Valerie Arioto leads Team USA to gold in Mayor’s Cup
Cal softball alum Valerie Arioto is stealing all the spotlight recently.
The U.S. women’s national softball team took home its first gold medal of the summer on Friday at the Mayor’s Cup in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Led by Arioto’s .500 batting average, Team USA garnered gold after finishing the Caribbean tournament with a pristine 4-0 record, claiming wins over Canada, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Cuba.
After each team fought through several days of inclement weather and rain delays, the tournament officials decided to cancel the championship game, awarding the Mayor’s Cup title to No. 1 seed USA by default. As the No. 2 seed, Cuba took silver, and Canada came away with bronze.
But despite an otherwise anticlimatic end to the tournament, Arioto’s powerful presence on the field shone throughout the week as the former Cal softball star aided her team to victory after victory.
Arioto led the offense, batting three for six and collecting a home run, five RBIs and six walks. The one inning in which the star player pitched, Arioto struck out two batters from the circle.
All in all, the Eagles posted an overall impressive performance at the tournament, outscoring opponents 30-8 with the pitching staff combining for a 1.88 ERA.
On Saturday, Arioto continued her domination on the field during the first day of the Pan American Games Qualifier, also held in San Juan.
With a 1-0 score and three runners on at the bottom of the first, Arioto cleared the bases with a home run hit over the fence to produce a 5-0 score.
After Arioto’s grand slam, Team USA notched several runs, one after another, until the team was leading Aruba 11-0 by the end of the first.
The Eagles eventually conquered Aruba after three innings with a 16-0 victory on Saturday. Team USA will continue round-robin play in the Pan American Games against Brazil on Sunday.
Bears show enthusiasm as 2013 Cal volleyball training camp opens
Cal football isn’t the only team that has started training for the fall season.
The Cal volleyball team was out on the court early Saturday morning for its first practice of the 2013 season, with another practice scheduled for that afternoon.
“It was good to see everyone out there,” said Cal coach Rich Feller after practice. “There was lots of enthusiasm, as you would expect … The new kids seem to be fitting in really well and getting used to things. The returning players are setting a good example with the tempo and communication level.”
Cal has six new recruits on its roster, which includes an incoming freshman class ranked in the top 25 in the country. Middle blocker Jenelle Jordan, libero Maddy Kerr and setter Alyssa Jensen will join returning starters like Joan Caloiaro and Adrienne Gehan on the team.
In addition, rising junior Michelle Neumayr will return to play for the Bears after sitting on the sidelines for the past two years. As one of the nation’s most highly recruited players coming out of high school, Neumayr suffered season-ending injuries in her first two years at Cal, preventing her from getting any play time. But the outside hitter is looking to return to the court to make her contributions to the squad.
“It felt great to finally be back out there,” Neumayr said. “At first, there were some jitters. I was nervous and excited. But once I started playing, it was a lot of fun.”
The Bears will open the season with the Cal Molten Classic at Haas Pavilion on Aug. 30.