Cal Softball Undeterred Despite Rocky Start
A two-loss first day did little to slow the now 10-4 Golden Bears, who ended play with their season's first grand slam
California’s softball team took on a gauntlet of six teams in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, CA over the weekend. Rolling on from their tournament sweep of the Wilson Invitational in Long Beach, CA the weekend prior, the Golden Bears looked to continue their winning ways against familiar former Pac-12 rivals Oregon and Washington, as well as Cal State Fullerton, Seattle, Loyola Marymount (LMU), and Northwestern.
Thursday 0-2 (Oregon & CSU Fullerton):
Unfortunately, the first day of the tournament would result in the opposite of what Cal fans were hoping for. The Bears fell in both contests of a double header Thursday, the first against the #19 Oregon Ducks 5-4, and the second against the Cal State Fullerton Titans 7-4. Cal began play by swinging for the fences on the first at bat, scoring off a solo home run from Lagi Quiroga and following that up with an RBI sacrifice fly from Tiana Bell. Oregon (entering the game 10-1) responded to this hot start with some explosive offense of their own, bringing in three runs off a two-run homer and an RBI double. Acacia Anders evened things up with an RBI single in the third inning, but the Ducks quickly tacked on two more runs with an RBI triple to maintain their lead in the bottom of the frame. Miranda De Nava would be brought in to relieve starting pitcher Ryann Orange, and ensured Oregon wouldn’t score another run the rest of the game. A home run in the fourth inning from Alyssa Herrera would bring the score to within one, however the Bears could not close the gap. Ryann Orange took the loss against Oregon with 5 ER, 5 hits, 3 walks, and 2 strikeouts, and Miranda De Nava ended the game in relief with 0 ER, 3 hits, 1 walk, and 2 strikeouts.
The second game of the day would net similar results for the Bears, including another Lagi Quiroga solo home run in the first at bat of the game. Coming into the game 8-4 after being blown out by #9 Arkansas, CSU Fullerton wasted no time getting on the board in the first inning thanks to an RBI single batted off starting pitcher Anna Reimer’s throw. Much like the game against Oregon only a few hours prior, the score would flip back and forth until the very end. In the third inning California loaded the bases, giving Mika Lee the chance to run home from third when a wild pitch got away from the Titan’s catcher. Fullerton would respond with a pair of RBI singles off relief pitcher Annabel Teperson in the bottom of the frame, and would add on an extra run in the fourth thanks to a pair of throwing errors from the Bears. Cal would tie things up at four apiece in the fifth inning thanks to a clutch two-run RBI double from Acacia Anders, but that was as close as the Bears would come to victory. Another error by the Bears would later become the go-ahead run off an RBI single, and then another single (this time with the bases loaded) would bring in two more runs to give the Titans a 7-4 lead. A quiet top of the seventh from the Bears would seal it for CSU Fullerton. Teperson would take the loss (her first) after coming in relief and allowing 1 ER, 6 hits, 1 walk, and 2 strikeouts, while Reimers would allow 3 ER, 6 hits, 1 walk, and 1 strikeout.
Friday 1-2 (Washington):
Although a disappointing start to the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, the California Golden Bears would not stay down for very long. Their next opponent was the all too familiar purple and gold of the Washington Huskies. Entering Friday’s game 8-6, the Huskies were looking to build off the 10-0 clobbering they had given to UC Riverside after a close loss to BYU the day before. They would be sorely disappointed however, as Miranda De Nava’s pitching and an explosive offensive output in the first inning kept the Bears in front throughout. Building on her performance against Oregon, De Nava picked up her fourth win by pitching an entire seven innings, allowing 4 ER, 3 hits, 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts. The Cal offense made their presence known immediately, Acacia Anders reaching second and then crossing home off a pair of throwing errors, followed quickly by a massive two run homer into left field by Alyssa Herrera. Not to be outdone, Tiana Bell and Nailyn Marshall would each slap consecutive doubles into right and left center to tack on one more before the first inning closed 4-0. Later in the fourth, Mia Phillips would join in the fun by going yard to left center, setting up a 5-0 lead. Washington would remain hitless until the fifth inning, where they scored a 3-run homer into right field to bring the Huskies within two. In the first at bat of the sixth, Tiana Bell added to her hit total with Cal’s third home run of the game. pushing out the lead to 6-3. Washington would attempt to mount a comeback with two outs in the seventh, knocking a triple and then an RBI single to again cut the lead down to two. But a popup on the next at bat would seal a 6-4 victory for the Golden Bears, putting them firmly back in the win column.
Saturday 3-2 (Seattle & LMU):
The following day, California would beat another Seattle based school, this time the 7-6 Seattle Redhawks. Although this 4-2 victory would not come without some bumps in the road. Kaylee Pond would start the Golden Bear’s scoring by sending a 2-run RBI single down the right field line. Unfortunately, a baffling batting out of order error by Cal—pointed out by Seattle’s head coach—would end the first inning before any more damage could be done. Mika Lee would add to the Bear’s lead in the second with a well timed double steal, purposefully getting picked off and tagged on the way back to first while Mia Phillips scored from third. Seattle would jump onto the board in the third thanks to a pair of throwing errors which allowed two base runners to make it home. The unearned runs would bring the Redhawks close to tying things up, and end starting pitcher Ashanti McDade’s day. Ryann Orange would take to the circle in relief, shutting down any hope Seattle had of taking the lead. The Bears would add an insurance run to their own lead in the fifth thanks to a Kaylee Pond RBI sacrifice fly, and despite another pair of errors in the final two frames, the defense would hold. McDade earned the win with 0 ER, 4 hits, 0 walks, and 1 strikeout, while Orange shut Seattle down in relief with 0 ER, 1 hit, 0 walks, and 3 strikeouts.
Cal’s second game of their Saturday double header was against the Loyola Marymont (LMU) Lions, who entered the game 3-9. The Golden Bears put on an absolute showcase against LMU, shutting out the Lions and mercy ruling them in 5 innings in a 8-0 win. Ryann Orange would have another stellar performance in the circle, picking up the win through 0 ER, 3 hits, 2 walks, and 0 strikeouts before handing things off to Anna Reimers. Reimers picked up right where Orange left off, keeping LMU off the board and remaining lights out with 0 ER, 2 hits, 0 walks, and 0 strikeouts. The Golden Bears’ bats were loud the entire game, scoring in four out of five innings. Cal kicked things off with a two-run RBI double from Acacia Anders in the first inning, and adding onto their lead in the third inning thanks to an RBI sacrifice bunt from Kaylee Pond, and an RBI groundout from Alyssa Herrera to make it 4-0. Nailyn Marshall would leave her mark in the fourth, smashing a solo home run into center field (the second of her career) to go up 5-0. In the final inning, the Bears walked off their win in exciting fashion. Tiana Bell brought in the sixth run for Cal with an RBI single, and Harmony Andrade brought home the seventh run with a bases loaded RBI walk thanks to good plate discipline. With the bases still loaded, pinch hitter Carly Raven stepped up to the plate and recorded her first hit of the season: an RBI single that scored the walk-off eighth run to end the game via run-rule. With the shutout win over LMU, Cal nearly swept their second double header of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
Sunday 4-2 (Northwestern):
The final game of the collegiate classic was an explosive 15-7 victory over another Big 10 foe. However instead of a former Pac-12 rival, this time it would be a 6-7 Northwestern. Three pitchers would take to the circle against the Wildcats: starting pitcher Miranda De Nava, and Ryann Orange and Ashanti McDade coming in for relief in a game defined by offensive production. De Nava and Orange would both have uncharacteristically poor performances against Northwestern. De Nava would allow a solo home run off the first at bat, followed by a two-run homer with two outs in the same inning. Orange would take over, striking out the next batter to close the inning before any further damage could be done. Cal attempted to cut into the deficit thanks to a Kaylee Pond RBI fly out, but Northwestern would keep up their momentum with another three runs picked up from a passed ball getting away from catcher Lagi Quiroga, an RBI fly out, and an RBI Double. McDade would then be called in to relieve Orange with two outs in the second, quickly sitting down the third out with a timely strikeout. McDade kept Northwestern silent the rest of the game, allowing only one additional run off an RBI single in the fourth inning. Despite being down by five in the bottom of the second, the Bears did not quit. On the contrary, their bats would immediately get hot. Featuring RBI doubles from Kaylee Pond and Acacia Anders, RBI singles from Alyssa Herrera and Tiana Bell, and the first Cal grand slam of the season off the bat of Elon Butler, the Golden Bears’ golden bats scored a cumulative fourteen runs in the second and fifth innings, run-ruling the Wildcats 15-7. Ashanti McDade would get the win (her second in as many days) allowing 1 ER, 2 hits, 0 walks, and 2 strikeouts. De Nava would end her day with 3 ER, 2 hits, 1 walk, and 0 strikeouts, and Orange would finish hers similarly with 3 ER, 3 hits, 1 walk, and 1 strikeout.
What’s Next:
While winning against a ranked Oregon on day one would’ve been sweet, there is still plenty of softball left for the Golden Bears. With the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic wrapped up for the Bears, California looks to keep their win streak alive in the Fresno State Tournament. Beginning Friday, February 28th, Cal will be facing Southern Utah, Fresno State, and CSU Bakersfield in the final tournament before conference play begins. Cal’s first ACC series is scheduled to begin on Friday, March 7th at 2pm against Boston College at Levine-Fricke Field. Tickets start at $8, and are available through Cal’s website. Do not miss the chance to get out there and support Cal Softball as we begin ACC play!
It's too early in the season to say that this ranking makes sense, but in the (bootlegged but very accurate last year) RPI calculation, Cal is currently 50th - which sounds appropriate.
https://www.warrennolan.com/softball/2025/rpi-live