Cal Softball: Bears To Face No. 3 Georgia (Twice) In Prep For Final Pac-12 Season
With the start of the final season of Pac-12 softball a week away, 20th-ranked Cal will face its stiffest tests of the season this weekend with a pair of matchups against No. 3 Georgia at the Stanford DeMarini Invitational.
The Golden Bears are 16-1 and have won 14 in a row following a 1-0 victory over UC Davis on Tuesday. They are ranked in all four national polls and believe they are ready for the Southeastern Conference powerhouse Bulldogs, who are 13-1 and have outscored their opponents 100-37.
“I’m excited,” fourth-year Cal coach Chelsea Spencer says in the video at the top of this story. “The girls are working their butts off all year long. We’re a really process-oriented program right now. We know if we play our best and practice with great attitude and effort and hard and tough and live our core values, (16-1) was coming. We knew it.
“Working out in the weight room, making sure we get to the fastest and strongest we can be so we are in prime condition in mid-season to defeat No. 3 Georgia.”
The only blemish on Cal’s resume so far was an 8-0 loss at then-No. 21 Louisiana, but the Bears came back two days later to beat the Rain Cajuns 3-1 in extra innings. Cal also owns a 6-5 win over the Virginia Tech team that handed Georgia its only defeat.
The Bulldogs, coming off an eight-inning 2-1 win over No.8 Clemson on Tuesday, also boasts wins over Purdue (twice), Wisconsin, Oklahoma State, UCLA, Florida State and Minnesota.
“Coach always talks about how she wants a postseason feel early. I really do believe we’re World Series contenders,” Cal sophomore second baseman Elon Butler says in the video above. “So it’s going to be fun to see how we match up against a team like Georgia. So I’m excited.
“Confidence is pretty high. We’ve been working really, really hard.”
Certainly Butler’s confidence in her own game is soaring. A Pac-12 all-freshman selection last season, the San Jose native is sixth in the conference in batting average (.439), tied for second in home runs (6) and first in slugging percentage (.951).
Note: Butler’s numbers were a bit different when we conducted these video interviews early this week prior to the Bears' game vs. Davis..
Spencer said Butler has grown in a variety of ways in his second season.
“Oh man, numbers don’t lie. She’s doing a great job,” Spencer said. “She has an incredible mindset. She’s taken it to the next level. She’s more of a mature hitter . . . and a relationship-builder on the field.”
Butler called the numbers she has generated so far “surreal.”
“I think I just really started believing in myself and setting higher standards for myself,” she said. “I definitely had a lot of things I could improve upon and I just made it a point over the summer and during the fall to work on those things and give my best effort every single day.”
Butler is part of an infield that also features shortstop Acacia Anders (.426 batting average) and third baseman Tatum Anzaldo (.395).
The Bears appear to have a deep pitching staff, including freshman left-hander Randi Roelling.
“She’s doing a great job. She’s a dog, straight up, in all essence of that word,” Spencer said. “She gets the ball and competes her butt off. She challenges the zone to these hitters. She’s not afraid of anything. Competition drives her to be the best she can be out there.”
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Butler likes the look of the Bears as they enter the meat of their schedule.
“It’s been so fun. I love all my teammates,” Butler said. “We work really hard, day in and day out. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the season goes.”
The Bears begin the final season of the Pac-12 as we know it next week with a three-game set at Oregon. The thought leaves Butler equal parts excited and melancholy.
“I’m honestly really sad. Playing in the Pac has always been my dream as a kid. I’m grateful I was a part of it for two years but I wish I could be part of it more,” she said. “I’m also excited to go to the ACC and play those teams out there. It’s just, I’m really sad about the Pac. It was some place that was really close to my heart.”
The Bears were picked seventh in the nine-team Pac-12 by the league's coaches, but Butler believes they can win the title. “That’s the goal,” Butler said. “I think people kind of underestimate our team. I think we’re fully capable of doing big things.”
The next big things are four games over three days at Stanford. The Bears face Georgia on Friday at noon and Saturday at 1:30 p.m., and play Boise State (11-5) on Saturday at 11 a.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
“Georgia is a top-5 program consistently. We know who Georgia is — they’re a great team,” Spencer said. "We’re ready to fight and make sure we play our best softball.
“It’s a great measure for how we prepare before we get to the best softball conference in the country.”
Cover photo of Cal second baseman Elon Butler by Peter Fukumae
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo