It’s hard to believe that the Cal softball team was playing .500 ball just two weekends ago.
Last weekend, the No. 8 Bears extended their win streak to 10 games by going 4-0 in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, Calif. Cal (11-2) managed to shut out three of the four games against Georgia Tech, Illinois and Nebraska.
“The key to success this weekend was teamwork,” said sophomore Cheyenne Cordes. “We worked so well as a team, and it was more about us caring more for the person next to us than ourselves.”
Starting the weekend with confidence, Cal stomped Georgia Tech, 8-0, defeating them in just six innings. The Bears performed spectacularly on the offensive side, bringing in eight runs off nine hits and six doubles. The Yellow Jackets helped out by awarding Cal nine walks.
Cal’s seniors put on another spectacular showing. Jolene Henderson pitched a near no-hitter while adding two total hits of her own, and catcher Lindsey Ziegenhirt hit two doubles.
The seniors’ dominance carried over into the Saturday doubleheader against Maryland and Illinois. Henderson continued to be the team’s anchor by not allowing a single run against Illinois and finished the day as the team’s leading hitter, batting .667 with a home run and three RBI.
In Maryland’s 3-2 win, the Bears started off the game with a strong 3-0 lead in the first inning, the only Cal runs of the game.
The Terrapins fought back, scoring two runs in the fifth inning to put them back in the game to an one-run tilt. Henderson came in to relieve freshman Nisa Ontiveros afterward and pitched a perfect game.
“Jolene always pitches her heart out for us, and Nisa had an amazing showing against Maryland,” said shortstop Cheyenne Cordes.
It was a solid effort for the Bears, but the game could have had a higher score had Cal taken advantage of its 12 runners left on base.
The Bears looked a lot sharper offensively during their next game against Illinois, which they won 5-0. Cal’s offensive unit totaled five runs off eight hits and no strikeouts, earning four of the runs in the top of the fourth inning. Henderson’s pitching didn’t allow Illinois to score a single run in seven innings.
Going into the last game of the weekend against Nebraska on Sunday, the Bears were all business.
For the first two innings, the two teams were locked in a defensive struggle until freshman Vanessa Alvarez broke the tie with a double during the bottom of the third to score the only run of the day. The Bears won the game, 1-0.
The real battle was between Nebraska freshman ace Emily Lockman and Henderson. Lockman, who pitched her first no-hitter last weekend against Utah State, rendered Cal nearly hitless for nearly half the game.
It was Henderson who won the pitching battle, as she struck out five batters for her fifth shutout of the season.
Johnny Zhang covers softball. Contact him at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @thejohnnyzhang.