Just like last May, the Bears had just clinched their NCAA round-of-32 match to secure their position in the Sweet 16 rankings. The Cal squad topped both Florida State and Denver this past weekend in 4-1 wins to secure its Sweet 16 position for the third straight year.

And coincidentally, just like last May, the Bears will attempt to overcome No. 3 Virginia to extend their run at the NCAA team championships.

This Thursday at 10 a.m., Cal (16-9) will battle the second-seeded Cavaliers for the second consecutive year at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Urbana, Ill.

If last year was any indication of how the No. 18 Bears will do against the Cavaliers, this match may very well be the Bears’ last.

In 2012, the nationally elite Virginia team swiftly swept Cal in a 4-0 domination to advance to the semifinals of the NCAAs. The Cavaliers only allowed the Bears a one-set win in singles before they stifled the Cal team in the doubles round and across all six courts in singles.

If last year’s matchup isn’t enough of an indication, the Cavs are riding on a winning streak that hasn’t been broken since the start of their season. The Virginia team boasts an impressive

26-0 season record so far this year after recently dominating Minnesota and Farleigh Dickinson last weekend in rapid 4-0 sweeps.

Virginia’s pristine season record is reinforced by the depth of the Cavalier squad. Their doubles and singles lineup teem with ranked players up and down the courts, spearheaded by No. 3 Jarmere Jenkins and No. 2 Alex Domijan in singles. The team boasts four other nationally ranked singles players along with three ranked doubles pairs. The first and last time the Cavaliers dropped the doubles point was back in February, when Virginia still rallied to take home a 4-3 win against Ohio State.

Although the strength of the individual players on the Virginia squad has not changed, one major difference between this year and last year is Cal’s familiarity with the Cavalier team. In 2012, the Bears battled Virginia for the first time in program history.

This year, according to Cal coach Peter Wright, Cal will have a slight edge just by the fact that the Bears will not be blindsided by the Cavaliers’ strength on the court.

“We’ve played Virginia in the Sweet 16 last year, so we know what to expect,” Wright said. “They’re a strong team, but we’re a bunch of believers, and we start preparing tonight for how we’re going to play them.”

The Bears recognize that they will certainly be the underdog in their Sweet-16 matchup. But having won eight of their last nine matches, the Bears will strive to carry their momentum into one of their biggest matches of the year.

“I think they’re probably the best team in the country, being undefeated this whole season,” said senior co-captain Christoffer Konigsfeldt. “But I think we’re peaking more now than we have been the whole season, so hopefully, we can shake them.”

Janice Chua covers men’s tennis. Contact her at jchua@dailycal.org.

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A flattering analogy, but it only paints half the picture of what Sir Alex meant to soccer. With 49 titles under his belt in 39 years as manager, Ferguson indelibly shaped Manchester United, the English Premier League and the global sport of soccer.

Since his arrival to Manchester in 1986, he transformed his club to become the most successful club in England and a global brand recognized by billions across the world. In comparison to Ferguson’s influence, Belichick’s seems miniscule.

Over the past seven days, flocks of journalists, players and coaches paid tribute to Ferguson. I was initially wary of joining the herd by writing my own Ferguson tribute. But upon realizing how influential Sir Alex has been to my childhood, I couldn’t resist.

Ferguson and his Manchester United made me a huge soccer fan, but upon further reflection, he meant a lot more. He was a hero and a teacher for me — being a role model for me to strive toward.

Whenever I think of Ferguson’s influence on me, I drift back to middle school, when  I played pickup soccer. My friends and I all cherry-picked the best qualities of our favorite soccer idols — most of them Manchester United players — and mimicked how they played.

For 30 minutes of lunchtime every day, we were Fergie’s boys. We proudly represented Manchester United from Los Angeles.

I now have a more mature appreciation of Ferguson as a manager and as a man. Now, I aspire to be like Fergie — a man driven by his passion to become the best in his profession yet someone who never forgot his roots and his compassion.

Ferguson was a man of many flaws — most notably, his ruthlessness to his players and journalists — but his strengths ultimately triumphed over his blemishes.

One of the most endearing tributes I’ve read of Ferguson this past week was from a journalist who was banned three times from the Manchester United training grounds. The journalist fondly recalled how Ferguson took time to help out his long time beat writers and regularly attend funerals of staff members and their families.

He knew the line between business and personal. He knew when to be Sir Alex and when to just be Alex. That is something I would like to emulate.

Before I conclude, I want to flash back to July 2005, when Ferguson signed Korean midfielder Park Ji-Sung to Manchester United. As the first Asian player to play in England, Park was my childhood hero, and the signing was a huge moment in my life.

In hindsight, I came to realize that Park’s signing was solely business, but back in 2005, it represented something more. It symbolized that if you worked hard, anybody — even a pockmarked, flat-footed soccer player like Park — can reach his or her dream. It was the American Dream — taking place in northwestern England.

For an immigrant boy like me, who — at the time struggled to fit into the American lifestyle — that was a groundbreaking realization.

Now at Berkeley, I am living a part of the dream. At the same time, Alex Ferguson is moving on, having lived his dream.

While we’ve never crossed paths, I just want him to know how he shaped who I am. I just want to thank him.

Contact Seung Y. Lee at sylee@dailycal.org Follow him on Twitter @sngyn92.

The post The UnSeung Hero: Saying goodbye to Sir Alex Ferguson appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Due in large part to Jolene Henderson’s healthy return to the circle, the Bears (36-17) finally resemble the team they were during their 24-game winning streak in pre-conference play. With its Pac-12 struggles now just a remnant of the past, Cal feels like it is finally coming together.

“I think we’re firing on all cylinders right now,” said sophomore shortstop Cheyenne Cordes. “We’re all getting healthy. We’re all on the come-up.”

Starting on Friday in Ann Arbor, Mich., Cal will open postseason play in the NCAA Softball Tournament Regionals against Central Michigan (33-18). The winner of the series will go on to face the victor of the eighth-seeded Michigan (45-10) and Valparaiso (34-25) matchup.

In a double-elimination style tournament, the winner of the Michigan Regional will advance to the Super Regional round, where it will face off against the winner of the LSU Regional.

Just two hours from Ann Arbor, CMU should hold a home-field advantage over Cal, even though the regional location is considered neutral for both squads. CMU currently boasts a team batting average of .286, led by senior outfielder Macy Merchant and her .415 batting average.

The Bears’ hopes will rest on the shoulders and the injured left knee of Henderson. Despite missing six games due to injury, the All-American still led the Pac-12 with 35 starts, 28 wins, 262.2 innings pitched and an ERA of 1.20. However, with the inconsistencies of Cal’s offensive attack, Henderson can’t afford any major slip-ups. The Bears finished the season with a team batting average of .267 — the worst in the conference.

“I think it all has to do with the lineup being relaxed,” Cordes said. “We added some unnecessary pressure on to ourselves.”

Cal’s biggest obstacle on its path to the LSU Super Regional should be Michigan. The Wolverines cruised to a 20-2 finish in the Big 10 behind the .399 batting average of first baseman and catcher Caitlin Blanchard and the 1.81 ERA of Sara Driesenga. Undefeated at home, Michigan holds a sizeable advantage over the Bears and their 8-8 road record.

Last season, Cal hosted the regional and emerged as the winners. But this season, it doesn’t enter as the favorites but instead as the underdogs.

“There’s definitely somewhat of a different feel,” Cordes said. “Last year, it was more of an expectation (to win). We still expect to win, but we’ve gone through the struggle (this season).”

Despite the Bears having to battle several injuries this season, Cordes stressed the importance of ending the season on a positive and healthy note. After injuries to Henderson, utility player Victoria Jones and Cordes herself, the Bears are finally healthy again. And after going winless in a three-week span, the Bears finally defeated Washington last Saturday.

“We had never had a nine-game losing streak,” Cordes said. “For us to end on that winning note was a big deal. We even called it the start of our winning streak.”

Sean Wagner-McGough covers softball. Contact him at swagnermcgough@dailycal.org. Follow him on Twitter @seanjwagner.

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It was an expectation.

The team has made the Sweet 16 for seven consecutive years — including the last six, with Amanda Augustus as head coach. The Bears’ regular season, like the six seasons before it, has been nothing more than an opening act for the main event.

“Going to the Sweet 16 is part of the culture on our team,” Augustus said.

On Friday, No. 8 Cal will face No. 9 Alabama, whose team made it to the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.

For the Bears, the question is still the same as it has been all season: Can they go all the way and deliver Cal its first NCAA championship?

It is not out of the question. As a No. 8 seed, Cal advanced to the title match in 2008 and again in 2009 as the No. 9 seed. Ever since those impressive seasons — Augustus’ first two years as the coach — the Bears have been unable to return to the finals.

As the seeding indicates, the Bears will be the favorite in their matchup against the Crimson Tide. Alabama does not have a singles player on its roster ranked in the top 25, while Cal has both No. 5 Zsofi Susanyi and No. 8 Anett Schutting in the top 10.

The Crimson Tide will be the second SEC opponent that the Bears will play in a row and the second team from the state of Alabama. The Cal squad swept Auburn, 4-0, last Saturday at the Hellman Tennis Complex in Berkeley.

If Cal bests the Crimson Tide (21-5) in Urbana, Ill., on Friday, its path will become much more daunting. The Bears will likely have to face top-seeded Florida on Sunday, should they make it to the Elite 8.

The good news for Cal is that the team has been producing its best tennis now than it has been all season. The Bears (18-5) are riding on an eight-match win streak and have brought home 13 victories in their last 14 dual matches.

“If we’re not peaking now, I don’t know,” Augustus said after the Auburn match. “And it seems as some of our health issues are at a place where we can handle them.”

As late as it is in the season, the Bears are healthiest they have ever been. Cal’s top player, fifth-ranked Susanyi, has been in and out of the lineup with a hip flexor injury. Meanwhile, freshman Klara Fabikova, who plays on the No. 2 court in singles and doubles, was hampered early in the season, along with senior Annie Goransson.

All those players were on the court last weekend and appeared to be at full strength.

“I felt good to be back on the court,” Susanyi said. “I feel like I’m 100 percent, and I’m so excited to play.”

The Bears are ready. As they’ve known all along, their dedication and effort all season have been leading up to this weekend.

“We’ll work hard and prepare as we have all season,” Augustus said. “Now it’s just who wants it more.”

Riley McAtee covers women’s tennis. Contact him at rmcatee@dailycal.org

The post Surging Cal women’s tennis aims for Elite Eight against Alabama appeared first on The Daily Californian.

And they handled it well.

For the third year in a row, the Bears clinched their round-of-32 match to advance to the NCAA Sweet 16.

But for the first time in three years, the Cal squad was not anticipating its second-round matchup. No. 18 Cal had to pull its difficult 4-1 win over the lowest seed in its bracket — unranked Denver.

In the first round of the NCAA team championships on Friday, the Bears crushed Florida State, 4-1, to advance to the second round of the NCAAs in Gainesville, Fla.

After seizing the doubles point with wins on courts No. 2 and 3, Cal quickly took down three Seminoles to emerge as 4-1 victors. Although the Bears conquered Florida in two sets each in singles, the Seminoles did not fall without first displaying some resistance.

“Florida State kept fighting, and it was hot and humid,” said Cal coach Peter Wright. “Luckily, we were able to get to four in time, but it was a hard-fought match.”

After taking down Florida State, the Bears were wholly anticipating a rematch against No. 15 Florida, the top seed in the bracket, for the round-of-32s. They defeated the Gators earlier this season — on Feb. 16 — with a 4-1 win at the ITA National Indoor Championships held in Seattle.

But the unranked Denver team unexpectedly pulled a narrow 4-3 upset of the Gators and advanced to the second round with the Bears. After losing the doubles point and trailing 3-1 in singles, the Pioneers managed to stun Florida in the round-of-64.

Denver was the only team across the country to upset a ranked squad in the first round of the tournament.

“That was quite unexpected,” Wright said. “Denver played with a tremendous amount of heart and energy, and quite frankly, that heart and energy carried over into our match today.”

In doubles on Saturday, the Pioneers fiercely battled against the Bears, fighting back despite trailing on all three courts to start the doubles round. Denver eventually took the first-point advantage after the Pioneer pair of Enej Bonin and Jens Vorkefeld topped Cal’s Christoffer Konigsfeldt and Campbell Johnson on the top court, 8-6. According to Wright, the Bears failed to play aggressively at the net and ultimately handed the first point over to Denver.

“They outplayed us in the doubles point, and that was surprising to all of us because they lost the doubles point fairly easily to Florida the day before,” Wright said. “We were being a little tentative and passive.”

In singles, the Bears and Pioneers exchanged a few games before getting rained out and having to move to indoor courts. The rain delays, however, gave the Bears time to recuperate and shift the momentum in their favor.

Once Cal initiated play inside, the team found its rhythm and notched four straight points across courts two, three, four and five.

“We took advantage of that small amount of time and came out firing after that rain delay,” Wright said. “We were a different team from doubles, coming out and taking initiative — playing the Cal style of tennis.”

Janice Chua covers men’s tennis. Contact her at jchua@dailycal.org.

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But not anymore.

In two of their last three matches of the regular season, the Bears had to make a comeback in singles after dropping doubles matches and finding themselves in early 1-0 deficits. This included doubles losses to opponents like Arizona, who weren’t strong enough to even make the 64-team NCAA tournament.

The Bears’ top duo of Lynn Chi and Anett Schutting seemed to be clicking earlier in the year, when they won five straight doubles matches. But down the stretch, the duo was only 3-4 in their last 7 doubles matches of the season.

Match after match, it seemed like the Bears could only hang on in doubles by a thread and would often have to use their strong singles play to bail themselves out later.

But with their drumming of Auburn, 4-0, on Saturday at Hellman Tennis Complex, that may no longer be the case.

It was no surprise that No. 8 Cal cruised through Stony Brook, 4-0, on Friday. But Auburn, the No. 25 team in the nation, was supposed to give Cal a tougher challenge in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Instead, the Bears dominated and earned a trip to the Sweet 16.

Unlike in their usual sluggish starts in the regular season, the Bears exploded in doubles against Auburn. Tayler Davis and Kelly Chui jumped to an 8-1 win on court No. 3, and Anett Schutting and Lynn Chi — the same duo that was struggling just a few weeks ago — beat the No. 10 doubles team in the country with an 8-3 win on the top court to earn the doubles point for the Bears.

“I thought we were solid,” said Cal coach Amanda Augustus. “And then, on court No. 3, we had a really, really good day. That got us off to a great start.”

The Bears carried that momentum over into singles, where the Cal freshmen rocked Hellman Tennis Complex. Lynn Chi raced to a 6-0, 6-1 finish on court No. 4 to give Cal its second point of the match. Meanwhile, Cal’s other freshman, Klara Fabikova, dominated her opponent in a 6-1, 6-1 route.

The Bears needed just one more point to put the match away.

Seniors Tayler Davis and Annie Goransson were each up five games in their second sets, needing just one more game from either to seal the match for the Bears.

“Me and Annie were kind of in a race to see who would finish first,” Davis said. “(Assistant coach) Cordell was sorta joking with me to see who would finish first.”

Davis was able to beat Goransson in their race to finish off the opponent first, winning 6-3 on her court to give the Bears the four points needed to end the match.

It was a fitting end for the senior captain’s last match in Berkeley.

“I think a couple of them had a look up at the scoreboard and may have deferred to their senior captains a little bit,” Augustus said, smiling. “This is her big day.”

Watch an interview with co-captain Tayler Davis here

Riley McAtee covers women’s tennis. Contact him at rmcatee@dailycal.org

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Henderson (30-9) made sure the No. 17 Bears (36-17,10-14 Pac-12) left Husky Softball Stadium in Seattle with a win. Striking out the first two batters of the final inning, the senior allowed a two-out base runner before inducing a flyout to center field to secure the 3-2 win. After doing nothing but losing for the past three weeks, the Bears finally got off the schneid.

Although the Bears were outhit in the game 9-6, sophomore first baseman Breana Kostreba launched a two-run homer in the second inning to provide the offensive spark. With Danielle Henderson on first base, Kostreba took a changeup from Washington pitcher Kaitlin Inglesby (21-7) and gave Jolene Henderson some invaluable run support.

“I sat on the second pitch that I got, which was a changeup,” Kostreba said. “The game before, I had struggled with the changeup, so I was looking for it.”

The next inning, freshman outfielder and speedster Khala Taylor reached first base on a bunt single. After advancing to second base on a groundout, Taylor was brought home by a two-out RBI triple by Danielle Henderson. It was Henderson’s first triple of the season and provided the winning tally.

Jolene Henderson also received plenty of defensive support. Despite committing a fielding error, Taylor also threw out two runners at the plate in the first and fifth innings.

“(Khala’s) a game changer,” Henderson said. “She really just shut down that team trying to run on her.”

Despite the win, the Bears still lost the series to Washington, losing games one and two by scores of 7-4 and 9-8, respectively.

Less than 24 hours before Saturday’s win, Henderson had the opportunity to bring home a win in game two. After rallying back from a four-run deficit in the sixth inning, the Bears pulled in front of the Huskies 8-7 in the seventh inning. Henderson retired the first two batters she faced in the seventh, but when third baseman Danielle Henderson committed a throwing error, the Huskies pounced.

After back-to-back two-out singles, the game was headed to extra innings. And just two innings later, Washington catcher Shawna Wright blasted a solo shot to left field for the 9-8 victory, extending Cal’s losing streak to nine games.

“We knew that we could have won that game and that we should have won that game,” said Kostreba.

With the Pac-12 season now expired, Cal finished in fifth place in the conference. Despite not meeting pre-season expectations set by their Pac-12 title in 2012, the Bears will head into the first round of the postseason, the NCAA Regionals, finally healthy again. After losing Henderson, shortstop Cheyenne Cordes and utility player Victoria Jones to injuries within the past three weeks, all three players saw the field this weekend.

“All the pieces are just coming together,” Henderson said. “(We’re going to) start a new streak.”

Sean Wagner-McGough covers softball. Contact him at swagnermcgough@dailycal.org. Follow him on Twitter @seanjwagner.

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Last year, the Bears failed to make the playoffs, suffered two losses for the first time since 2009 and played all their matches on the road. It was not a normal season for the 26-time national champions.

“A lot of people saw us as having a down year,” said Cal captain Seamus Kelly early in the season. “We want to re-establish ourselves at the top of the sport.”

And that was the goal coming into the spring: to prove last season was just an anomaly.

The team’s campaign started well. At Cal’s official reopening of Witter Rugby Field, against Stanford, the Bears exploded for a 176-0 victory. In the team’s first match in the newly formed PAC Rugby Conference, against Arizona State, Cal won 104-0. And in a rematch of last year’s loss to Cal Poly, the Bears defeated the Mustangs 112-7.

A 10-point home win over the University of British Columbia in February was an early test. But Cal was the best team throughout the match — minus a few lapses in the second half.

The Bears had yet to show how good they could be.

But in the course of two matches in early March, the Bears lost scrumhalf Paul Bosco and wing Anthony Lombardo to season-ending injuries. For a team with more than five dozen players, it wasn’t a question of whether or not someone could fill in the spots but of how the Bears would respond after losing two of the best players in the country at their positions.

Despite the injuries, the Bears kept winning.

With a 17-0 record, Cal headed into its final three matches of the regular season in what proved to be the Bears’ toughest stretch. After slim halftime leads against British Columbia and Utah, Cal used strong second halves to win.

But the team’s most impressive comeback came in the regular season finale against St. Mary’s. Trailing by 15 at the half, the Bears scored three tries in 13 minutes to open the second half. Cal went on to beat the Gaels by 11 points.

It proved to be the defining win of the season.

Less than a month after the St. Mary’s match, in the finals of the Varsity Cup National Championships, the Bears were down early.

Trailing Brigham Young University 16-3 late in the first half, Cal freshman Russell Webb’s try brought the Bears within single digits.

In the second half, when BYU tried to extend its lead, Cal came back again. A try from Kelly with six minutes to play tied the score. For a moment, it looked like the Bears might pull it off.

But a well-executed tactic — a drop kick off the foot of BYU halfback Jonathan Linehan — as time expired, ended Cal’s undefeated season and hopes for a title.

Finishing with a national championship would have been a storybook end to the year. But Cal head coach Jack Clark still viewed the season as a success.

“The 2013 team, under Seamus’ leadership, really took us back to where we want to be,” Clark said after the championship match. “I’m privileged to coach this particular team. I am really proud of the things we were able to accomplish.”

For Kelly, the match against BYU should not be his last. He plans on returning to the team for his fifth year next spring in what Clark said would be his third season as captain of the Bears. Even though the 2013 season ended without a championship trophy, the team’s 21-1 record re-established Cal’s standing as one of the best rugby teams in the country.

“There were some great moments this season,” Kelly said after the match against BYU. “I think we can look at ourselves as a team that got Cal rugby back on track.”

Stephen Hobbs covers rugby. Contact him at shobbs@dailycal.org

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This is not one of those seasons for the Cal baseball team.

Mired in the dregs of the Pac-12 and effectively eliminated from postseason play, the weekend series against No. 13 Arizona State allowed the Bears to inject a sense of purpose into the latter slate of games by playing spoiler to a team gunning for home field advantage for the NCAA Regionals.

After splitting the first two contests in schizophrenic fashion by winning a tight 3-1 pitching duel on Friday and dropping a 10-9 slugfest on Saturday, Cal faced the Sun Devils for a noon contest on Sunday. Mirroring the Saturday contest, a gluttony of runs were scored, and the game remained close, but the Bears eventually fell 10-7 on the strength of a ninth-inning grand slam from ASU designated hitter Nathaniel Causey.

Arizona State, dangerously close to losing its coveted privilege of hosting the NCAA Regionals, wasted no time racing out to a daunting advantage. The Sun Devils piled on four runs in the top of the first inning, pouncing on the sloppy pitching and fielding from Cal starter Ryan Wertenberger and first baseman Nick Halamandaris, respectively.

Wertenberger easily retired leadoff hitter Kasey Coffman on a routine grounder to second to kick off the inning. But the grounder was the last out Wertenberger would secure. Wertenberger walked the next two Sun Devils and allowed a single by catcher Max Rossiter to load the bases. Causey subsequently knocked a two-RBI single to left field, and an error by Halamandaris brought two more runners home to give Arizona State a 4-0 lead. Wertenberger was pulled in favor of Colin Monsour after just 0.1 innings pitched and four runs allowed.

The Bears pulled back into the contest on the strength of power hitters Devon Rodriguez and Chris Paul. In the bottom of the third, Rodriguez slammed a Zak Miller offering over the fence in right-center, driving in Andrew Knapp and bringing the Bears within one run. The Sun Devils tacked on a run in the fourth on an RBI triple by Drew Stankiewicz to put them up 5-3, but a Paul solo shot and a wild pitch with Halamandaris on third base knotted the score up at 5, heading into the top of the fifth.

Both teams traded off runs in the sixth inning; the game remained tied at 6-6 until the top of the ninth inning. Kyle Porter led off the ninth by walking by Dalton Dinatale and was promptly yanked by head coach David Esquer. New pitcher Eric Walbridge induced a flyout but conceded two singles to load the bases. In the next at-bat, Causey crushed a Walbridge pitch over the right field wall, poetic justice for a season that began with a sense of hope but descended quickly into mediocrity.

Michael Rosen covers baseball. Contact him at mrosen@dailycal.org. Follow him on Twitter @michaelrosen3.

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A week after being swept by No. 5 Oregon State, Cal now has to face No. 13 Arizona State in a weekend series beginning on Friday at Evans Baseball Diamond.

Arizona State (30-14-1, 12-9 in the Pac-12) ranks fourth in the conference and comes in to Berkeley looking to improve its postseason seeding. The surging Sun Devils recently secured their 30th win of the season on Sunday and have now notched 51 consecutive 30-win seasons — the most in NCAA history.

Meanwhile, Cal is floundering. After amassing a 16-12 record through the end of March, the Bears proceeded to go on an eight-game losing streak to begin April — and they haven’t recovered since.

Cal now holds a mediocre 21-26 season record, including 9-15 in the Pac-12, which has left the team in ninth place in the conference. The Bears’ postseason chances are essentially out the window.

Just two years ago, the Bears had a young, promising and star-studded roster: a potential major leaguer in Devon Rodriguez, a star in the making with Andrew Knapp and a standout pitching duo between Justin Jones and Kyle Porter. After a series of misfortunes, most notably Rodriguez’s season-ending knee injury in 2012, Cal’s chrysalis of young talent never blossomed the way the Bears wanted.

Right now, Knapp is still trying to keep Cal’s offensive ship from sinking completely. Knapp currently leads the Bears in batting average, hits, runs and RBIs, but Cal as a whole is only managing a .264 batting average.

The Bears’ subpar pitching is in no way helping Cal’s offense either. A combined ERA of 4.50 from Cal’s pitching staff is letting their opponents hit a .292 batting average off of the Bears. If Cal’s pitchers can’t get it together against Arizona State’s hard-hitting offense — led by outfielder Trever Allen — the Bears are in for a rough weekend.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez is battling injuries once again. In 2012, it was his knee, and now it’s his shoulder. The previous first baseman dislocated his shoulder late in the fall in a scrimmage game and has been limited to the role of designated hitter for most of the season because of it. Rodriguez was once well on his way to becoming an MLB draft pick, but he is now heading toward his fourth year playing in Berkeley for the 2014 season.

Although he has been unable to man his usual post at first base, Rodriguez has been a constant force for the Bears on the offensive end. He is second behind Knapp in RBIs — fighting on despite the need for a shoulder surgery that he will undergo as soon as the season is over.

Against Arizona State, the Bears will need all of their players to be at the top of their form in order to have any hope of winning.

While Cal continues to struggle this season, the team will look to return in 2014 with much of that same roster that took them to the College World Series in 2011.

But by then, they will be older, healthier and maybe better.

Contact Riley McAtee at rmcatee@dailycal.org
Contact Johnny Zhang at jzhang@dailycal.org

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