NORMAN, Okla. – The California softball team (37-20) advances to the Norman Regional Final after splitting a pair of games on Saturday at Love's Field.
The Golden Bears fell to the No. 2 Oklahoma (47-7), 11-2, in the first game of the day but responded with a 4-0 victory against Omaha (40-13) at the end of the day.
Acacia Anders had an impressive day after hitting 4-of-6 with two RBIs and one home run while
Kaylee Pond went 3-for-6 with one home run.
Game 1: Cal – 2 | No. 2 Oklahoma - 11
The Sooners struck first in the bottom of the first inning behind the bat of Kasidi Pickering, who sent a home run over the left-field wall to take an early 1-0 advantage.
Kaylee Pond wasted no time in the second inning after launching a 215-foot home run, her fifth of the season, off the right-field foul pole to even things up.
Sooners responded with four runs in the bottom half of the second, including three consecutive RBI base hits, to take a 5-1 lead.
The Bears added another run to the scoreboard in the third inning after
Acacia Anders found the gap in left field for an RBI single to chip away at the deficit.
The Sooners continued to pull away in the fourth after scoring six runs off two home runs to increase their lead to 11-2 en route to a run-rule victory.
Cal struggled to take advantage of its opportunities after leaving seven base runners stranded.
Game 2: Cal – 4 | Omaha – 0
Acacia Anders got off to a hot start with a solo home run, seventh of the season, in her first appearance at the plate to give the Bears an early 1-0 advantage heading into the second inning.
In the fourth,
Mia Phillips added another run on the scoreboard with a base hit up the middle to bring Pond across home plate to give Cal a 2-0 lead.
After an hour and five-minute weather delay in the fifth inning,
Lagi Quiroga shook off the rust to send her 12th home run of the season over the left-field wall to add an insurance run in the top of the sixth.
Nailyn Marshall joined the party at the top of the seventh after launching her fourth home run, the first since the March 25th game against Howard, to give the Bears a convincing 4-0 advantage.
Miranda De Nava earned her 13th win of the season after throwing a three-hit shutout in the first postseason start of her collegiate career with six strikeouts.
UP NEXT
Cal is set for a rematch with No. 2 Oklahoma on Sunday at 10 a.m. PT. With a win, the Bears will face off against the Sooners again for a chance to secure a trip to the NCAA Super Regionals.
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