The California softball team (15-4) will face off against UC Davis on Wednesday before opening its home slate against Boston College for a three-game set to begin Atlantic Coast Conference play Friday.
 
The Golden Bears will look to build on their nine-game win streak beginning with the Aggies, before hosting their first-ever ACC series against the Eagles on Friday through Sunday.
 
ON DECK
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5
UC Davis | La Rue Field | Davis, Calif.
 
FRIDAY, MARCH 7 – SUNDAY, MARCH 9
Boston College | Levine-Fricke Field | Berkeley, Calif.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
UC Davis: March 2 | 2 PM PT | Live Stats | Live Stream: N/A
Boston College: March 7-9 | 2 PM PT/2 PM PT/12 PM PT | Live Stats | Live Stream: ACCNX/ESPN+
 
BY THE NUMBERS
4 – Cal has hit four home runs on two occasions this season, Minnesota (Feb. 7) and Maryland (Feb. 8).
 
4 – Four players are hitting at a .300 clip or better with at least 30 at-bats: Elon Butler (.448), Lagi Quiroga (.339), Mia Phillips (.396), Tianna Bell (.302).
 
5 - Cal has tallied five run-rule victories this season, including three straight between Feb. 22-28.
 
5 – Cal is ranked fifth in the conference in batting average (.339).
 
6 – Mia Phillips ranks sixth in the NCAA in triples (4).
 
6 – Pitcher Miranda De Nava has earned a team-high six wins in her freshman campaign.
 
6 – Six players have tallied at least 10 RBIs on the season: Elon Butler (18), Mia Phillips (14), Tianna Bell (14), Lagi Quiroga (13), Kaylee Pond (11), Acacia Anders (10).
 
15 – The Bears recorded a season-high 15 runs in their Feb. 23 contest against Northwestern.
 
16 – Cal ranks 16th in the NCAA in sacrifice flies (10).
 
23 – Pitchers Ryan Orange and Miranda De Nava have each recorded 23 strikeouts, marking a team high.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Cal holds the advantage in the all-time series against UC Davis (34-7) and won the only meeting between Boston College in a 9-3 on March 7, 2008. It will be the first meeting in 17 years and marks the first-ever ACC conference series in program history for the Bears.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Cal swept the weekend competition at the Fresno State Invitational last weekend, defeating Southern Utah (8-0, 6-0), Fresno State (9-8, 7-2) and Cal State Bakersfield (9-0). During the event, the Bears accumulated 50 hits, 39 runs, 34 RBIs, 16 stolen bases, 11 doubles, four home runs, three shutouts, two triples and two run-rule victories. Eight different Bears hit .400 or better, led by a stellar weekend from Elon Butler, who secured a batting average of .647 (11-of-17) with eight RBIs, four stolen bases and two home runs.
 
CONFERENCE HONORS
On Feb. 26, Acacia Anders was named the ACC Player of the Week 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 had recorded a hit in seven consecutive games at the time.
 
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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