The Cal softball team’s 15-game win streak going into this weekend was an inning away from ending not once, but twice.
The Bears found themselves tied in the top of the last inning against both San Diego State and Fresno State at the Bayer Cropscience Classic in Fresno, Calif., but clutch hits made by Khala Taylor and Jolene Henderson sealed the games in two close 1-0 victories.
Going undefeated for the fourth weekend in a row, the Bears have now won 19 straight games, pushing their record to 20-2.
“We play these tournaments to get ready for the Pac-12 tournament, and this team so far has passed every test that has come their way since the first weekend,” said Cal coach Diane Ninemire.
On Friday, Cal proved its dominance over Iowa State in a 11-0 mercy rule shutout by playing one of the best games the team has played all season.
Sophomore Cheyenne Cordes led the team with a grand slam and captain Lindsey Ziegenhirt added five RBIs.
From the mound, senior Jolene Henderson pitched a near-perfect game. Henderson only allowed one hit all game and allowed only two walks.
Following their offensive explosion, the Bears only narrowly edged out San Diego State, 1-0, and Fresno State, 1-0, in nailbiters during their doubleheader on Saturday.
Against the Aztecs, Cal didn’t register a hit until the third inning when Danielle Henderson nailed a single followed by another single by her sister Jolene at the next at-bat. But the Bears could not capitalize the two Bears in the corners into runs. The Bears and the Aztecs entered the seventh inning tied at 0-0.
With two outs, the Bears had Jasmine Mejia on first with Jolene Henderson on third as freshman Khala Taylor came up to the plate. Taylor hit a RBI single to give Cal its only run of the day, which it protected until the end of the game.
The Bears found themselves in the same situation less than eight hours later against the host Fresno State. This time it was the Bears’ star pitcher who would bail them out.
Jolene Henderson drilled an opportune homer late in the seventh inning and could not have come at a better time.
Henderson stepped up as the lead-off batter and slugged one over the fence, giving Cal the run needed to win. The other six innings consisted of a pitching battle between Henderson and Fresno State freshman Jill Compton who combined for 21 strikeouts — 10 from Compton and 11 from Henderson.
With a commanding 9-3 win over St. Mary’s on Sunday, Cal swept yet another tournament. For the Bears, the San Diego State and Fresno State games stood out as the true tests of pressure.
“Putting our team in that situation (against San Diego State and Fresno State) shows how the team will do under pressure,” said Cordes. “We’re able to have pressure put on us and during Pac-12, we won’t be blowing out teams, so it’s a good experience to have as a team.”
Johnny Zhang covers softball. Contact him at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @thejohnnyzhang.