Cal Softball Drops Home Series Against #9 Florida State
California’s Bats Remained Quiet as the Relentless Seminole Offense Outscored the Bears 35-7
Author’s Note: Hello Cal softball fans. It has been a few weeks since my last recap article, and I wanted to take a quick moment to apologize for the lack of updates. I recently moved to a new apartment, and I had to put reporting on the back burner while I packed and then unpacked. Thank you for understanding, I’ll be back to posting on a regular schedule again next week. Go Bears!
Before we start on last week’s results, let’s quickly recap the previous few weeks. It’s been a very rough stretch for Cal softball as they dove further into ACC conference play. Since their 2-1 series victory over Georgia Tech, the Golden Bears have gone 1-8 in ACC play, dropping two games against #23 Virginia, and being swept by Clemson and #9 FSU (we’ll get to that below). In between these three conference series, Cal went 6-1, dropping a game to San Jose State while defeating James Madison, Howard, Nevada, University of the Pacific, and Saint Mary’s twice in a double header. All told, the California Golden Bears are 29-14, and 6-9 in ACC play.
Now let’s talk about Florida State. Last weekend marked the second time ever California has faced the Seminoles. Their first and only previous meeting was in May of 2001. The new conference rivalry–a result of recent NCAA realignment that sent Cal and Stanford to the ACC–is an entirely new experience Cal athletes across 24 sports have been dealing with this season, and has taken some getting used to. “There’s a different kind of rivalry.” said catcher Lagi Quiroga while discussing the difference in playing in the former PAC-12 versus the ACC. “There were more people that you have a history with…We enjoyed that rivalry feeling [in the PAC-12]. When it comes to teams like Clemson or Florida State, this is the first time ever we’ve played them.” FSU entering play as the 9th ranked team in the country, certainly added to the difficulties Cal softball faced over the weekend.
Anders 200th Career Hit, April 11th:
Game one of the series against the Seminoles began with a silent first inning, with Cal’s starting pitcher Annabel Teperson tossing two strikeouts to limit Florida State to just a single hit, while FSU’s starting pitcher Ashtyn Danley kept the Bears off the bases entirely. The Seminoles scored four runs through the next three innings thanks to a solo home run by catcher Michaela Edenfield and an RBI sac fly from shortstop Isa Torres in the second, an RBI single from designated hitter Shelby McKenzie in the third, and an RBI single from left fielder Jahni Kerr in the fourth.
Down by four in the bottom of the fourth, the Bears cut into the deficit with an RBI single from second basewoman Mia Phillips that brought first base woman Tianna Bell home from third. Unfortunately that would be all the scoring the Bears would make. Florida State added a pair from a two run homer by Kerr in the sixth, and another two from a passed ball and a subsequent wild pitch in seventh, cementing an 8-1 victory over Cal.
From the circle, Annabel Teperson took the loss after pitching 4 innings, setting her record at 3-2. Teperson gave up 8 hits, 3 ER, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Ryanne Orange took over in the fifth inning, allowing 4 hits, 3 ER, and 2 walks in relief. Ashtyn Danley was credited with the win, allowing 6 hits, 0 ER, and 3 strikeouts in 4.1 innings. Reliever Annabell Widra closed out the game giving up only 2 hits and 1 walk in relief.
Despite the unfavorable results, a bright spot for the Bears in the game came in the fifth inning. With two outs, Cal’s shortstop Acacia Anders slapped a single into center field, recording her 200th career hit. The accomplishment adds to the senior’s already numerous accolades, including All-Pac-12 and All-Tournament honors, Pac-12 and ACC player of the week honors, and a program record for most doubles in a single season. With her 200th hit, Anders is now one of only 46 active players in the NCAA with at least 200 hits in their career, quite the illustrious company.
A Beat Down, April 12th:
In their second game against Florida State, the Cal offense saw a little more life than their previous outing. However the top ten FSU powerhouse kept the scoring margin well within their favor, finishing the seventh inning with an 11-3 victory over the Bears.
Anna Reimers took to the circle to start game two, picking up her second loss of the season while allowing 6 hits, 3 ER, 1 walk, and 4 strikeouts in 3 innings. Miranda De Nava relieved Reimers in the fourth, giving up 5 hits, 5 ER, and 2 walks in 4 innings to close out the game. Julia Apsel started for Florida State, recording her twelfth win of the season while keeping the Bears to just 1 hit, 1 ER and 2 strikeouts in 4 innings. Jazzy Francik relieved Apsel in the fifth inning, giving up 2 hits, 1 ER, and 1 walk.
The Cal offense reached the scoreboard early in their second game of the series. Down 1-0 in the first inning, an RBI fly out off the bat off right fielder Elon Butler brought in Quiroga–who reached third thanks to a throwing error earlier–swiftly home to tie things up at one apiece. Florida pulled ahead in the next frame, scoring one off an RBI single from Jahni Kerr, and then two more due to a fielding error. A two run homer by designated hitter Ashtyn Danley in the third tacked on two more, putting the Seminoles up 6-1 over the Bears. Bell and Butler each added to Cal’s score with solo home runs in the fourth and sixth respectively, but Florida state would add four more with a solo home run by first basewoman Amaya Ross in the fifth, and a three run homer from third basewoman Jaysoni Bechum in the sixth. A final RBI single from pinch hitter Shelby Mckenzie in the seventh put FSU up 11-3, and sealed the game.
Swept in Berkeley, April 13th:
The third and final game of the series didn’t fare much better for Cal, with Florida State completing the sweep with a 16-3 fifth inning mercy win. Through four, California had kept things close, FSU’s offense being limited to just five runs. Those runs came through a solo home run and RBI single from Jahni Kerr in the first and second innings, a RBI walk from right fielder Katie Dack in the second, and a two run homer from Ashtyn Danley in the third. A well placed double in left center from Quiroga in the fourth kept the Bears close, but that was as close as they would come.
In the top of the fifth, FSU unleashed a truly devastating offensive performance that brought eleven runs across the plate, six of which were scored across three consecutive at bats. With one out and the bases loaded, the scoring began when Michaela Edenfield hit a double to left center, bringing home two. The very next at bat third basewoman Jaysoni Beachum sent a double through the left side to score another two runs, sending Cal scrambling to the bullpen for relief. Up next, Katie Dack slapped a two run homer into left field, making the score 11-2. Shortstop Isa Torres tacked on another run with an RBI single with the bases loaded before Jahni Kerr cleared them with a grand slam to finish off the top of the fifth 16-2. Cal got one back thanks to quick base running by pinch runner Xiomei Geluz, but a final pop up clinched the series sweep.
Annabel Teperson was credited with her third loss, giving up 8 hits, 3 ER, 1 walk, and 2 strikeouts in 2 innings pitched. Ashanti McDade relieved Teperson in the third, allowing 5 hits, 7 ER, and 4 walks in 2.1. Ryann Orange pitched for .1 innings in the fifth, giving up 3 hits, 6 ER, and 4 walks, and Kiki Mashoud pitched the final out of the fifth. Makenna Reid started the game in the circle, allowing just 2 hits and 2 strikeouts in 2 innings. Ashtyn Danley relieved Reid in the third, picking up her tenth win of the season while allowing only 3 hits, 2 ER, 4 walks, and 2 strikeouts in 2 innings. Mimi Gooden closed things out for the Seminoles, pitching 1 inning and allowing 2 hits and 1 ER.
Looking Back:
Overall, Florida State had Cal’s number for the entire series. Their bullpen kept the generally offense forward Bears to just seven runs over three games, and their bats had little difficulty putting up five times as many runs over the same period. “I didn’t do my best against Florida State,” Quiroga admitted when reviewing the series. “I feel like I tried to do a bit too much.” Having to face a top ten team is certainly no easy task, and that was made all the more difficult with the unfamiliarity of facing a new conference opponent for the first time. An issue that will not be present in Cal’s next conference series.
Looking Ahead:
After rebounding against St Mary’s with a pair of wins in a double header earlier this week, the eyes of the blue & gold faithful turn towards Palo Alto for Cal’s rivalry match against Stanford. For the final game of the Big Swing series (Saturday), Cal and Stanford Athletics look to make history by breaking the NCAA softball attendance record of 12,566. “I feel definitely excited,” said Quiroga. “They’re doing great, don’t get me wrong, but…it’s a true test to me.” The Stanford Cardinal enter the series ranked 15th, the third ranked conference opponent the Bears have faced this season. With Cal hungry for another conference win, and Stanford looking to maintain their ranking as we enter into the final part of the regular season, Big Swing is shaping up to be an exciting rivalry week. Tickets for the historic record breaking game on Saturday can be purchased here.