SB3/12/2015 12:00 AM | By: Cal Athletics
No. 11 Cal Hosts No. 18 Arizona to Open Pac-12 Play
BERKELEY -- The 11th-ranked Golden Bears bring their 2015 campaign to Berkeley for the first time as Cal gets set to open Pac-12 play by hosting No. 18 Arizona beginning Friday. Cal enters the weekend with a 21-1 record, a feat matched by only four other Cal softball squads. The first pitch of the series is set for 3 p.m. on Friday at Levine-Fricke Field. The Bears and Wildcats also meet on Saturday at noon and Sunday at 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday's games will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks. Live stats for the series can be accessed at CalBears.com, and fans can also follow along on Twitter via @CalSoftball.
NINEMIRE NEARS THE 1,200 CLUB
Head Coach Diane Ninemire will continue to elevate herself into the highest ranks among NCAA softball coaches, as Ninemire is just one win away from the rare 1,200-win mark. A win against Arizona this weekend would give Ninemire her 1,200th win, making her just one of four active NCAA Division I softball coaches to reach the mark. Arizona head coach Mike Candrea currently tops the list with 1,408 career wins. Ninemire will also be in the company of Carol Hutchins (1,394; Michigan) and Eugene Lenti (1,220; DePaul).
With 1,200 wins, Ninemire would become the eighth-winningest coach in NCAA softball history, and just one of four coaches to ever reach 1,200 wins all at the same school.
This weekend's matchup with Arizona is also unique in that aside from a combined 2,607 wins between Candrea and Ninemire as two of the game's most victorious coaches, Candrea's Wildcats are the team that Ninemire and her Bears beat when reaching a different milestone: Cal's first Women's College World Series title in 2002.
CAL REACHES 20-WIN MARK
Just five games shy of the halfway point of the regular season, the Golden Bears have already reached the 20-win mark. Cal is now 21-1 on the season, marking the first time since 2012 that the Bears have started the season with just one loss through 20 wins. Cal also matched the mark in 2005, 2001 and 2000.
RANKINGS ROUNDUP
Cal continued its climb up the national polls, checking in at No. 11 in both the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball polls.
LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears ended their preseason schedule with a fourth tournament sweep, taking all four games at the UNLV Rebel Classic in Las Vegas.
Cal stole one from Iowa State with a seventh inning grand slam from Cheyenne Cordes to open the tourney. Tied up 2-2, Cordes launched her second grand slam of the season at the top of the seventh to lift Cal to a 7-2 victory over the Cyclones. The victories continued to pour in on the backs of Cal's booming bats. The Bears combined to out hit opponents 28-7 in a Saturday doubleheader against Eastern Kentucky (9-2) and UC Santa Barbara (5-1). Seven Bears batted .429 or better as Cal went .424 as a team between the two games. Cordes homered again, and Danielle Henderson joined in on the action, as the Bears wrapped up their tournament slate with a 9-3 triumph over Houston.
BEARS' BATS OFF TO SIZZLING START
Through the first 22 games of the season, the Bears are hitting .368 as a team, sixth best in the country. Cal has seven players hitting .300 or better, with three of those hitting above .400. Jazmyn Jackson, Danielle Henderson and Britt Vonk are hitting a combined .464 and have totalled 95 hits in 22 games. Jackson, a freshman, started off the year with a 21-game hitting streak and leads the Bears with 42 hits and 28 runs scored so far. Jackson's .494 average is 42nd best in the country and 8th highest for a freshman. Henderson and Cheyenne Cordes have combined for 10 home runs and 55 RBI in 2015.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
• Chelsea Suitos leads her club with a .468 batting average
• Chelsea Goodacre has a team-high 36 RBI and is tied for first on Arizona with eight home runs
• Kellie Fox has 19 walks and a .510 OBP on the year
• The Wildcats are hitting .366 as a team
• Michelle Floyd has a 9-4 record and a 2.78 ERA in the circle
• Trish Parks has thrown five complete games and has eight wins on the year
• Wildcat pitchers are holding opponents to a .249 batting average
NEXT UP
The Bears host their first midweek match-up at Levine-Fricke Field with a Wednesday game against Minnesota, then head to Tempe, Ariz. for the second time this season to face Arizona State from Friday, March 20 to Sunday, March 22.
