Cal Softball: Golden Bears’ Strong Showing Against Notre Dame Falls Just Short
Cal splits first two games against the Fighting Irish before dropping a nail bitter of a rubber match
SOUTH BEND – During spring break, the California Golden Bears (12-25, 2-10 ACC) travelled east to Indiana to face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (15-19, 5-6 ACC) in a three game conference series. Cal–sitting close to the bottom in the ACC standings–entered the weekend’s matchup looking for a statement conference road victory after losing to Ohio State in a midweek contest a few days prior. Notre Dame meanwhile hovers around the middle of the ACC standings, and entered the weekend looking to get back on track, having upset #20 Stanford before dropping a series against Clemson.
Saturday, Game 1: Cal 2 - 6 Notre Dame
After the first game of the series was postponed to Sunday due to weather issues at Melissa Cook Stadium, the Bears took the field for their first game on Saturday. Kiki Mashhoud was given the starting nod by head coach Steve Singleton to start off the series. The sophomore has been called upon in nearly every game since leading Cal to their first conference win against UNC two weeks prior. Mashhoud kept the Irish controlled through the first two innings of play by throwing a 1-2-3 inning with only seven pitches in the first, and limiting Notre Dame to just one run from an RBI ground out in the second.
In the top of the third, Cal rallied to take their first lead of the series 2-1. With two outs down, Emma Jackson reached first base on a five pitch walk. From there, Cal quickly showed Notre Dame they would not be deviating from the aggressive baserunning game plan the Bears have been following this year. Jackson stole second shortly into the next at-bat, and Maddie Rey would do the same after reaching on an error that got Jackson to third. Carly Raven then knocked a 2-
RBI single into center field, bringing both home.
Notre Dame did not allow Cal to hold the lead for long. The Irish came back in the bottom of the same frame, with three consecutive at-bats bringing in three runs with the bases loaded before Cal finally ended the inning. In the following frame, center fielder Mickey Winchell picked up a one out double that would bring an end to Mashhoud’s day in the circle. Mashhoud was relieved by Mya McGowan having thrown 3.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, and 1 BB. A pair of doubles after the pitching change by second baseman Ava Zachary and catcher Hayden Kyne put Notre Dame up 6-2. From there both sides went completely silent offensively, with neither team scoring another run for the rest of the game. Despite the Bears’ threatening in the sixth with runners on second and third, Notre Dame was able to cruise to a 6-2 game one victory.
The Golden Bears recorded 4 hits on 27 at-bats, and reached first an additional four times through walks and errors. Carly Raven went 2-3 at the plate, hitting two singles and bringing in Cal’s 2 runs. Emma Jackson earned one stolen base, while Maddie Rey picked up two. WP: Kami Kamzik (4-4) 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. LP: Kiki Mashhoud (2-6) 3.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB.
Sunday, Game 2: Cal 10 - 2 Notre Dame
Cal reversed their fortunes in game two in South Bend, despite being put at a disadvantage early when right fielder Kyndal Todd was ejected from the game for calling too many offensive conferences. With the series up for grabs, Coach Singleton turned to one of the Golden Bears’ most effective pitchers, Layna Gerhard, to start in the circle for the first game in Sunday’s double header. Notre Dame scored one off an RBI single from Kyne, which would be the Fighting Irish’s only score for most of the game as Gerhard locked down the bottom half of each inning she threw in.
The Golden Bears quickly tied the game in the top of the second inning. Carly Raven and Anaya Togia kicked off the inning with back-to-back singles, and a sacrifice fly from Natalie Marshall brought home the tying run. Notre Dame closed the inning without giving up another run, but the Bears were already rolling. In the bottom of the following inning, Cal ripped off a massive five run lead they would never look back from. With the bases loaded off consecutive hits from Xiomei Geluz, Gator Robinson, and Kayla Lee; and only one out down, Raven began a rally with an RBI fielder’s choice that kept the bases juiced. On the following at-bat, Kayli Counts brought in two more with a 2-RBI single, and Marshall followed that up with a 2-RBI double down the left field line to put Cal ahead 6-1. Rey added one more in the top of the fourth, giving the Bears a six run advantage.
The Fighting Irish took one back in the bottom of the fifth, thanks to Kyne hitting a sacrifice fly to left field that brought home a runner from third. However that would be Notre Dame’s last score of the game, as their frigid bats remained cold in the final innings. Meanwhile Cal’s bats kept going. In the top of the sixth, Raven reached first thanks to a field error, allowing Robinson to score from third base, and Counts hit an RBI fielder’s choice that brought in Cal’s ninth run.
After five strong innings of pitching, Coach Singleton called on reliever/closer Taylor Peacock to relieve Layna Gerhard and close out the game. Gerhard finished her outing having thrown 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, and 2 Ks, and Peacock kept the Irish entirely off the board through the sixth and seven, going 2.0 IP and 1 H from 7 batters faced and 21 pitches thrown. The Bears wrapped up game one with a final run off an RBI single from Lee, securing a 10-2 victory for California and setting up the series finale to decide the series.
The Bears recorded 12 hits on 33 at-bats, with Kayla Lee going 4-5 with 1 RBI and four consecutive singles, Natalie Marshal going 2-2 with 3 RBI’s and a double, and Kayli Counts going 1-3 with 3 RBI’s. From the field: Cal’s aggressive baserunning strategy paid out massively, with 6 stolen bases being recorded between Kyndal Todd (1), Kaylia Counts (1), Carly Raven (2), and Kayla Lee (2). WP: Layna Gerhard (4-2) 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K. LP: Micaela Kastor (3-9) 2.2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 1 K.
Sunday, Game 3: Cal 7 - 9 Notre Dame (8)
Following a short break after game two, Cal and Notre Dame returned to the field for the rubber match of their three game series. Cal appeared to pick up right where they left off from the previous game, as the Bears offense took a fast 1-0 lead. Lee started the inning by knocking a single into left field, stealing second, and advancing to third on a wild pitch before a ground out from Rey brought Lee home. A pop-up to Notre Dame’s pitcher Brianna Weiss shortly thereafter ended the inning before a rally could start.
Kiki Mashhoud took to the circle for Cal in the series finale, looking to square away a second Bears victory in South Bend. Notre Dame however was looking to fight this one out to the very end, the lead shifting multiple times throughout the game. Down one with a pair of runners on first and second and one out, Hayden Kyne sent the second pitch of her at-bat over the fence in center field to give the Irish a 3-1 lead. Cal took one back in the next frame, with Todd taking off for home on a throwing error committed by shortstop Avery Houlihan. The lead returned to Cal in the third inning when Raven hit a 2-run bomb of her bouncing off the scoreboard in center field, putting the Bears up by one. Later on in the same inning with two outs and the bases loaded, Robinson’s hands are hit by a pitch, giving Cal the 5-3 advantage.
Notre Dame came back in the fourth, starting off with a single and double to put runners on second and third, and spelling an end to Mashhoud’s day. Taylor Peacock was again called upon in relief, and Mashhoud ended her day with 3 IP, 10 H and 5 ER. The Irish wasted no time, scoring two immediately after the pitching change from an RBI sacrifice fly and an RBI double to even things up at 5-5. The tie game stood for an entire inning, until Raven returned to the plate in the top of the sixth. With Rey on second, Raven repeated her third inning performance by going yard for a second time and handing Cal a 7-5 lead. Notre Dame refused to go down, and climbed back with a pair of RBI singles in the sixth to bring things within one.
In the seventh inning, a lineout and throw out to second appeared to be the game sealing double play Cal needed to take the series. However, the inning continued after the umpire’s review determined Notre Dame’s baserunner had been obstructed, negating the final out. Shortly thereafter, Notre Dame pinch hitter Lily Hagan knocked a game-tying single up the middle, sending game three into the extras.
After a scoreless top of the eighth from Cal, Mya McGowan was called upon to relieve Peacock. Peacock finished her outing with 4.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, and 2 Ks. Notre Dame’s Mickey Winchell kicked off the bottom of the eighth with a single, and Ava Zachary followed that up with a walk-off home run to left field to take the game and the series for Notre Dame.
At the plate in the second half of Sunday’s double header, Cal recorded 8 hits on 31 at bats. Carly Raven went 2-2 with a pair of 2-run homers, Maddie Rey went 2-4 with an RBI and a double (extending her streak to 12 consecutive games with at least one hit), and Kayla Lee went 2-5 with a pair of singles. Five bases were stolen by Rey (2), Lee, (1), Raven (1), and Kayli Counts (1). The Bears stole a total of 11 bases from the Fighting Irish. From the field: Gator Robinson was credited with an error, and Cal turned two double plays. An 8-2 double play in the third, and a 4-6-3 double play in the fifth. WP: Kami Kamzik (5-4) 1.0 IP, 1 K, 3 BF. LP: Mya McGowan (3-7) 0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 K.
With another ACC series in the books, and the Golden Bears half way through ACC play, here’s a look at Cal’s leaderboard: Kayla Lee reached the top spot in batting average after a spectacular 6-10 showing over the weekend, while Gator Robinson and Kayli Counts are tied for most hits at 31. After smashing a pair of runs against Dayton and another pair against Notre Dame in game three, Carly Raven has reached the top of the home run leaderboard with 7–sharing the crown with Kyndal Todd. Raven also holds the top spot in RBI’s with 27. Lee and Counts also share the title for most stolen bases, with 10 bases each stolen from Cal’s opponents. From the circle, Layna Gerhard holds the team’s best ERA (5.49), and Mya McGowan is Cal’s leader in strikeouts (23).
What’s Next?
The Golden Bears return home to the Bay Area for a three game series against a dominant Louisville (30-7, 6-3 ACC) softball team in Saratoga, CA, from Thursday, April 2nd to Saturday, April 4th. Games one and two will begin at 2pm PST, while game three will begin at noon. All games will be available to watch via streaming at ESPN+. Go Bears!