Twenty-eight days have come and gone since the Cal softball team last lost a game, when the Bears were downed by Florida on Feb. 8th.

In that span, Cal has won 14 straight games.

“After that first weekend, we realized how much we sat back and waited,” said All-American pitcher Jolene Henderson. “We realized our team has to go and get it.”

Heading into this weekend’s slate of games at the Easton Invitational in Fullerton Calif., the Bears were riding a 10-game winning streak.

Cal (15-2) took care of business in Fullerton. The Bears demonstrated the potency of their lineup in blowout wins against Indiana and Cal Polytechnic and their pitching prowess in victories over Northwestern and Wisconsin.

“We’re just doing what we know we can do,” said senior catcher Lindsey Ziegenhirt.

Against Northwestern on Friday, Jolene Henderson threw a complete game shutout. That’s not to say the win came easily for the Bears, as they only managed two runs and two hits. Cal luckily pulled in front in the sixth inning when Cheyenne Cordes and Britt Vonk scored on an error by Northwestern catcher Paige Tonz.

The second game in Friday’s doubleheader didn’t prove to be very difficult for the Bears. Sending sophomore Nikki Owens to the circle, who had never won a game for Cal, the Bears bats made sure she had plenty of run support.

Owens grabbed the first win of her career when Cal led 11-3 after five innings and the game was called due to the mercy rule.

Seven runs came from Ziegenhirt’s bat alone as she hit a grand slam and later added a three run bomb. The senior leads the team in batting-average (.395), home-runs (9), RBI’s (23), and slugging percentage (1.158).

“I try to stay in the same mindset,” Ziegenhirt said. “I don’t put pressure on myself to hit a homerun in every at-bat. That’s just impossible.”

Saturday morning’s contest against Indiana didn’t prove to be that much different. Sending freshman Nisa Onitveros (3-0) to the mound, the Bears smacked Indiana 9-1 with the mercy rule being applied again after the fifth inning.

Ziegenhirt went yard again, along with Henderson and Victoria Jones, while Ontiveros only gave up two hits and one earned-run.

“You can score as many runs as you want, but if your defense doesn’t hold it down, then its all for nothing,” Ziegenhirt said.

Closing out the tournament later that same day, the Bears took on Wisconsin. Behind another strong pitching performance from Henderson, Cal never trailed throughout the game, winning 5-3. The Badgers were able to close the deficit to two in the sixth and seventh innings, but Henderson slammed the door on Wisconsin in route to her 11th win on the season. Now at 15-2, starting off the season at 1-2 seems like a distant memory for these Bears.

“Our team is on a high horse right now,” said Jones.

A lot sure has changed in twenty-eight days.