Bears travel to Sac State, UNLV

Peter Fukuma

Samantha Rocha and the Bears play four games on the road this week.

SB4/10/2023 1:17 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Cal is out of conference play in the Pac-12 bye week with four games

Berkeley – The California softball team will take a break from Pac-12 Conference play this week with a midseason game at Sacramento State on Tuesday, followed by a three-game series at UNLV Friday-Sunday.

The first pitch between the Golden Bears and Hornets is Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m. The Bears and Rebels kick off Friday at 6pm PT, kick off Saturday at 3pm PT and the two teams wrap up the series at noon on Sunday in Las Vegas.

Mid-week parade

• Teams: Cal (24-12-1) vs. Sac State (21-12)
• Location: Shea Stadium | Sacramento, California
• First step: Tuesday: 4 pm

How to follow

Weekend parade

• Teams: Cal (24-12-1) at UNLV (19-18)
• Location: Or Media Stadium Las Vegas, Nevada
• First step: Friday: 6 p.m Saturday: 3:00 pm Sunday: Noon

How to follow

Series at a glance

• Cal leads the all-time series against Sac State 68-23, but the Hornets won 5-4 in Berkeley last year.
• The Bears lead the series against the Rebels 17-6; The teams haven’t matched since 2015 when Cal won 9-1 in five innings.

A quick hit

• The Bears enter this week’s NCAA RPI rankings at No. 29, their highest ranking since the 2018 season, after reaching No. 20 last month.
• California entered the D1 softball rankings last week for the first time since the 2018 season at No. 25. The Bears also received votes in the NFCA Coaches Poll and the ESPN.com/USA Today poll.
• Elon Butler On April 3, he was named Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Week after hitting .500 with five RBI, two home runs and a streak of then-No. 24 Utah. Butler blasted a 3-run shot in the third inning and a solo shot in the sixth frame that turned out to be the game-winner in Cal’s series win over the Utes.
• Kalo came down-No. 2 UCLA on March 11 in an 8-0 run-rule win in five innings for the first time against a top-5 team since the 2012 season, when the Bears swept 3 Washington in three games from March 30-April 2 in Berkeley.
• The Bears are second in the Pac-12 in both home runs and doubles. Cal has knocked down 49 long balls, which ranks 12th in the NCAA and is 38.^Th 54 times nationally.
• Cal’s 49 home runs are seventh on the team single-season record list. The Bears hit 57 home runs as a team in 2022, tied for third in school history.
• With 1.32 home runs per game, Cal ranks 12th in the nation and second in the Pac-12, behind ASU (1.41).
• Cal’s 107 extra base hits (49 HR, 54 2B, 4 3B) are third in the Pac-12 behind Arizona (112) and Washington (109).
• Cal has five players with at least five home runs McKenna Smith (11) Sophie Medellin (8), Butler (6), Kacey Zobac (5) And Tiana Bell (5) The Bears have three more players with at least three long balls – Sona Halajian (4) Acacia Anders (3) and D’Asha Psyche (3).
• Smith is tied for third in the Pac-12 with 11 home runs (27th NCAA). Her 41 career home runs are one shy of tying for fifth all-time at Cal (42 – Lindsey Ziegenhirt, 2010-13).
• Smith has 146 career RBI, seven short of a tie for fifth on Cal’s all-time list (153 – Melanie McCarthy, 1994-97).
• Zoback is fourth in the Pac-12 with 10 doubles and third with 24 walks.
• Tatum Anzaldo He has been on a tear since returning to the lineup on March 3 against Miami (Ohio), going 26-for-68 (.382).
• Mika Lee (.363), Zoback (.351), Smith (.324) and Saiki (.313) are all over .300 to lead the Bears offensively.
• Anzaldo (.376), a 2022 first-team all-conference selection, didn’t have enough plate appearances to qualify for official statistics after missing 10 games earlier this season.

Stay posted

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