Cal Softball off to Rough Start Through First Week of Play
Sparks of Greatness from a Handful of Key Golden Bear Starters Could Not Outshine Defeat at the Hands of Three Different Teams
The California Golden Bears (1-4) are off to their worst start since 2007 after playing through a brutal gauntlet of opponents in their first tournament. Calโs season opener under new head coach Steve Singleton began with a game against Oklahoma State on Friday, the second day of the Stanford Invitational in Stanford, CA. The Bears then played in a double-header on Saturday against Oklahoma State and San Jose State, and closed out the tournament Sunday with another double-header, this time against San Jose State and Stanford.
Cowgirl Kickoff, February 6th, 8-3 L
Despite a strong start by the Bearsโ offense in the opening innings, Cal couldnโt keep pace with the #24 Oklahoma State Cowgirls in their first game of the new season. Down two in the bottom of the first, the Bears opened up their offensive seemingly where they left off last year. Center fielder Kayli Counts started things off with a rocket towards left center for a lead off double, with second baseman Emma Jackson advancing Counts to third on a single up the middle. Calโs first run of 2026 arrived the next at-bat thanks to an RBI ground out from catcher Anya German. The inning ended a few batters later after first baseman Anaya Togia hit a double that brought Jackson in to tie things at two.
Unfortunately, that would all but end Calโs offensive output for the rest of the game, save for the bottom of the fourth. With no one on and two down, right fielder Kyndal Todd sent a rocket into center field, scoring the Bearsโ first home run of the season.
In the circle, Calโs pitching had a shaky start. True freshman and two-way player Mya McGowan got the starting nod from Coach Singleton, and threw through 4.1 innings in her first career start. McGowan allowed two runs to score in the first before settling in, and another two (unearned) runs were scored in the second thanks to a muffed throw by German on a double steal. McGowanโs day would end in the top of the fourth inning with one out after OSUโs shortstop Aubrey Jones smashed a three-run homer to left, widening the Cowgirls lead to four and ultimately giving McGowan her first loss of the season. Kiki Mashoud took over for McGowan; the redshirt sophomore pitcher silenced Oklahoma Stateโs bats through 2.2 innings and threw two strikeouts before giving the close to junior Tamya Waiters. Waiters closed out the game on 23 pitches, allowing 1 hit and 1 earned run before a 6-4-3 double play ended Oklahoma Stateโs day with an 8-3 win.
Flattened in Five, February 7th, 15-2 L
Whatever hope there might have been going into Calโs second game against the Cowgirls was quickly dashed by the second inning. Game two began similarly to the first; the Bears would score two runsโthis time off a two-run homer from Todd, who played as the DHโin the first inning, and Oklahoma state answered with an RBI single and a RBI sacrifice fly. However, the wheels fell off the bus after that. Aside from a single from Togia in the same inning, the Bears wouldnโt get another hit the rest of the game. After walking the first two batters in the second inning, sophomore pitcher Layna Gerhard was pulled from the game and replaced with sophomore Taylor Peacock. Peacock walked the next batter before giving up a grand slam and later a two run homer to put the score at 8-2.
In the third, Mashoud would take over for Peacock, hoping to pick up where she left off the day prior. Sadly, things wouldnโt go her way, as Oklahoma State scored another seven runs through an RBI on an error, a 2RBI double, a 2RBI single, an RBI double, and an RBI triple before Mashoud could retire the side. Waiters was then called in to relieve Mashoud in the fourth, and mercifully ended the inning quickly with two strikeouts and a fly out. Cal was able to get a runner on base in their final inning at bat thanks to pinch hitter Kayla Lee taking a walk on four pitches, however no further offense could be generated. The game was called at the middle of the fifth with Cal being run-ruled by Oklahoma State 15-2. Gerhard was assigned the loss for Cal, her first of the season.
Devastated in the Double Header, February 7th, 10-2 L
In their final game of the day, Cal faced off against the San Jose State Spartans. The Golden Bears again jumped out to an early 2-0 lead thanks to singles from Counts, Jackson, and Todd, with Todd picking up the RBI with a little help from an SJSU fielding error. Togia and German both reached first on fielderโs choices; with another error sending Todd home from second after Germanโs hit to put the score at 2-0 in favor of Cal.
After a full day of rest, McGowan returned to the mound for her second career start. She allowed just an unearned run thanks to a passed ball in the bottom of the first, and looked to maintain the Bearโs lead entering the second. The Spartans offense instead woke up, putting up eight points on the board with a trio of RBI singles, a 3RBI double, and a 2-run homer in one inning, giving McGowan her second career loss in as many games.
Eager to chip away at the lead, German knocked a single into left field in the top of the third and reached scoring position after a wild pitch sent her scrambling for second. Todd, Togia, and McGowan could not get any offense going however, and German was stranded at second. Aside from a second single for Counts that would see her stranded on second in the top of the fifth, Cal would fail again to generate any offense scoring after in the first inning.
Peacock was then called in to relieve McGowan in the third. Although the former SJSU Spartan worked herself into a bases loaded situation with only one out, she handily made the throw home on the next at bat to get the force out at home, and closed the inning with a strikeout. The Spartans tacked on their tenth (and final) run in the bottom of the fifth thanks to an RBI triple, and Cal would end day two at 0-3.
Surviving the Spartans, February 8th, 1-0 W
On the final day of the Stanford Invitational Cal finally pulled out a win, ending their three game slide with a 1-0 win over SJSU. Head coach Steve Singleton called upon McGowan again for her third start in three games. Fortunately, the day proved to be McGowanโs, as the freshman pitched her first career complete game shutout, earning her her first win of the season. The Golden Bear defense contributed heavily to ensure the shutout was maintained. Most notably second baseman Emma Jackson snagged a line drive and stepped on second base, securing an unassisted double play to end the top of the second. McGowan faced 25 batters, giving up only 4 hits in seven innings and sitting down two on strikeouts in the third and fifth.
Despite a dominant performance by McGowan and Calโs defense, the Bearsโ bats struggled to get any points on the board. Through five innings, Calโs only offensive production was a four pitch walk for Counts followed by a single from Togia in the fourth inning. But eventually, in the sixth inning, the Bears finally took the lead. The inning started off with an infield single from Jackson, followed by a bunt-single by left fielder Kayla Lee. The two advanced to third and second after a sacrifice bunt from Counts, and an RBI sacrifice fly from Kyndal Todd brought Lee across the plate for Calโs only point of the game.
From there, McGowan and the defense stood tall, putting away the final three batters as fly outs on ten pitches, securing the Golden Bearsโ first victory of the season, and Steve Singletonโs first win as head coach.
Finale With โFurd, February 8th, 7-2 L
The final game of the Stanford Invitational saw Cal play against detested rival and host of the tournament #18 Stanford in a game that was lopsided from the start. Stanford started off hot against the Bearsโ starting pitcher Kiki Mashoud, batting around to score four runs off of two singles, three doubles, a fielding error, and three fielderโs choice hits in the first.
In the bottom of the following inning, Mashoud was relieved by Waiters, who kept the Cardinalโs bats silent with two consecutive strikeouts to retire the side. Thanks to a couple untimely errors, an RBI single and an RBI ground out would push Stanfordโs lead to 6-0 in the third inning. The bats on the both sides would remain largely silent for the rest of the game after that, aside from an RBI single off a pitch thrown by reliever Layna Gerhard in the fifth inning.
Losing by seven with two outs in the seventh inning, the Golden Bearsโ offense would not go down without a fight. With a pair of walks thanks to the keen eyes of third baseman Madison Rey and pinch-hitter Xiomei Geluzโalong with Robinson getting hit by a pitchโCal had the bases juiced. On the following at bat, pitcher Alyssa Houston lost control of the pitch, giving Rey enough time to score from third while Stanfordโs catcher tried to corral the wild pitch. Kayli Counts added a second run to Calโs total with a well placed single into left field, advancing Robinson home. However, any chance of a true comeback for the Bears was cut short as pinch-hitter Harmony Andrade struck out for the final out of the game.
The Good, The Bad, and The
Calโs schedule kicked off exactly as we expected: brutally. With three of the Bearsโ first five games coming against top-25 ranked teams (#24 Oklahoma and #18 Stanford), wins have been tough to come by in the first week of play. And itโs hardly any wonder why Cal is off to such a poor start. Despite that, there were a couple players whose performances deserve to be highlighted.
Redshirt sophomore Kyndal Todd was certainly Calโs most productive batter in the Stanford Invitational, having recorded at least one hit in four of the last five games and bringing in 5 RBIโs. As mentioned in the game recap, Todd heroically provided the game winning RBI in Calโs second game against SJSU off a sacrifice fly. In addition, she is our current home run queen, leading the Golden Bears with two: a solo shot against Oklahoma State in the season opener, and a 2-run homerโalso against Oklahoma Stateโin the second game of the season.
Meanwhile in the circle, even with a shaky start Mya McGowan has shined as a starting pitcher. Despite giving up 6 earned runs in her first career start, the true freshman maintained a 3.41 ERA in the tournament. McGowan also single handedly picked up the pitching staffโs first win, first complete game, and first shutout of the season.
Itโs far too early to begin looking at statistics for analysis, however there are a few points to keep in mind as the season progresses. Cal is currently 237th of 264 in points per game, 189th of 264 in team ERA, and has been outscored by opponents 40-10 without bringing home more than 2 runs in a single game. As a reminder, Cal faced the #24 and #18 teams in the country over the weekend, so it does stand to reason that these stats are skewed against the Bears. These alarming numbers will likely even out, but itโs certainly something to keep in mind as the season progresses.
Whatโs Next?
Cal softball will look to turn things around this weekend with the Silicon Valley Classic in Santa Clara, CA, where the Golden Bears are set to take on a familiar face to start the tournament. The Bearsโ first game will be against Cal alum and former pitcher Anna Reimers and Utah on Friday. Cal will then face Santa Clara the same day, followed by UC Santa Barbara, Santa Clara (again), and Illinois State on Saturday and Sunday. Day passes for the tournament can be purchased here. Go Bears!
