A slow burnout: Bears win 1st 3 out of 5 games at Wahine Classic
In the rainbow state, Cal softball found the pot of gold in three out of the five games it played at the Wahine Classic in Honolulu.
No. 1 Oklahoma threw 15-6 Cal a curveball and gave the team a run for its money in the fourth game of the weekend. However, the Bears’ outing in the Wahine Classic was mostly strong, headlined by back-to-back homers and a timely clinch of the score against their opening opponent, Baylor.
Up until the bottom of the sixth inning, Cal and Baylor were neck and neck. Sophomore pitcher Haylei Archer effectively whipped the ball across home plate, sitting down Baylor’s star batters with only one run given up in the second inning.
When Cal went into the 1-1 game in the bottom of the sixth, its momentum picked up. With sophomore Candace Yingling’s pinch hit, which drove in one run, the Bears were in the lead. Three more runners then occupied the bases, and sophomore Tatum Anzaldo launched a behemoth grand slam over the fence to drive in four more runs.
Like a domino effect, freshman Acacia Anders followed in her teammate’s footsteps and smacked her perfect pitch over the fence. The Bears left the sixth inning with 7 points, a confident margin to go into the last inning.
Remarkably, Baylor managed five runs off of Archer’s pitching in its last chance at-bat, but ultimately, it was too little, too late. Cal emerged victorious in its first game of the tournament, 7-6, giving it momentum to dominate in its second faceoff.
Next up to the plate was the host of the tournament: Hawaii. Homefield advantage had no effect for the Rainbow Wahine, as sophomore pitcher Sona Halajian shut down any chance for Hawaii to get on base. Cal pulled forward and scored five runs across the second, sixth and seventh innings.
Halajian’s strike zone was out of reach for Honolulu. With nine strikeouts and only five hits, the pitcher challenged her opponents with her speed and movement of the ball. The spontaneous drops and curves of Halajian’s kept Hawaii suspenseful and threw it off balance before it could make contact with the ball.
Ending with a 5-0 score, Cal moved into its third game of the tournament against Baylor –– a rematch that kept the blue and gold faithful on its toes.
With extra innings, Cal and Baylor continued to tie the game in exciting fashion until the eighth inning. With a 4-4 score, the Bears got the hits rolling as they scored four quick runs. Powerhouse Anzaldo concluded the eighth inning scoring streak with an RBI single, and Cal maintained a three-run lead after Baylor scored one run in the bottom of the eighth.
Cal stole its third and final win of the tournament by ruthless at-bats. However, the Bears lost their conquered territory after playing against Oklahoma, the nation’s top softball program.
The undefeated Sooners charged forward into the Bears and run-ruled them in the fifth inning. With an 8-0 score, Cal faced its first defeat in three weeks, a sentiment the team had nearly forgotten.
The Bears took their loss to heart, unable to rebound against the formerly conquered Rainbow Wahine. In the final game of the Wahine Classic, Cal legend-in-the-making Anders put her bat to the ball and sent it over the fence. Anders’ first inning blast capped Cal’s score for the game while Hawaii continued to score six more runs.
While the Bears’ virtue started off strong, their stamina could not keep up that of their opponents. They’ll be back in action March 18, in which the blue and gold will have the home-field advantage against the Huskies.
Alisa Steel covers softball and women’s swim and dive. Contact her at asteel@dailycal.org.