Cal Softball: Swept on Final Weekend, Bears Miss Out on Longshot NCAA Tourney Bid
Steven teams from the Pac-12 Conference were chosen to participate in the NCAA tournament. It was no surprise that Cal was not among them.
The Bears closed out their season Saturday with a 5-0 loss at UCLA. Cal wound up 28-27-1, including 8-16 in conference play and lost its final four games.
Arizona State (39-9, 20-4) earned the Pac-12’s automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA field by winning the conference title. The Sun Devils (39-9, 20-4) were given a No. 8 seed.
Also landing berths in the field were No. 5 seed UCLA (43-8, 19-5), No. 13 seed Washington (35-15, 14-10), Oregon (31-17, 10-14), Stanford (36-19, 11-13), Oregon State 33-19, 9-15) and Arizona (33-20, 8-16).
Defending champion Oklahoma (49-2) received the No. 1 overall seed, despite losing to rival Oklahoma State in the Big 12 tournament championship game.
Cal finished in a tie for last with Arizona in the nine-team Pac-12. The Bears still were considered a possible at-large candidate until being swept by UCLA, outscored 23-4 in three games against the league’s top pitching staff.
Four Cal players were chosen last week to the All-Pac-12 team, led by catcher Makena Smith (.412 batting average, 13 home runs, 39 RBI in 43 games) and shortstop Tatum Anzaldo (.383), both first-team selections.
Pitcher/utility payer Sona Halajian (.350, ,13 home runs, 18-10 W-L, .387 ERA) was a second-team pick and infielder Acacia Anders (.315) was chosen to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team.
Here are the NCAA regional pairings:
Norman Regional – May 20-22 at Norman, Oklahoma
No. 1 seed Oklahoma* (49-2) vs. Prairie View A&M (20-28)
Texas A&M (29-26) vs. Minnesota (26-24-1)
Orlando Regional – May 20-22 at Orlando, Florida
No. 16 seed UCF* (46-12) vs. Villanova (32-22)
Michigan (36-16) vs. South Dakota St. (40-11)
Evanston Regional – May 20-22 at Evanston, Illinois
No. 9 seed Northwestern* (40-10) vs. Oakland (26-15)
Notre Dame (39-10) vs. McNeese (38-19)
Tempe Regional – May 20-22 at Tempe, Arizona
No. 8 seed Arizona State* (39-9) vs. Cal State Fullerton (36-20)
LSU (34-21) vs. San Diego State (37-14)
Los Angeles Regional – May 20-22 at Los Angeles, California
No. 5 seed UCLA* (43-8) vs. Grand Canyon (38-14)
Ole Miss (39-17) vs. Loyola Marymount University (36-15)
Durham Regional – May 20-22 at Durham, North Carolina
No. 12 seed Duke* (41-8) vs. University of Maryland, Baltimore County (31-10)
Georgia (40-16) vs. Liberty (43-16)
Seattle Regional – May 20-22 at Seattle, Washington
No. 13 seed Washington* (35-15) vs. Lehigh (30-18-1)
Texas (38-17-1) vs. Weber State (38-10)
Fayetteville Regional – May 20-22 at Fayetteville, Arkansas
No. 4 seed Arkansas* (44-9) vs. Princeton (27-15-2)
Oregon (31-17) vs. Wichita State (33-16)
Blacksburg Regional – May 20-22 at Blacksburg, Virginia
No. 3 seed Virginia Tech* (41-7) vs. Saint Francis (Pennsylvania) (37-16)
Kentucky (35-17) vs. Miami (OH) (39-15-1)
Gainesville Regional – May 20-22 at Gainesville, Florida
No. 14 seed Florida* (43-16) vs. Canisius (32-16)
Georgia Tech (37-16) vs. Wisconsin (28-19)
Knoxville Regional – May 20-22 at Knoxville, Tennessee
No. 11 seed Tennessee* (39-16) vs. Campbell (37-17)
Ohio State (35-15) vs. Oregon State (33-19)
Tuscaloosa Regional – May 20-22 at Tuscaloosa, Alabama
No. 6 seed Alabama* (41-11) vs. Chattanooga (29-25)
Stanford (36-19) vs. Murray State (40-16-1)
Stillwater Regional – May 20-22 at Stillwater, Oklahoma
No. 7 seed Oklahoma State* (41-12) vs. Fordham (30-20)
Nebraska (40-14) vs. North Texas (35-14)
Clemson Regional – May 20-22 at Clemson, South Carolina
No. 10 seed Clemson* (39-15) vs. UNCW (32-13)
Auburn (39-15) vs. University of Louisiana at Lafayette (45-11)
Columbia Regional – May 20-22 at Columbia, Missouri
No. 15 seed Missouri* (32-14) vs. Missouri State (27-18)
Illinois (34-20) vs. Arizona (33-20)
Tallahassee Regional – May 20-22 at Tallahassee, Florida
No. 2 seed Florida St.* (52-5) vs. Howard (31-22)
Mississippi State (33-24) vs. South Florida (44-14)
Cover photo of Tatum Anzaldo by Peter Fukumae, KLC fotos
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo