They’re winners of 15 straight, but the members of the Cal softball team aren’t quite satisfied yet. After all, most of these players were in this same situation last season and came up short when it mattered the most.
About a year ago, the Bears were enjoying a stellar season that seemed to be heading to a College World Series championship. Instead, the Bears fell at the hands of the eventual national champions, Alabama.
Cal is determined to avoid last year’s fate.
“It’s so important to keep the momentum going but to continue improving,” said Cheyenne Cordes. “You don’t want to peak right now in preseason — you want to peak at the end. So as long as we continue getting better, we’ll be fine.”
Fresh off a blowout win over Pacific on Wednesday, the Bears will head to Fresno to take part in the Fresno State Classic from Friday through Sunday. Cal is set to play four unranked opponents: Iowa State, San Diego State, Fresno State and Saint Mary’s.
Jolene Henderson, the Bears’ staff ace, will be busy trying to shut down the Iowa State offense (9-6). Senior Erica Miller is currently hitting .512 and slugging .791 to lead the Cyclones’ attack.
Against San Diego State (10-9), Cal will be challenged at the plate. Two of the Aztecs starting pitchers, Danielle O’Toole and Rebecca Arbino, boast ERAs below 2.00. In addition, San Diego State catcher Kristin May was recently named the Mountain West Player of the Week. May is on a hot streak, going 7-for-12 with six RBIs last weekend. She also threw out all three baserunners who attempted to steal a base.
Cal’s third game will be against the home squad, Fresno State. While the Bears’ record of 16-2 is light-years better than that of the 13-10 Bulldogs, Fresno State has only lost one game at home this entire season.
The Bears will wrap up their weekend against Saint Mary’s (4-11). It’s tough to see coach Diane Ninemire’s squad falling short in this one. Saint Mary’s is currently seven games below .500, and its team only has one hitter batting over .300.
Cal will be heavily favored to extend its winning streak to 19 by the end of the weekend, but Ninemire is also looking for her squad to improve both offensively and defensively.
After a few mental and physical errors against Pacific, Ninemire tailored practice around fixing those mistakes. As far as offense goes, Ninemire wasn’t pleased with how Cal handled all of its at-bats against the Tigers on Wednesday.
“Offensively, there were some counts when we were swinging at some pitches that were not ideal, swinging at change-ups when we’re ahead in the count,” Ninemire said. “We just need more discipline at the plate.”
While there is still room for the Bears to grow, Ninemire is pleased with how the team has started to shape its identity. And while last season remains fresh in their memories, the Bears have taken the necessary step of not comparing themselves to last year’s group.
“I think our team is finding our own identity,” Ninemire said. “They aren’t comparing themselves to teams in the past. They’re starting to formulate what they’re about and what they want to be.”
Sean Wagner-McGough covers softball. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @seanjwagner.