Cal Softball: Golden Bears Pick up an Upset Win in Record Breaking Big Swing Game
Cal Pulls Off an Upset Win Over #15 Stanford in Front of a Record Breaking Crowd
Last weekend, Cal softball (31-16, 7-11 ACC) remained close to home for a five game stretch this past week as they took on St Mary’s (20-22, 4-7 WCC) and bitter rival Stanford (33-9, 11-7 ACC). Kicking off the week in Moraga, CA, the Golden Bears took on the Gaels in a double header Tuesday, winning both 11-2 and 8-4. Two days later, they took the less than appealing 40 mile drive south to Palo Alto, dropping the first two games of the three game series against the Cardinal 4-7 and 3-9 before taking the final game 10-8.
Blowing Through Moraga (Part 1), April 15th:
California began their first game against St. Mary’s with massive solo swings in the first three innings. Right fielder Elon Butler and left fielder Kaylee Pond each went yard, Pond scoring in the second and Butler in the first and third to give the Bears an early 3-0 lead. The Gaels cut the lead down to one in the bottom of the fourth thanks to an RBI double from designated hitter Braxton Brown and an RBI single from second basewoman Victoria Castillo, but those were the only runs they would score that game. Cal responded with a fourth solo home run off the bat of catcher Lagi Quiroga, while shortstop Acacia Anders added an RBI double, and first basewoman Tianna Bell hit a sacrifice groundout to put the Bears up 6-2.
The runs wouldn’t stop for Cal, Butler adding another run to her impressive day with an RBI single in the sixth inning. In the seventh, designated hitter Kayli Counts and center fielder Holly Medina added one each via RBI singles, while Quiroga picked up a two run single up the middle to cap off a productive game one.
From the circle, Cal’s starterAnna Reimers (W, 6-3) added her fifth complete game of the season to her record. The senior pitcher went seven innings giving up only 3 hits, 2 ER, 1 walk, and 5 strikeouts, tossing just 89 pitches. St. Mary’s pitcher Mia Nishikawa (L, 6-7) was credited with the loss, pitching three innings and allowing 5 hits, 3 ER, and 3 strikeouts on 58 pitches. Avery Wolverton entered the circle in relief in the fourth inning, giving up 5 hits, 6 ER, 4 walks, and 1 strikeout on 55 pitches, and Chelsea Bennett closed out the final inning allowing 2 hits, 2 ER, and 1 strikeout on 17 pitches.
Blowing Through Moraga (Part 2), April 15th:
While not as wide of a margin of victory, Cal completed the double header with another win. The game got off to a shaky start for the Bears, with their only run of the inning scored when Quiroga took off for home on a passed ball. St Mary’s Catillo picked up an RBI walk, and left fielder Camille Lara scored after tagging up on a foul out to put the Gaels up 2-1 in the bottom of the frame. Following a silent second inning, Butler crossed home thanks to a sacrifice fly from Anders to tie things up in the third. The score would finally widen in the top of the fifth after an RBI single from Bell. With two outs and runners on first and second, Medina hit a single to left field, picking up significantly more and clearing the bases thanks to a throwing error on the play, adding three more runs to put Cal on top 6-2. St Mary’s added a pair of solo home runs by Brown and center fielder Tori Cervantes in the bottom of the sixth, but a 2 RBI double from Bell secured the Bears victory 8-4.
Much like in the prior game, Cal’s pitching had another solid outing in Moraga. Miranda De Nava (W, 10-4) got the starting nod, and picked up her tenth win of the season. De Nava pitched her fifth complete game of her impressive freshman season, giving up just 3 hits, 2 ER, 3 walks, and a single game high 9 strikeouts on 129 pitches. St Mary’s pitcher Odhi Vasquez (L, 8-5) pitched five innings, allowing 4 hits, 4 ER, 5 walks, and 6 strikeouts on 93 pitches, while reliever Ella Thurman closed the final two innings, giving up 2 hits and 2 ER.
Close Call in Palo Alto, April 17th:
The rivalry series kicked off Thursday with a close loss for the Bears. Cal picked up the early 1-0 lead thanks to a double steal, with Anders reaching second as Butler took off for home. However Stanford took that lead away quickly with a solo home run from center fielder Emily Jones, and an RBI double from right fielder Kyra Chan. Butler notched a 2 RBI single in the top of the second, and Stanford’s second basewoman Taryn Kern added an RBI to tie things up 3-3 in the bottom of the frame. They remained tied in the third after adding a run each thanks to an RBI walk for Cal and a solo home run from Cardinal third basewoman Jade Berry. A second solo home run for Jones in the fourth broke the stalemate, giving Stanford a one run lead. Despite the lead being slim, the Bears could not generate any more offense past the third inning, meanwhile Stanford added a couple more runs in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a solo home run from pinch hitter Sydney Boulaphinh, and an RBI single from shortstop River Mahler.
Reimers picked up the start for the Bears, pitching 3 innings while giving up 8 hits, 3 ER, 1 walk, and 1 strikeout on 64 pitches. De Nava (L, 10-5) was credited with the loss in the first game of the series, pitching 6 innings while allowing 4 hits, 3 runs, 3 ER, 1 walk, and 2 strikeouts on 56 pitches. Stanford called on the same three pitchers through all three games, with Kylie Chung getting the start in game one and pitching 3.2 innings, allowing 4 hits, 3 ER, 6 walks, and 4 strikeouts on 94 pitches. Zoe Prystajko (W, 10-3) got credit for the win after closing out the fourth, tossing a walk before pinch hitter Holly Medina grounded out to third to keep Cal from tying up the score. Alyssa Houston finished off the game having pitched 3 innings, giving up just 2 hits and 3 strikeouts.
Another One, April 18th:
Game two was admittedly quite similar to game one, with Cal being unable to generate more than three runs, all of which were scored in the fourth inning. Second basewoman Mia Phillips started things off with an RBI double, with Butler picking up an RBI walk with the bases loaded and Anders taking a hit by a pitch for a third RBI. The Cardinal on the other hand had less difficulty on offense, picking up nine total runs and keeping victory firmly in Stanford’s clutches. A quick scramble from third by Mahler on a wild pitch brought home Stanford’s first run in the first inning, and first basewoman Joie Economides added two more with a 2 RBI single to put them up 3-0. In the bottom of the third, Chan knocked in an RBI double, and left fielder Caelan Koch brought in more with a 3 RBI homer to right to put Stanford at seven runs. The final two runs of the ball game were picked up in the bottom of the fifth, when Kern was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to advance an RBI home, and Jones sent a sacrifice groundout to second to give the Cardinal the 9-3 lead they would hold the rest of the game.
In a somewhat eerily similar pitching performance to the previous game, Chung got the start in game two, pitched 3.2 innings before Prystajko came in to record the final out of the fourth inning, and then Houston handled the final three innings. Chung’s day ended after giving up 2 hits, 3 ER, 3 walks, and 1 strike out on 72 pitches, and Prystajko closed the fourth after allowing 2 hits and 1 walk in 20 pitches. Houston (W, 11-1) took the win in game 2 allowing just one hit and 3 strikeouts in 35 pitches. For Cal, Annabel Teperson (L, 3-4) started off in the circle and was assigned the loss, pitching 2.2 innings and giving up 5 hits, 7 ER, 3 walks, and 2 strikeouts in 67 pitches. Ryann Orange was then called in to relieve Teperson, giving up 2 hits, 2 ER, 2 walks, and 1 strikeout on 53 pitches in 1.2 innings. Ashanti McDade closed out the final inning and change for the Bears, giving up 1 hit and 1 strikeout on 23 pitches in 1.2 innings.
Break a Record, April 19th:
On a warm sunny Saturday, fans descended upon Stanford Stadium for what was being called “The Big Swing” with a goal in mind (aside from watching softball). Of the top ten NCAA D1 Softball attendance records, all ten of them were set in Oklahoma City during the Women’s College World Series, the highest of which was set in 2024, where a crowd of 12,566 watched Texas beat Stanford 4-0. The regular season attendance record had been broken the week before, setting the new high mark at 9,259. This season, Stanford and Cal had been presented with a golden opportunity: Stanford’s softball field was under renovation, and the team had been moved to a corner of the football stadium for home games, giving them plenty of space to take a shot at breaking the attendance record. The Big Swing drew in a crowd of 13,207 shattering both the all-time single-game record, and the regular season single-game record. In thrilling fashion, the California Golden Bears nabbed an upset victory against the #15 Stanford Cardinal on the record breaking day, ensuring that the top two attendance records for D1 softball both feature Stanford losing.
The Bears started scorching hot from–quite literally–the first pitch, and took a quick run through the entire batting order in the first inning. Before I even had a chance to set myself up in the media booth, Butler rocketed the first pitch sent her way into center field for a solo home run. Bell added to Cal’s quick start with a 2-RBI double to center to start Cal off with a 3-0 lead. Not wanting to miss out on the hitting party, Pond added her own two run moonshot over the right field fence to give the Golden Bears a massive 5-0 start. However, in the bottom of the same frame Stanford battled back as Berry hit a big three run homer, pulling the Cardinal within two. The gap widened in the second thanks to a two run blast from Bell before the bats briefly fell silent for both sides.
In the bottom of the third, Stanford would pull as close as they ever got to the lead, cutting things down just a run after Chan blasted Stanford’s second 3 run homer into right to make it 7-6. To be safe, Cal tacked on three more in the fourth with RBI singles from Anders and Pond, and a sacrifice fly from Bell to put Cal in front 10-6. After a solo home run from Economides cut things the lead down to 10-7 in the bottom of the fifth, the nail biting began.
In the bottom of the sixth, a single and a double got past Cal relief pitcher De Nava, putting two on second and third, and the potential game-tying run at the plate. Kern sent a high fly ball to center field, giving the runner at third plenty of time to tag up and take off for home. Cal turned the sacrifice fly into a double play after De Nava (catching the throw from center) picked off Cardinal catcher Allie Clements, who bafflingly hadn’t returned to second after the ball returned to the infield. After an official review, the call was not overturned, which turned out to be a very unpopular decision for the vocal home crowd. The quick double play gave the Bears some breathing room, and they exited the sixth without giving up any more runs. The California defense held strong in the seventh, stealing one away from the #15 team in the country and ensuring a Blue & Gold W was enshrined with the new single-game attendance record.
From the circle, Teperson got the starting nod, allowing 6 hits, 6 ER, 1 walk, and 2 strikeouts on 56 pitches in 3.1 innings. De Nava (W, 11-4) was called in to relieve Teperson in the fourth, picking up her eleventh win while giving up just 3 hits, 2 ER, 1 walk, and 1 strikeout on 55 pitches in 3.2 innings. On the opposite side, Prystajko (L, 10-4) was called on to start for Stanford, lasting only one inning while giving up 5 hits, 5 ER, and 3 strikeouts on 38 pitches before Chung was called in for relief. Chung gave up 1 hit, 2 ER, 1 walk, and 1 strikeout on 36 pitches in two innings. Houston finished off the day for Stanford softball, pitching four innings and keeping the hot bats of California relatively quiet, only giving up 2 hits, 1 ER, 5 walks, and 3 strikeouts on 73 pitches.
Moving forward:
The Golden Bears now turn their eyes back home for the final home series of the 2025 season. The Virginia Tech Hokies (37-7, 15-3 ACC) are coming to Berkeley in what will almost definitely be a tough match for Cal. Most importantly, this will be Cal’s final home series in Levine-Fricke field before renovations begin shortly after the last home game Sunday. Tickets for the final home games of the season can be obtained through Cal’s website.