8).
 
21 – Cal ranks 21st in the NCAA in home runs (17).
 
SERIES HISTORY
Cal holds the advantage in the all-time series against Southern Utah (1-0) and Cal State Bakersfield (1-0) while Fresno State (66-54) leads the all-time series against the Bears.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Cal went 4-2 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City last weekend, dropping the first two games to then-No. 19 Oregon (4-5) and Cal State Fullerton (4-7), followed by four straight wins against Washington (6-4), Seattle (4-2), LMU (8-0) and Northwestern (15-7).
 
CONFERENCE HONORS
Acacia Anders was named the ACC Player of the Week on Wednesday after a stellar performance at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. At the event, Anders hit at a .625 (10-for-16) clip with six RBIs, collecting five runs, four doubles and two walks while totaling a .875 slugging percentage. In two of the last three games against LMU and Northwestern, she recorded three hits and has recorded a hit in seven consecutive games.
 
PRESEASON HONORS
Junior Elon Butler and senior Acacia Anders piled up several preseason accolades. Butler (No. 29) and Anders (No. 33) were named on the Softball America Preseason Top 100 and both received Softball America Preseason All-American honors. Butler made D1Softball's Preseason Top 100 list (No. 35), while both were ranked in the top 15 in their respective position rankings – Butler was the No. 3 second baseman while Anders was the No. 13 shortstop. Butler was also selected to the 2025 Softball Preseason All-ACC Team.
 
START OF NEW ERA
The University of California, Berkeley, announced Sept. 1 that its athletic department was joining the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. With that, the Bears began their inaugural season in the ACC and were picked to finish sixth in the league by the conference's coaches, earning 130 points in the preseason poll.
 
Duke was the favorite with 193 points and 11 first-place votes, followed by Florida State with 183 points and four first-place votes. Virginia Tech (165), Stanford (143) and Virginia (140) rounded out the top five.
 
In the NFCA/GoRout Softball Preseason Poll, Duke led the conference at No. 7, followed by Florida State (No. 9), Virginia Tech (No. 17), Stanford (No.18) and Clemson (No. 25).
 
FAMILIAR FACES
Cal has a slew of returning starters who were key to the success of last year's team, including a pair of All-American honorees. Elon Butler earned NFCA Second-Team All-American honors while Lagi Quiroga received Softball America Freshman All-American recognition. The group of Tianna Bell, Mika Lee, Kaylee Pond, Acacia Anders, Butler and Quiroga combined for 65 home runs, 185 runs, 199 RBIs and 299 hits, which accounted for nearly 63 percent of the offensive production from a year ago.


WELCOME TO BERKELEY
The Bears welcome seven newcomers this season, including six freshmen: Harmony Andrade (Surprise, Arizona/Willow HS), Kayli Counts (Garden Grove/Pacifica HS), Kayla Mashhoud (Northridge/Notre Dame HS), Mia Phillips (San Jose/Hollister HS), Miranda Temple (Riverbank/Central Catholic HS) and Miranda De Nava (Riverside/Riverside Polytechnic HS), along with Xiomei Geluz, a junior transfer from Long Beach City College. On Jan. 14, Andrade and De Nava were named to Softball America's Freshman Watch List.
 
STAY POSTED
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