Stingers Down in Another Successful Week for Cal Softball
Bears Run Rule Sacramento State and Win Second ACC Series Against Georgia Tech
Maintaining their momentum through another week of D1 softball, the California Golden Bears (22-5, 5-1 ACC) have notched their second conference series win against the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets (17-11, 5-4 ACC). Beginning in the state capital with a clobbering of the Sacramento State Hornets (13-12) in five innings 11-1, the Bears returned to Levine-Fricke field to play a three game series against Georgia Tech, winning two 10-2 (5) and 5-4 before dropping the final game 5-8.
Sacramento State, March 13th:
Much like the intermittent rains that delayed their game in Sacramento, the Bears stormed through Sac State to start week six. Despite the wet weather, the spirits of Cal fans and parents in attendance were hardly dampened, kept warm by a devastatingly powerful offensive performance from the entire Cal lineup and a stellar showing from starting pitcher Miranda De Nava. Catcher Lagi Quiroga and center fielder Mika Lee kicked off the scoring with a pair of doubles, 2 RBI’s being brought in from Lee’s, with the bats of right fielder Elon Butler and second basewoman Mia Phillips both contributing to add 1 RBI each to start the lead off at four.
Two innings later, Lee added to her output, launching a low three run homer to put the Bears up seven, and designated hitter D’Auna Johnson tacked on an RBI single to make it eight. “It felt amazing just to have that hard contact,” said Lee, who has recorded a hit in each of her last five games. “I’ve been seeing the ball well and settled into being able to hit the ball and being consistent.” Cal’s final three runs were picked up in the top of the fourth, thanks to a sacrifice fly from Phillips, and the quick reflexes of first basewoman Tianna Bell and Lee to take off for home on a pair of wild pitches.
Sacramento State could not build any sort of momentum of their own under the arms of De Nava and relief pitcher Kiki Mashoud, recording only 5 hits the entire game. Their only score came from deep behind in the bottom of the third off a shot over the fence in right field from right fielder Andrea Lira. While the Hornets called in four different pitchers against Cal, De Nava kept them ineffective through four innings, recording 1 ER off 4 hits, 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts. Mashoud took to the circle to finish the job in the fifth, slamming the door on Sacramento State in relief with only 1 hit and notching 2 strikeouts.
Done in Five, March 14th:
For their second ACC conference series, the Golden Bears faced new conference opponent Georgia Tech at Levine-Fricke Field. Seemingly eager to make a good impression against the Yellowjackets, Cal repeated their performance from Sac State, winning in dominant fashion 10-2 in five innings with massive offensive output in tandem with a phenomenal pitching performance from starting pitcher Anna Reimers.
The day began with a 1-2-3 top of the first, Reimers recording two strikeouts on the first two at bats to keep Georgia Tech’s offense silent. Left fielder Kaylee Pond brought in Cal’s first run in the bottom of the same frame, reaching second thanks to an error while shortstop Acacia Anders reached home. The following inning, Georgia Tech took the lead with a pair of back to back solo shots to left field and center field by designated hitter Jayden Gailey and second basewoman Gracyn Tucker.
Although a rough start for the senior pitcher, Reimers refused to let it get to her. “It’s hard to come back from back to back home runs,” she commented. “But I really kept my composure… and just didn't allow it to spiral downhill.” Reimers added she relied on her teammates in the tough moment, and knowing that the nine defenders were behind her helped keep the pressure off of her shoulders and focused on the next pitch. The veteran would allow one more hit in the second, a single from Georgia Tech first basewoman Addison Leschber. That single would be the Yellowjacket’s final hit of the entire game, Reimers pitching a near flawless three follow up innings to keep victory well in hand for the Bears. She ended the day with her fifth win of the season, pitching a complete game while giving up only 1 walk, and a single game season high 6 strikeouts along with the 2 ER and 3 hits.
At the plate, California’s bats glowed white hot in the bottom of the second, putting up six runs before the third out was recorded. Thanks to a single, a fielding error, and a walk, the bases quickly loaded with no outs and pinch hitter Carly Raven up to bat. Another wild pitch from Georgia Tech’s starting pitcher Sophia Voyles brought Mika Lee scrambling home to tie the score. Raven grounded out, driving in the third run in the process. After a fielder's choice from Quiroga scored a run, Anders would add a massive 3-run homer to give Cal a five run lead.
Cal’s bats quieted for an inning before picking up again in the fourth, with Pond hitting a single that advanced pinch hitter Xiomei Geluz home with one out. To round out another fantastic game of offense for the Bears, Bell added on the final two runs with her seventh home run of the season, increasing their lead to eight. Three quick outs later–including Reimers’ sixth strikeout of the game–the Yellowjackets fell, the seventh team this season to be run-ruled by Cal.
Walked Off in the Seventh, March 15th:
The second game of the series was a nailbiter for the Bears, with Georgia Tech climbing back from a deficit to tie it up before Cal walked off with the win in the bottom of the seventh 5-4.
The Yellowjackets scored first in this contest, picking up their first run off a sacrifice fly from second basewoman Grace Connelly. The Bears responded in the bottom of the frame, with Anders opening up a quick lead by smacking a 2-run rocket over the fences. Lee and Phillips added a pair of runs to make it 4-1 thanks to an RBI double and RBI single respectively.
Georgia Tech and California followed up the first with a quiet second inning before the Yellowjackets cut into the deficit thanks to a run scored off a walk with the bases loaded, and an RBI sacrifice fly from left fielder Alyssa Willer. In the following inning, Georgia Tech tied the game at four apiece thanks to a timely RBI double from Gailey. Neither team could find another opportunity to score, both remaining at four runs entering the bottom of the seventh. However, the Bears had no plans for pushing into extra innings. With a lead off walk for Bell and a single up the middle from Lee, Cal put two baserunners on with no outs. A sacrifice single from Phillips put one out on the board, but advanced the base runners into scoring position. On the next at bat, third basewoman Nailyn Marshall took matters into her own hands, sending a single up the middle and bringing the game winning run home to seal it for the Bears.
Three pitchers took to the circle in the walk off win for Cal, Annabel Teperson starting things off before being relieved by Ryann Orange and Miranda De Nava. Teperson pitched 1 inning, allowing 1 ER off 1 hit and 1 walk, and Orange took over for the majority of the game. Although starting off strong keeping the Yellowjackets scoreless in the second, Orange ultimately threw 3.1 innings giving up 3 ER from 7 hits, 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts. De Nava recorded her eighth win of the season, restricting Georgia Tech to only a single hit while recording 4 strikeouts to add to her impressive total of 38.
Dropped The Finale, March 15th:
In the series finale against Georgia Tech, Cal was handed their first loss in almost a month, ending their winning streak at 16, a reminder for the Bears that no wins are guaranteed in the ACC. “The ACC is a very solid conference,” explained Reimers when discussing the loss. “We have to go play a tough seven innings to be able to take a game.” Despite the Bears taking an early lead as they had in their previous two games, Georgia Tech found a stroke of luck and pulled ahead, maintaining their lead through seven innings to steal the series finale in their favor 8-5.
Georgia Tech began the game repeating the same outcome in the first inning as their prior game the day before. Catcher Reese Hunter sent a double into left field, scoring an RBI to put them ahead 1-0. In the bottom of the same inning, with a pair of runners at the corners, Cal tied up the score with a double steal, a throwing error to pick off Pond running for second giving Butler enough time to take off for home. While Georgia Tech’s bats remained silent in the second, Cal took the lead away with Phillips’ third home run of the season, this one sailing into left field. A follow-up two-run homer into right from Bell poured on two more, putting the lead at 4-1.
Cal was cruising with a two run lead heading into the fifth inning after Georgia Tech picked up a second run off an RBI single from center fielder Paige Vukadinovich in the fourth. Unfortunately, Georgia Tech caught a lucky break. Thanks to a single and a pair of consecutive walks, the Yellowjackets loaded the bases with two outs. A subsequent walk cut the Bears’ lead to one before left fielder Alyssa Willer unloaded the bases with a crucial go ahead grand-slam against relief pitcher De Nava.
Down by three, Cal would not go down without a fight. Quiroga blasted a solo homer, cutting the lead down to two runs, but Georgia Tech pinch hitter Caroline Patterson put up the final run of the game with an RBI single in the sixth. California’s offense couldn’t find any life in the sixth or seventh, and the Yellowjackets held on to win the series finale.
Reimers took to the circle for a second time to begin the series finale, pitching 4 innings and allowing 2 ER on 4 hits, 3 walks, and one strikeout. Junior Ashanti McDade took the loss (her first of the season) relieving Reimers in the fifth, but was pulled from the game after the bases were loaded, and recorded 3 ER, 1 hit, 2 walks, and 1 strikeout. Despite giving up a grand slam, De Nava closed the game out strong, allowing 3 ER, 3 hits, 3 walks, and 2 strikeouts. Georgia Tech relief pitcher Kinsey Norton recorded the win for the Yellowjackets, her second on the season.
Rolling on (You Bears):
Although the winning streak ended on Sunday, the Bears looked strong in all four of their games. The Cal offense was loud as we’ve come to expect, out scoring both Georgia Tech and Sacramento State by a cumulative 31-15. A whole host of Bears went yard this week, including Bell, Phillips, Quiroga, Anders, and Lee. On the defensive side, Cal didn’t commit a single error the entire week, providing stalwart support for all Cal pitchers. Despite Teperson and McDade having rough outings, Reimers and De Nava were both settled and steady in their time in the circle, keeping Cal in control nearly the entire way.
Aside from a tough fifth inning in the series finale, the Bears played a great week. I think Anna Reimers put it best herself when I asked her about it. “There was one inning that was our downfall there, which was really tough,” she said. “But I feel like as a team we were playing super well. The defense was playing amazing, and the offense was adjusting to eight different pitchers, figuring out any way to score, and figuring out any way to help our teammates out.” The team's performance has California knocking on the door of returning to the top 25 since they fell from #21 back in week one. According to ESPN/USA Softball, Cal is on the cusp of that lofty company, while D1Softball has already given Cal the #25 spot.
Beginning this week, the Golden Bears take a trip out east for a long stretch of games to round out the month of March. They’ll be taking on the #23 Virginia Cavaliers in a three game series beginning Friday, before moving on to Howard, James Madison, and Clemson the following week. Virginia and Clemson are both ranked similarly to Cal, with Clemson hovering just behind the Bears in the ESPN rankings. Both should serve as great litmus tests for the team, and according to Reimers the Bears are excited for their first games of the season on the east coast.
Cal softball will return to Berkeley on Friday, April 4th with a home game against Nevada, and one against the University of the Pacific on Wednesday, April 9th. Their next ACC home series will pit the Bears in a three game series against #9 Florida State, beginning on Friday, April 11th.
