March 19, 2013

BERKELEY - For the second week in a row, senior ace Jolene Henderson is the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday.

"Winning this award for the second-straight week speaks greatly about our team. I can't pitch a game without a defense behind me, so once again it is all on my team," Henderson said.

Facing their first ranked opponent since opening weekend against No. 14 Florida, the Golden Bears were put to the test against two ranked teams at the Chevron Spring Fling in Honolulu. The real difference-maker proved to be Henderson, who pitched her way to three wins in the circle and allowed just a .33 ERA.

Against No. 19/15 Baylor's hard-hitting offense (who owned .322 coming into the tournament), Henderson allowed just three hits while striking out three to lead her team to a shutout of the Lady Bears. On Thursday against host team No. 20/23 Hawaii, the Golden Bears once again shut out their ranked opponent, with Henderson accounting for just two hits and one walk while whiffing nine batters.

"It's a lot of fun every time we go out to play a team, ranked or unranked, but the energy of the team really heightened and it was great to see that energy before we go into Pac-12 play," Henderson said.

She struck out another nine batters on Friday against Syracuse, leading her team to a 2-1 win by allowing just two hits and a walk. The pitching difference became clear when California played Syracuse again on Saturday, but without Henderson due to injury, and lost 8-1.

Through the weekend in 21 innings pitched, Henderson permitted only one run in seven hits - none for extra bases - and gave up one walk while striking out 21 batters faced. She was named to the Chevron Spring Fling All-Tournament Team.

Henderson also received Pitcher of the Week nods last week, to bring her career total to 12 weekly honors. She ranks fourth all-time for most honors in the Pac-12 Conference.