Cal Softball Takes 4-Game Win Streak Into Its First ACC Tourney

The Cal women’s softball team, hoping to solidify its chances of earning a spot in the NCAA tournament field, makes its debut in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship tournament against Georgia Tech on Wednesday.

The ninth-seeded Bears (35-18, 9-11 ACC) and No. 8 Yellow Jackets (26-21, 10-11) play the 12-team tournament’s opening first-round game at 8 a.m. PT on Wednesday at Boston College.

Cal beat Georgia Tech twice in three tries at Berkeley in March, winning 10-2 and 5-4 before falling 8-5.

The Bears take a four-game win streak into the ACC tournament while Tech had dropped its past five games.

The winner advances to the Thursday quarterfinals against top-seeded and regular-season champion Florida State (44-7, 18-2). That game will also begin at 8 a.m. PT.

Cal was 0-3 vs. the Seminoles, losing by scores of 8-1, 11-3 and 16-3 last month at Berkeley.

The ACC tournament semifinals are Friday with the championship game on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. PT on ESPN.

The Bears head to Boston this week in solid shape to land a berth in the 64-team NCAA field, although a win over Georgia Tech would enhance their resume.

Cal was No. 27 in the NCAA’s official RPI computer rankings as of May 1, before winning three times at Syracuse to close out the regular season. The D1Softball website had the Bears at No. 24 on Sunday morning.

The Bears’ chances are perhaps boosted by a 14-9 record in road games and a 13-3 ledger in neutral games. Only five teams nationally have more than 14 road victories.

Cal is 7-15 in Quad 1 games against top-50 opponents and 28-3 in all others.

Two websites projecting the NCAA softball field — College Sports Madness and SB Nation — both had Cal in the bracket, as of late last week.

And the Bears are on a roll, with the four-game win streak that began a week ago Sunday with a 4-0 home victory over Virginia Tech. Cal outscored its opponent 24-2 over those four games, its pitching staff surrendering just one earned run.

Cal completed a Saturday double-header sweep at Syracuse with a 4-2 win, courtesy of sophomore Lagi Quiroga’s two-run homer in the 11th inning, her 11th of the season. Senior Annabel Teperson pitched a complete-game, allowing just one earned in 11 innings.

Senior Acacia Anders also homered in the Saturday nightcap.

Junior Tianna Bell hit her team-leading 15th home run and drove in three runs in Game 1 while freshman Miranda De Nava pitched a complete game for her 12th win, allowed just six hits.

Cal beat Syracuse 7-0 on Friday to open the series, with Bell and senior Mika Lee each homering and senior Anna Reimers and Teperson combining for the four-hit shutout.

In their 4-0 win a week ago vs. Virginia Tech, the Bears got a 3-run homer from senior Kaylee Pond and a five-hit, complete-game shutout from Teperson.

Follow Jeff Faraudo on Twitter, Facebook and Bluesky

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