April 16, 2012
Wednesday, April 18
3 p.m. - No. 1 California (39-2) vs. Santa Clara (8-36)
Levine-Fricke Field - Berkeley
Series Record Versus the Broncos - 74-0
Last Meeting With SCU - W 12-0 in Five Innings (4/27/11)
Coverage: GameTracker, Twitter
Promotions: Free Admission
Just the Basics
The No. 1 California softball team hosts Santa Clara in a midweek nonconference match-up. The game between the Golden Bears (39-2) and Broncos (8-36) is set to start at 3 p.m. at Levine-Fricke Field and is free for all to attend.
Weekday Parking Info
A portion of Witter Lot is available for the public to purchase parking spots, based on a first-come, first-served basis. Fans can also park in the Underhill Lot, Botanical Garden Lot and Lawrence Hall of Science Lot. Please check the Berkeley campus shuttle schedule for all weekday shuttle information. Cal Athletics will not be providing a shuttle from the Underhill Lot this season.
Bear Quick Hits
• Cal notched its fourth Pac-12 series victory last weekend
• The Bears beat Arizona 2-0 on April 13 and 6-0 on April 15 but lost the middle game 8-3
• Diane Ninemire notched career wins 1,097-98 over the weekend
• Cal is ranked first in the country in the latest edition of the RPI
• Valerie Arioto paces the Bears, hitting .413 with an incredible 1.087 slugging percentage thanks to her 19 homers
• Danielle Henderson is next in line in homers with 12 while Breana Kostreba has 10
• Jamia Reid has a team-high 34 stolen bases, going 34-for-36
• Arioto leads the Bears in RBI with 50, Kostreba is second (24) and Jace Williams is third (33)
• Jolene Henderson (1.15 ERA, 151.2 IP, 187 SO, .186 b/avg) and Arioto (1.30 ERA, 102.2 IP, 19 ER, .181 b/avg) split the pitching duties
Cal Tops RPI
In the latest edition of the RPI - released April 16 - the Bears are first in the nation. Alabama is in hot pursuit in second and Tennessee - which lost to the Bears 13-5 in the first game of the season - is third. Pac-12 rival Arizona State is fifth. Eight of the nine Pac-12 teams are ranked in the top 30 with Oregon in eighth, Arizona 10th, Washington 12th, UCLA 15th, Stanford 22nd and Oregon State 27th. Utah is ranked 64th.
Later This Week on the Diamond
Cal heads north to face No. 15/19 Oregon in Eugene. The series gets underway Friday, April 20 at 6 p.m. It will be a 5 p.m. first pitch for the middle match on Saturday, April 21 and things conclude Sunday, April 22 at noon.
Scouting the Broncos
• The Broncos lost a pair of doubleheaders to PCSC-leading USD last weekend with two of those games going 10 innings
• Alyssa Jepsen (.368) and Stephanie Fisher (.322) are the lone Broncos hitting above the .285 mark
• In terms of slugging, three Broncos blast the .440 line with Fisher (.492), Jepsen (.472), Briana Knight (.470) and Jamie Wallis (.443) all threatening at the plate
• Santa Clara is being outhit - .313-.238 - and outscored - 261-128 - by its opponents
• Jessica Turner (91.1 IP, 6.01 ERA, .289 b/avg), Briana Rios (79.1 IP, 5.67 ERA, .323 b/avg) and Carissa Theis (70.1 IP, 5.63 ERA, .292 b/avg) handle the brunt of the pitchingm though Jaymi Bautista-Geiger (9.32 ERA, .368 b/avg) has thrown 47.1 innings
Last Year Against Santa Clara
Behind 10 California hits and five Santa Clara errors, the Bears rolled to a 12-0 victory on April 27, 2011. Arianna Erceg went five innings in the circle - striking out three and allowing just three hits - en route to her fourth win of the season. Cal scored four runs in three different innings - the second, third and fourth - to propel Cal to its 31st win of the season. The Bears now stand at 31-9 while SCU drops to 6-24. Victoria Jones paced the Bears with three RBI while LaRisa Jones had two. Jamia Reid, Frani Echavarria and Victoria Jones all tallied two hits.
Cal To Host StrikeOut Cancer Game on May 11
In partnership with the NFCA and the American Cancer Society, the California softball team is set to host its inaugural StrikeOut Cancer game on May 11 against Arizona State. At that game, the Golden Bears will don pink hair ribbons and encourage all fans to wear pink. Those fans who do wear pink will receive giveaways such as Silly Bandz and foam sticks. In addition to collecting general fan donations, Cal softball will be selling pink hair ribbons as a fundraiser for the ACS. Fannie Wallace - two-time cancer survivor and grandmother to current Golden Bear Jordan Wallace - will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Since starting the StrikeOut Cancer initiative more than 10 years ago, the NFCA has raised thousands of dollars to support the fight against cancer.
Cal Remains Atop National Poll Leader Board
Cal held steady at No. 1 in the two national polls for the third consecutive week. The Golden Bears (36-1, 9-0 in the Pac-12) are the unanimous top pick in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and garnered 29 of the possible 30 first-place votes for top billing in the USA Today/NFCA poll. In the USA Today/NFCA poll, the Bears garnered 29 of the 30 first-place votes in this week's rankings. No. 2 Alabama (37-2) picked up the remaining first-place vote this week, despite dropping its second game on the year to previous No. 24 LSU (29-10). Cal, with 20 first-place votes, remains the top team in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top-25 poll. It marks the second-consecutive week that the Bears have swept the No. 1 votes. The Crimson Tide is still playing second fiddle to the Bears in this poll, as well.
Cal Adds 704 Bleacher Seats to Levine-Fricke Field
Just in time for this weekend's epic series between No. 1 California and No. 13 Arizona, Cal Athletics has installed 704 more seats at Levine-Fricke Field. With the addition of the new seats - which are in the outfield - crowd capacity at Levine-Fricke Field more than doubles. The last homestand - against then-No. 3 Washington on March 30 and April 1 - saw record attendance figures. At the April 1 doubleheader, there were an incredible 680 fans in attendance. Adult tickets are $8 and seniors (age 65 and above) are $4. Cal students and youth 12th grade and under get in free to all softball games. Gates open at Levine-Fricke Field one hour before first pitch. Tickets can be purchased on game days starting an hour and a half before the start of the game. Ticket booths are located at the front entrance of Levine-Fricke Field.
Three Bears Make Player of the Year Top-25 List
Valerie Arioto, Jolene Henderson and Jamia Reid of the No. 1 California softball team have the utmost honor of being named three of the 25 finalists for the 2012 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, the Amateur Softball Association announced Wednesday. This award, which is considered the most prestigious honor in Division I women's collegiate softball, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country. The three Golden Bears were also named to the top-50 watch list, and Cal is just one of two schools with three student-athlete representatives.
Reserve Seats, Parking by Joining Blue & Gold Team
For the first time in program history, fans of the perennial powerhouse California softball team can reserve seats and parking by joining the Ninemire Blue & Gold Team. By pledging your support of $1,000 or more to the Golden Bears, you receive the following membership benefits: one VIP reserved parking pass good for all 2012 home games; two reserved seats at all 2012 home games; an exclusive Ninemire Blue & Gold Team t-shirt; Cal Bear Backer Points; and a tax deduction.
The Bears Versus Ranked Competition
After splitting the series with then-No. 13 Arizona, the Bears are now 12-2 against ranked competition this season:
-Feb. 10: No. 3/4 Cal vs. No. 9/14 Tennessee - W 13-5
-Feb. 19: No. 1/3 Cal vs. No. 25 LSU - W 14-3 (5)
-March 14: No. 1/2 Cal vs. No. 21/22 Texas A&M - W 3-0
-March 15: No. 1/2 Cal vs. No. 6 Texas - W 6-3
-March 15: No. 1/2 Cal vs. No. 19/18 Hawaii - L 3-1 (10)
-March 23: No. 2 Cal at No. 9 Stanford - W 9-0
-March 25: No. 2 Cal at No. 9 Stanford - W 4-3
-March 25: No. 2 Cal at No. 9 Stanford - W 8-0
-March 30: No. 1 Cal vs. No. 3 Washington - W 2-1
-April 1: No. 1 Cal vs. No. 3 Washington - W 5-3
-April 1: No. 1 Cal vs. No. 3 Washington - W 6-4
-April 13: No. 1 Cal vs. No. 13 Arizona - W 2-0
-April 14: No. 1 Cal vs. No. 13 Arizona - L 8-3
-April 15: No. 1 Cal vs. No. 13 Arizona - W 6-0
