Cal Softball: Bears Set Schedule for Coach Chelsea Spencer's Debut Season
New Cal softball coach Chelsea Spencer’s team will open its season with a doubleheader at Sacramento State on Saturday, Feb. 20 before making its home debut the next day with a twinbill vs. Saint Mary’s.
Spencer, who played on Cal’s 2002 NCAA championship team, was named head coach last May after Diane Ninemire stepped down in March due to health reasons.
Spencer has big shoes to fill. Ninemire ran the Bears’ program for 32 seasons, posting a record of 1,355-687-1. Her career victory total is the most among any Cal coach in any sport.
Ninemire won the 2002 national title along with NCAA runner-up finishes in 2003 and ’04. She was a two-time national coach of the year and was voted conference coach of the year four times.
Spencer, who returns to Cal after assistant coaching stints at Oregon and Texas, inherited a team that was 13-11 last spring before the COVID-19 pandemic halted play on the eve of the start of the Pac-12 schedule.
Cal sophomore Makena Smith
Photo by Lauren Soporun, KLC fotos
The Bears will feature sophomore catcher Makena Smith, who batted .481 in 24 games last season, tying for best in the Pac-12. She finished the season on a 19-game hitting streak and was named this spring to the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year preseason top-50 watch list.
The Bears will play series against all five Pac-12 teams included in the USA Today/NFCA preseason Top-25 rankings.
No. 1 UCLA visits March 26-28, No. 16 Arizona State comes to Levine-Fricke Field for three games April 23-25 and No. 10 Oregon plays at Cal May 13-15. The Bears will also host Utah (April 9-11).
Due to local health guidelines, fans will not be permitted to attend home games.
Cal’s conference road schedule includes trips to No. 2 Washington (April 1-3) and No. 3 Arizona (April 30-May 2).
The Bears open conference play March 19-21 at Oregon State and will visit Stanford April 16-18.
Click here for Cal’s full 2021 softball schedule.
.
Cover photo by Lauren Soporun, KLC fotos
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo