May 23, 2012
Berkeley Regional: Parking Info | Video Promo
Cal Berkeley Super Regional Guide | Washington Berkeley Super Regional Guide
NCAA Tournament Central
Saturday, May 26
7 p.m. PT - Game One: Cal (54-5) vs. Washington (39-17)
Levine-Fricke Field - Berkeley, Calif.
Series Record Versus the Huskies - 35-33
Last Meeting With UW - W 6-4 (4/1/2012)
Coverage: ESPN2, Live Chat, ESPN3, GameTracker
Sunday, May 27
4 p.m. PT - Game Two: Cal (54-5) vs. Washington (39-17)
Levine-Fricke Field - Berkeley, Calif.
Coverage: ESPN2, Live Chat, ESPN3, GameTracker
6:30 p.m. PT - Game Three (If Necessary): Cal (54-5) vs. Washington (39-17)
Levine-Fricke Field - Berkeley, Calif.
Coverage: ESPN2, Live Chat, ESPN3, GameTracker
Just the Basics
The No. 1-seeded California softball team is set to play a best-of-three series with No. 16-seeded Washington at Levine-Fricke Field in the Berkeley Super Regional. The Golden Bears (54-5) and Huskies (39-17) play game one at 7 p.m. PT on Saturday, May 26. Game two will be played Sunday, May 27 at 4 p.m. If the teams have one win each, they will face off in the "if necessary" game three at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. The first squad to win two games earns one of the coveted eight spots in the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. All of the Berkeley Super Regional games will be broadcasted on ESPN2 - with Mark Neely and Amanda Freed on the call - and covered via a live chat, the Cal Softball Twitter and on GameTracker.
CalBears.com To Host Live Chat for All Games
For each of Cal's games in Berkeley, CalBears.com will provide a live chat for fans. In the chat - in which anyone can participate for free - the Bears' communications director Anna Oleson-Wheeler will provide in-game updates, commentary, inside knowledge and more. Fans can discuss the game with fellow Blues, ask questions and more. Following the games, the live chats will be archived on CalBears.com and can be re-read at any time.
Berkeley Regional Rundown
• Hosting the first regional in Berkeley since 1993, the Bears went 4-1 to advance to supers
• After beating Iona 8-0 in five innings to start the regional, Cal lost 3-2 to Arkansas but proceeded to beat Boston University 8-0 (six innings) to advance to the final day, when they beat Arkansas 10-2 in five innings and then 7-0 in the championship game
• In Cal's five games in the Berkeley Regional, Frani Echavarria led Cal by hitting .660, slugging 1.067 with eight RBI and a .647 on-base percentage
• Echavarria hit her first career grand slam in Cal's 10-2 win over the Razorbacks in an elimination game
• Filling in as DP, Britt Vonk hit .529, slugged .765 with a .556 on-base percentage
• Valerie Arioto only had six official at-bats for she was walked 13 times
• Jolene Henderson pitched all but 0.1 of Cal's innings, amassing a 0.71 ERA
• Overall, the Bears out hit their opponents .336-.216 and outscored them 35-5
• The Bears played the first night home game in program history against Iona
Cal in the Postseason
• This marks the 27th consecutive season the Bears are playing in the postseason
• Cal has advanced to the regional championship game seven times in eight years since the super regional format was in 2005
• The Bears had not lost a regional game since 2008
• Last year, Cal won the Louisville Regional and then the Lexington Super Regional
• The Lexington Super Regional title was the Bears' second-ever super regional title since the format was adopted
• Cal's first super regional championship came in 2005 in three games at Baylor
• The Bears are 67-31 in regional games and 89-61 overall in the NCAA postseason
• Cal is 4-10 in super regional play
• Cal made three consecutive WCWS title game appearances from 2002-04, winning it all in 2002
• The 2002 NCAA national title was the first by any women's team at Cal
• Cal has appeared in eight of the last 13 NCAA WCWS and 11 overall, including three trips to the AIAW College World Series
• Cal has not had a losing season since 1973 - a span of 38 years
Berkeley Regional Game Two: Cal Def. Iona 8-0
A pair of offensively lethal innings by No. 1-seeded California bookended May 18's game against Iona with the Golden Bears exacting an 8-0 mercy victory over the Gaels. A passed ball scored the first run for the Bears in the bottom of the first, and then a two-run shot by Breana Kostreba put the Bears up 3-0 before the first inning concluded. In the bottom of the fifth, Cal scored five runs on four hits, one Gael error, two walks and one hit batter to end the game early. Kostreba led the Bears with three RBI off her two hits. Frani Echavarria and Britt Vonk both tallied a pair of hits with Echavarria driving in the final run of the game. Jolene Hendersonpitched a two-hitter, striking out seven in five innings of work.
Berkeley Regional Game Three: Arkansas Def. Cal 3-2
Arkansas jumped to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, and Cal could not recover, dropping a 3-2 decision to the Razorbacks. On four hits - one of which was a solo homer - Arkansas built what would prove to be an insurmountable 3-0 lead. A delayed steal by Jamia Reid broke up the shutout in the bottom of the third. In the bottom of the fifth, Frani Echavarriahit her second double of the game, moved to third on a Reid groundout and then an error at first allowed Echavarria to score, cutting Arkansas' lead to one. Though Cal stranded just three through the first four innings, after the scoreboard read 3-2, Cal left six stranded on base.
Berkeley Regional Game Five: Cal Def. BU 8-0
Cal kept its postseason dreams alive, beating Boston University 8-0 in six innings on May 19 in an elimination game. Cal headed to the loser's bracket after dropping a 3-2 decision to Arkansas on Saturday afternoon. BU beat Iona 4-3 in 13 innings for the right to take on Cal in the elimination game. Jolene Henderson got the nod in the circle and was responsible for 11 of the 18 outs with a bevy of strikeouts. Until the bottom of the fifth, all of the defensive outs for the Bears were either a Henderson KO or a 5-3 groundout. Catcher Victoria Jones started the Bears off offensively with a towering shot to the bleachers in left field. After four intentional walks on the day - three of which came against Arkansas - BU threw to senior first baseman Valerie Arioto, who went two-for-two with two walks and an RBI. Also driving in runs were Jace Williams, Breana Kostreba, Cheyenne Cordes, Danielle Henderson and Frani Echavarria.
Berkeley Regional Game Six: Cal Def. Arkansas 10-2
Facing an early end to an already epic season, Cal beared down to defeat Arkansas 10-2 in five innings to force the "if necessary" game seven. Frani Echavarria was the offensive star for the Golden Bears, driving in six runs off four hits - one of which was a grand slam in the top of the fifth to put the Bears into mercy territory. Danielle Henderson hit a two-run homer in the fourth and Jace Williams was responsible for the other RBI of the day. Jolene Hendersonpitched the five-inning game, striking out five and allowing two earned runs on six hits. Hope McLemore took the loss, moving her record to 2-1, suffering all 10 earned runs. Though leaving runners stranded proved problematic in the first two innings, in which the Bears left six on, Cal quickly recovered. The Bears scored 10 runs on 13 hits, six walks and one Razorback error.
Berkeley Regional Game Seven: Cal Def. Arkansas 7-0
With a trip to super regionals on the line, the No. 1 California softball team did what it's been doing all season - win. The Golden Bears defeated Arkansas, 7-0, on Sunday evening to capture the Berkeley Regional. Arkansas upset top-seeded Cal 3-2 on Saturday. The Bears eliminated BU 8-0 on Saturday night to keep their season alive. Cal run-ruled the Razorbacks 10-2 in five innings in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader, forcing the "if necessary" game seven. Jolene Henderson pitched back-to-back wins, improving to 34-2 in the circle. Britt Vonk tallied her first homer of the year and Ashley Deckerdrove in two runs of her own.
Bears Quick Hits
• Jamia Reid paces the starters, hitting .395 with 47 steals in 51 attempts
• Valerie Arioto is second, hitting .387 with an incredible .968 slugging percentage thanks to her 22 homers
• Arioto set a new Bear program record with her 20th homer of the year on April 22
• Danielle Henderson is next in line in homers with 15, while Breana Kostreba has 13
• Arioto leads the Bears in RBI with 58, Jace Williams is second (46), Danielle Henderson is third (45) and Kostreba is fourth (42)
• Jolene Henderson (34-2, 1.16 ERA, 241.1 IP, .191 b/avg) and Arioto (20-3, 1.32 ERA, 127.0 IP, .197 b/avg.) split the pitching duties
• Diane Ninemire earned her 1,100th career win on April 20 - making her the 12th coach in the history of collegiate softball and sixth in Division I ball to hit the 1,100 mark
• Cal won the Pac-12 title by posting its best-ever conference record in school history at 21-3/.875
• Cal is ranked first in the country in RPI and No. 1 in both polls
Intentionally Walk This Way
This season, senior Valerie Arioto accounts for all 16 of Cal's intentional base on balls. In two games - the 2-1 win over UW (March 30) and the 3-2 loss to Arkansas (May 19) - Arioto was intentionally walked three times. In the Berkeley Regional alone, Arioto had seven IBBs, with at least one coming in every game except the win against Iona. Arioto is second on Cal's career list in walks at 257 with Veronica Nelsonholding the all-time record with 395.
Hosting in Berkeley - a History
The Bears had not hosted postseason play since 1993, when Sacramento State and Long Beach State traveled to Berkeley. In that Cal Regional, Long Beach State beat Cal 2-1 to advance to the WCWS. The year before, the Bears hosted San Jose State and beat the Spartans 6-1 to earn a trip to Oklahoma City. The first and only other time the Bears have hosted postseason play was in 1990, when San Jose State and UNLV made the trek to Berkeley with the Running Rebels winning it all by beating Cal 2-1. Since the creation of super regionals in 2005, the Bears have never played supers at home.
Four Bears Named to Pacific Region First Team
For the first time in California softball history, four Golden Bears were named to the prestigious All-Pacific Region First Team, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced May 17. Senior utility Valerie Arioto, freshman third baseman Danielle Henderson, pitcher Jolene Henderson and left fielder Jamia Reidall made the first team. All four Bears were also named to All-Pac-12 teams. Those who land on the all-region first teams become eligible to become All-Americans. The 2012 NFCA Division I All-America teams will be announced at 2 p.m. PT, on Wednesday, May 30, on NFCA.org.
Bears Move Up in Career Record Standings
After starting the year third (157) in career runs, Valerie Arioto is currently first with 221. Not even on the top-five list prior to February, Jamia Reid is now second all-time in runs at 169 and first in hits at 295. Reid is also tied for second in triples with 15. Also not breaking the top-five barrier before this year, Arioto is now first in total bases (426) and second in career RBI with 184, in need of eight RBI to take over first place (Haley Woods, 191). In just her second year, Britt Vonk sits atop the batting average board at .388 with Jamia Reid right behind her at .383. Though she is three homers shy of eclipsing Veronica Nelson in career homers, Arioto bested her in career slugging with a .662 percentage. This season, Frani Echavarria became the career leader in hit by pitch at 28. In pitching, Jolene Henderson is fourth in career wins (94), third in saves (8) and fifth in strikeouts (809).
