Cal Softball Beats No. 3 Georgia
Third-ranked Georgia ended Cal softball's 14-game winning streak on Friday, but the 20th-ranked Bears got a measure of revenge on Saturday by beating that same Georgia team 7-2 on Saturday in the DeMarini Invitational at Stanford.
Cal improved its record to 17-2 and might improve its national ranking, which varied from 20th to 24th depending on the rankings site you visit. Georgia, ranked anywhere from third to fifth, dropped to 14-2.
Cal was scheduled to face Boise State early Saturday, but that game was postponed. However, Cal was able to get seven innings in against Georgia despite the intermittent rain.
Cal pitcher Randi Roelling, who took the loss against Georgia on Friday, pitched a complete-game victory on Saturday, allowing five hits, five walks and two earned runs while striking out five to improve her record to 7-2.
Acicia Anders and Tianna Bell were the hitting stars for the Bears. Anders was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Bell hit a solo home run to lead the Cal attack.
Georgia jumped on top when Jaiden Fields hit a two-run home run in the top of the second inning.
However, those were the only runs Roelling allowed, and Cal took the lead by scoring three times in the bottom of the second. Cal had just two hits in that inning, but an error scored the first Cal run, and the Bears scored two more on fielders choices.
Double plays got the Bears of trouble in the third and fourth innings, and Cal added one run in the fourth, two in the fifth and one in the sixth to make Roelling's job a little easier.
Bell's fourth home run of the season made it a 4-2 game in the fourth, and Anders' two-run double in the fifth pushed Cal's lead to 6-2. D'Auna Johnson got her first hit of the season in the bottom of the sixth, but it was an important one as it drove in the Bears' seventh and final run.
Madison Kerpics (5-1) only pitched the first two innings for Georgia, but she took the loss.
Cover photo courtesy of Cal Athletics
Follow Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53
Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport