Sunday, May 24, 2009

The end of the road


As any of you who got to see the game in person or on ESPN today already know, Cal didn't not bow down to the Gators. The girls battled to the end against one of the top teams in the nation, something they have done many, many times this season. This time, however, they just got some unlucky breaks and things didn't quite go their way. It really was a fantastic and exciting series, though the outcome was sad, yet encouraging. This is a young, hungry team that will be back again next year, even more road tested and wanting even more to make it to the Women's College World Series. I am excited about the future. The coaches are excited about the future. The team is excited about the future.
There wasn't sadness after the game today. A lot of fatigue, but no sadness. The girls knew what they put into that game, and they walk away from Florida with their heads held high and a Go Bears! on their lips.
We will be back. Go Bears!
CLICK HERE to see a photo gallery from the games.

Game On!


It's a very thick day here in Gainesville. Humidity has to be in the 90 percent range, but there is no rain, and according to the Weather Channel, that should hold until after 2 p.m. With fingers crossed, the team is warming up and getting ready for this show down.
The team got up this morning for a 7 a.m. breakfast. They were on the bus leaving the hotel at 7:45 and have been doing their warm-ups ever since. The players seem surprisingly awake and alert and all are very excited to get this going.
There is also some good news for fans without ESPN-U (where these games have been bumped to because of the time change). According to the Producer of today's games, Game Two will most likely be run on a tape-delay tonight in our original time (3 p.m. Pacific) on ESPN-2. That is not official, but that is what the onsite crew believes will be happening. Check your local listings (or ESPN 2 today at 3) to see if that holds true.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Rain Delay- The Dugout Dance Video



How the Bears spend rain delays.

Uh oh!


Less than a minute after posting the good news, I need to amend. The tarp is going BACK onto the field. The rains have picked up. We will officially go into some sort of delay...

The tarp is off the field!!!

A gentle rain continues to fall, but right now, it looks like we are a go.

Coach Ninemire is running out the same lineup as the regionals.

J Reid, LF
Thomas, 2B
Arioto, 1B
Leomiti, DP
E Reid, RF
Kelly, SS
Kekahuna, C
Sevilla, 3B
Echavarria, CF

and it'll be Marissa Drewrey in the circle.

As expected, the Gators will be throwing Stacey Nelson.

Go Bears!

Rainy evening


It's shaping up to be a wet evening in Gainesville. The rains have settled over the middle of the state, edging up from the South. Most of the heaviest rains are to the East, but constant rains have been coming down for the last two hours. The field is tarped and the infield protected. Chances of rain at 8 pm are 75%. Rain chances at 9 are 60% and 55% by 10 pm.
The lightening has stayed away so far and seems to be keeping toward the East.
It's hard to say what the night will bring, other than a lot of dampness.

The skies are darkening


After a fully dry day, the skies are beginning to darken and rumble here in Gainesville. The forecast calls for the weather to worsen at 8 p.m. (first pitch: 8:05), but the skies behind the hotel don't agree. There is thunder and lightening coming with the dark, foreboding clouds.
The attention to weather comes from a lot more than a fear of getting wet. There are some fairly important rain rules that everyone needs to know.
First, when it comes to rain, the umpires decide when it is raining too much to play. There is one exception to that, one safety rule that there is no interpretation allowed. It is the lightening rule. If there is lightening within six miles of the venue, the game is automatically halted for thirty minutes. Minimum.
There is another rule that unfortunately needed to be brought up yesterday. It's the rained out series rules. The Bears and Gators have until Monday to wrap up this series. If only one game gets played, the winner of that game will advance to Oklahoma City. If two games are played and the series is tied 1-1, then the higher seed (Florida) will advance. If no games are played, then the higher seed (Florida) will advance.
Everyone is hopeful that between the showers, softball can be played, but the skies have just opened up and a heavy rain is starting to fall. The radar shows this is a band of showers that will pass on through. It's still five hours until game time, so hopefully all will be well at 8 p.m. Tune into ESPN to see for yourself.

Clippings


Cal has been getting all sorts of press in the Bay Area this week. Several newspaper articles and a spot on ABC 5 news. Read (and see) what people are saying about Cal Softball.

ABC 5 News feature with Jamia and Elia Reid and Frani Echavarria

Contra Costa Times article

San Francisco Chronicle article

San Jose Mercury News article

Modesto Bee article

Hunting Gators


Ever wonder what a non-batting pitcher does while the team is hitting? Marissa Drewrey made the most of her time while the rest of the team was in the batting cages this morning. Trainer Vanessa Morales and Drewrey went off on an alligator hunt. There was a small swampy lake about a half mile from the softball field that was reported to have baby alligators. After a little bit of searching, the two found what they were looking for. A baby alligator on the shore. He made the quick retreat the moment the girls found him, but not before he could be captured on film.
Marissa later informed the team that the alligator was named Arika.
CLICK HERE to see pictures of Arika the Alligator.
Marissa and the rest of the team will hunt a different set of Gators later this evening, taking on Florida at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Friday practice


It was another crazy day of battling the weather in Florida. Record-levels of rain continue to fall throughout the state. The rains tapered off about 10:30 a.m. with a window of clearing that was supposed to hold until 5 p.m., Cal's scheduled practice time. In order to make sure that the team got to practice, the whole schedule was pushed up three hours (on very short notice). So, instead of going to lunch and to the laundromat, the team instead headed to the softball stadium and to practice.
An hour in the cage and an hour in the field gave the Bears their first normal practice since Tallahassee. Gone were the days of practicing in indoor batting cages or in parking lots and hotel tennis courts. The Bears had the field, learning to adjust to the humid conditions they will be playing in this weekend.
After practice, the team went to an early dinner at the Olive Garden before heading back to the hotel to unwind, their last free night before the Super Regional officially begins.
CLICK HERE to see an online album of pictures from practice.

Attack of the killer toad


You would think it was a killer toad if you'd heard Val Arioto scream. As she was taking her swings in the batting cage at the Florida Gators field toady, she started yelling and screaming, sunning away from the turf plate. Ends up some of the Florida wildlife, namely a toad, had decided it was his turn in the cage. The team scurried away from the creature, with Assistant Coach Julie Meyer nominated to be the one to de-toad the batting cage. It took awhile to catch the elusive creature, but Coach Meyer was bound and determined and ultimately saved her team from the horrible four-inch little toad.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Disney World


After cranking out practice Thursday morning, the team headed off to the Magic Kingdom. The team had six hours at the place where dreams come true. The rains held off all day, so everyone had a great and totally dry time, until the team trip down Splash Mountain. That was more than a little damp. The Bears took over two whole boats and rode the ride together.
The crowds were light, the lines quite short (less than ten minutes for Pirates of the Caribbean, Thunder Mountain, the Haunted Mansion) with Fast Track options on the big rides allowing everyone to do the entire park in the six hours. Except Space Mountain. The jewel of the park is closed until winter. It was mildly disappointing, but its hard to be disappointed for too long while wearing mouse ears and eating caramel apples (a favorite of Coach Ninemire).
Parts of the team had been able to go to Universal Studios on Wednesday, but the rains shortened that trip and made it somewhat miserable. The trip to Disney, however, was a full team effort and was a great time for one and all. It really was the Happiest Place on Earth.
The bus left Disney, and Orlando, at 7 p.m., heading up to Gainesville. The bus will get in sometime around 10 p.m. Practices at Florida start Friday. Back to the business of softball.
But before that, click here to see an Online Photo Gallery of pictures from the Magic Kingdom.

Thursday morning practice


Practicing on the road is always a challenge, especially when one is 113 miles from the field you are playing on and dealing with record-breaking rain totals. However, when one is trying to make it to the College World Series, one finds a way.
The team did a light practice Tuesday and then a full practice Wednesday night at an indoor batting cage. Originally they had planned to do all of their practices at UCF, but due to the torrential rains, that field was no longer an option. So it was practice at the hotel on Thursday morning. A big open area behind the restaurant and three vacant tennis courts became the Bears practice facility. The weather allowed a window of opportunity for the team to be outside.
The pitchers had a chance to throw, the hitters took their cuts with whiffle balls off the tee on the tennis court. More importantly, the practice gave the team a chance to remember the important number one goal of the trip: winning two and heading to Oklahoma City.

The week between


Congratulations, Golden Bears. You've just won the Tallahassee Regional. Now what are you going to do? Just like the commercial says, they're going to Disney World, or at least Orlando, Florida. The Bears headed south to Orlando to spend the week between the Regional and the Super Regional. Or most of the team.
Cal Berkeley's finals officially started the day the team left for Regionals. It's been an interesting week as they players tried to balance the student and athlete aspects of their lives. Most of the team, with the help of assistant coach Tammy Lohmann, managed to make arrangements with the professors about taking finals in advance, or allowing someone to proctor the exams on the road. For five of the players, however, exams could not be rescheduled or scheduled remotely. Val Arioto, Shannon Houston, Jamia and Elia Reed, and Frani Echavarria flew back to Berkeley to take their finals on campus, leaving Sunday night after the game and returning to Orlando on Wednesday.
Finals for all of them are now officially over, and the relief was very noticeable on the weary students.
The squad did an indoor practice Wednesday night, overtaking an indoor batting cage in Orlando to try to get back into the swing of things. They spent about two hours running drills and taking swings, trying to get back into softball and also trying to adjust to playing night games.
What does Thursday, the final day in Orlando hold for the Bears? They're finally going to Disney World! (weather permitting). It looks dry right now and it looks like the trip will be on. Thursday night, the team leaves Orlando and will head on to Gainesville where the focus intensifies on the business at hand. Until then, its off to the Magic Kingdom for a well-deserved day of mental rest and fun.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

NCAA Regional Photo Gallery

Check out some photos from Sunday when the Golden Bears knocked off Oklahoma State to win the NCAA Softball Tallahassee Regional.

Special thanks to Randy Venters for these great photos.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Cal moves on to NCAA Super Regional

Cal advanced to an NCAA Super Regional with a 2-1 victory over Oklahoma State in the championship game of the NCAA Softball Tallahassee Regional on Sunday.

Read all about Sunday's victory on CalBears.com

With the victory, the Bears advance to the Super Regional to face the Florida Gators in Gainesville next weekend. It is the second consecutive season the Bears and Gators will square off in a Super Regional. The Super Regional is a best-of-three series with all three games airing on ESPN or ESPN2 and ESPN 360. The series opens Saturday, May 23 at 5 p.m. Pacific Time and will air on ESPN. Game two is set for Sunday, May 24 at 3 p.m. Sunday's game three, if necessary, will also take place on Sunday, after game two. Both of Sunday's games will air on ESPN2.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Cal-Oklahoma State Starting Lineups (Sunday)

The starting lineups are in for Sunday's NCAA Regional Championship Game between Oklahoma State (36-21) and California (37-18) in Tallahassee, Fla. Here they are ...

Oklahoma State (Visitors)
2 - Mariah Gearhart - 3B
16 - Katelyn Bright - LF
21 - Alysia Hamilton - 2B
11 - Sam Heinlein - C
4 - Megan Castle - RF
24 - Julie Ward - 1B
44 - Taylor Marcum - DP
8 - Chelsea Garcia - SS
19 - Kelsey Anchors - CF
9 - Anna Whiddon - RHP

California (Home)
3 - Jamia Reid - LF
24 - Shannon Thomas - 2B
20 - Valerie Arioto - 1B
45 - Gina Leomiti - DP
5 - Elia Reid - RF
23 - Taylor Kelly - SS
25 - Sanoe Kekahuna - C
12 - Vernae Sevilla - 3B
1 - Frani Echavarria - CF
11 - Marissa Drewrey - RHP


We'll be back after the game.

Remember, you can visit CalBears.com to follow the game live on Gametracker. A live internet audio broadcast of the game will also be available on seminoles.com.

Post Game Video Interivews from Friday and Saturday

Here's some post-game video interviews from Friday and Saturday.

Friday - Elia Reid, Jamia Reid, Sanoe Kekahuna and Marissa Drewrey

Saturday - Head coach Diane Ninemire and Marissa Drewrey

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Cal to play Oklahoma State in Sunday's Regional Final

California (37-18) will play Oklahoma State (36-21) in the finals of the NCAA Softball Tallahassee Regional on Sunday, May 17 (10 a.m., PT). The Golden Bears were 2-0 winners over the Cowgirls on Saturday, but Oklahoma State recovered to outlast top-seeded host Florida State (44-16) by a 1-0 score in 12 innings and end the Seminoles season later in the day to earn a spot opposite California in Sunday's finals.

Stay tuned for more to come on the 2009 Cal Softball NCAA Regional Blog.

Cal moves on to NCAA Regional Final with 2-0 win over Oklahoma State

Cal (37-18) has moved on to the finals of the NCAA Tallahassee Regional with a 2-0 victory over Oklahoma State (35-21) on Saturday. The Golden Bears are scheduled to play in the championship game on Sunday at 10 a.m., PT, against the team that comes through losers bracket action on Saturday. Oklahoma State, Florida State and Mississippi State are all one loss away from elimination.

Florida State and Mississippi State will play an elimination game (NCAA Regional Game 4) Saturday at approximately 2 p.m., PT. The winner of the Florida State-Mississippi State contest will advance to meet Oklahoma State in another elimination game (NCAA Regional Game 5) that will follow on Saturday evening. The winner of the Game 5 will advance to meet Cal in the NCAA Regional final on Sunday and will need to beat the Bears twice in a row to win the NCAA Regional crown.

Visit CalBears.com for a full recap and box score.

Cal-Mississippi State Photo Gallery on CalBears.com

Check out a photo gallery from Friday's Cal-Mississippi State game on CalBears.com.

Cal-Oklahoma State Starting Lineups

Starting lineups for Saturday's Cal-Oklahoma State NCAA Softball Regional game are in. Here they are ...

California (Visitors)
3 - Jamia Reid - LF
24 - Shannon Thomas - 2B
20 - Valerie Arioto - 1B
45 - Gina Leomiti - DP
5 - Elia Reid - RF
23 - Taylor Kelly - SS
25 - Sanoe Kekahuna - C
12 - Vernae Sevilla - 3B
1 - Frani Echavarria - CF
11 - Marissa Drewrey - RHP

Oklahoma State (Visitors)
2 - Mariah Gearhart - 3B
16 - Katelyn Bright - LF
21 - Alysia Hamilton - 2B
11 - Sam Heinlein - C
4 - Megan Castle - RF
24 - Julie Ward - 1B
44 - Taylor Marcum - DP
8 - Chelsea Garcia - SS
19 - Kelsey Anchors - CF
12 - Sarah Odom - LHP

We'll be back after the game.

Remember, you can visit CalBears.com to follow the game live on Gametracker. A live internet audio broadcast of the game will also be available on seminoles.com.

Saturday's Game Time Now Set For 11:32 a.m., PT


The skies are still cloudy and threatening but lightning has moved out of the Tallahassee area and a new start time of 11:32 a.m., PT, has been established for Cal's NCAA Softball Regional contest against Oklahoma State. Visit CalBears.com for a full preview of the game. The tarp remains on the field, but the teams have been allowed to begin their warm-ups in adjacent batting cages and practice fields.

The delay didn't stop members of the Cal team from having a little fun in the locker room (see photo above and right).

We will check in again with lineups.

photo by Randy Venters

Lightning Causing Delay In Tallahassee


A lightning storm in Tallahassee will cause a delay in the start of the day's NCAA Softball Regional action. A lighting warning has been issued until at least 9:40 am, Pacific Time. The Cal softball team has currently taken shelter in the locker room. We will update you when there is more information.

Friday, May 15, 2009

No. 14/16 California Softball Wins NCAA Regional Opener Over Mississippi State, 8-3

Box Score

(TALAHASSEE, FLA.) -- No. 14/16 California (36-18) opened NCAA Regional Softball play Friday with an 8-3 win over Mississippi State (28-27) at JoAnne Graff Field on the campus of Florida State University. The Golden Bears fell behind, 3-0, after an inning and a half before storming back with eight unanswered runs. The victory advanced Cal to a second round Regional game Saturday against Oklahoma State after the Cowgirls knocked off top-seeded tournament host No. 16/20 Florida State, 1-0, in Friday’s second game.

Sanoe Kekahuna (2-2, 2 HR, 2 RBI) blasted a pair of solo home runs for the Bears, while Elia Reed also went deep with a solo shot.

“I was excited to help out my team with the two homers,” said a humble Kekahuna.

Jamia Reid was 4-for-4 with a triple, stolen base and two runs scored but was also caught stealing on her second attempt to steal to snap a string of 27 consecutive stolen base attempts.

“I felt like I was seeing the ball well today, and doing whatever I could to get on base,” said Jamia Reid.

Marissa Drewrey (22-10) tossed a complete game to earn the victory, scattering 10 hits and blanking the Bulldogs over the final five frames after giving up three runs (two earned) in the first two innings. Drewrey struck out five and walked one.

“I really just dug down deep and my defense also really helped me out over the last five innings,” said Drewrey. “Plus, it always feels great when your offense comes through like we did today.”

“I was pleased with Marissa’s composure tonight,” said Cal head coach Diane Ninemire. “A lot of times when a defense comes out like we did tonight, a pitcher can get down on themselves very easily. But she kept her composure and kept getting better as the game went on.”

Mississippi State jumped out to an early 3-0 lead by scoring once in the first inning and twice more in the second. Ali Bainbridge put the Bulldogs ahead, 1-0, in the top of the first when she singled home Brittany Bell after she had walked earlier in the inning. The Bulldogs made it 3-0 in the second by taking advantage of an error on Cal centerfielder Frani Echavarria. Courtney Nesbit started the rally with a one-out double and pinch-runner Allie Helon scored two batters later on a clutch two-out RBI single by Chelsea Bramlett, who would come also come all the way around to score on the play when the ball went through Echavarria’s legs on her attempt to come up and throw Helon out at the plate.

“When you’re playing for the first time in a Regional tournament of this nature, your nerves can kind of show like they did for us tonight in the first two innings,” said Ninemire. “But, I was really happy and pleased with the way we settled down as the game went on. Our speed did its job and our power came up and got some key hits.”

Cal started its comeback in the bottom half of the second when Elia Reid led off the inning with her sixth homer of the year. Kekahuna followed two batters later with the first of her two home runs to cut the Bulldog lead to 3-2.

“It was really nice to make a statement with the two big home runs,” said Ninemire. “That really made a statement that we were here tonight to play and that our players were confident that they could drive the ball.”

Jamia Reid scored the tying run in the bottom of third after leading off the inning with a triple off the glove of a running Mississippi State centerfielder Brittany Gates. She crossed the plate two batters later on a sacrifice fly from Valerie Arioto. Gina Leomiti restarted the rally when she was hit by a pitch with two outs before moving to second on a walk to Elia Reid and scoring the go-ahead run on a clutch two-out RBI single from Taylor Kelly.

The Bears held on to a slim 4-3 lead until scoring four insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth for the final score. Kekahuna’s one-out solo shot started the rally before three consecutive singles from Vernae Sevilla, Echavarria and Jamia Reid loaded the bases. Arioto drew a walk to force in pinch-runner Shannon Houston before two-out single by Leomiti scored Echavarria and Jamia Reid with the game’s final two runs.

Echavarria (2-3) had a two-hit game for the Bears, while Arioto and Leomiti both drove in a pair of runs.

Bramlett (3-4, RBI) had three hits and stole her 54th base of the season for the Bulldogs, while Bell was 2-for-2 and also stole a base.

Bulldog starting pitcher Lindsey Dunlap (17-15) suffered the loss, allowing four runs and five hits over the first 3.0 innings.

Starting Lineups

Starting lineups for the game are in. Here they are ...


Mississippi State
18 - Chelsea Bramlett - C
13 - Brittany Bell - RF
7 - Kaili Smith - LF
34 - Sammie Jo Bailey - 1B
1 - Ali Bainbridge - 2B
6 - Jessie Bailey - 3B
8 - Jessie Spain - SS
25 - Courtney Nesbit - DP
4 - Brittany Gates - CF
32 - Lindsey Dunlap - LHP

California
3 - Jamia Reid - LF
24 - Shannon Thomas - 2B
20 - Valerie Arioto - 1B
45 - Gina Leomiti - DP
5 - Elia Reid - RF
23 - Taylor Kelly - SS
25 - Sanoe Kekahuna - C
12 - Vernae Sevilla - 3B
1 - Frani Echavarria - CF
11 - Marissa Drewrey - RHP

We'll be back after the game.

Remember, you can visit CalBears.com to follow the game live on Gametracker. A live internet audio broadcast of the game will be available via Mississippi State student radio station WMSV.

Warm-ups Underway

The Cal softball team has arrived at JoAnne Graf Field for its NCAA Regional opener versus Mississippi State on Friday. Game time is scheduled for 5 pm, ET (2 pm, PT). At this point, the weather looks favorable with just a few thunder-bumpers off in the distance but blue skies up above. The team has started its batting practice in the cages, and we'll update you when starting lineups become available.

We will not update you on this blog during the game, but you can visit CalBears.com to follow the game live on Gametracker. A live internet audio broadcast of the game will be available via Mississippi State student radio station WMSV.

After the game, check back in to this blog for an update.

Gameday update: Jamia Reed feature and more video

A quick update on the morning of Cal's NCAA opener brings you an excellent feature on freshman outfielder Jamia Reed in the Contra Costa Times written by Cal beat writer Jonathan Okanes and video interviews with pitchers Marissa Drewrey and Valerie Arioto.

We'll check back in with you just before gametime. Make sure to visit CalBears.com to follow today's NCAA Regional opener versus Mississippi State (5 pm, ET; 2 pm, PT). Gametracker will provide fans with an in-game statistical update of the action, while a live internet audio broadcast of the game will be available via Mississippi State student radio station WMSV.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Read the Cal Daily preview on NCAA Regional

Visit the Cal Daily website to read beat writer Joseph Cannon's preview of the NCAA Regional.

Follow NCAA Regional action through CalBears.com

Make sure to visit CalBears.com to follow the NCAA Regional opener for the Cal softball team. Gametracker will provide fans with an in-game statistical update of the action, while a live internet audio broadcast of the game will be available via Mississippi State student radio station WMSV.

The Eve of the NCAA Opener


As late-night lightning and thunder go off outside the team's hotel, a full day is coming to an end for the Cal softbal team in Tallahassee on the eve of its NCAA Regional opener against Mississippi State on Friday (5 p.m., ET; 2 p.m., PT).
After a long travel day on Wednesday, the players (and staff) got a little extra rest in the morning. Breakfast at the hotel was open until 11 a.m., so many of us took advantage of the late morning after having left Berkeley to travel across the entire country on Wednesday at 3:30 a.m., PT.
After a relaxing morning in bed and at the breakfast buffet, it was off for another busy day.

The team's official practice didn't start until 2:15 p.m., ET, but the squad arrived to Florida State's Joanne Graf Field about an hour early itching to go. The bus rolled by the Seminoles' impressive baseball field and pulled up to an equally impressive softball venue. But the team seemed more concerned about getting in a crisp one-hour workout that ended with head coach Diane Ninemyer addressing the players in the dugout (see photo above and right).
Following practice, the team stopped briefly to allow everyone to pick up a few items at a local shopping center, before having about an hour back at the hotel to get ready for team dinner at the Olive Garden. Everyone was pretty hungry and busy eating as the restaurant's famous salad and breadsticks were flowing freely. But, the atmosophere was on the serious and quiet side as the team focused on preparing for its NCAA Regional opener agianst Mississippi State on Friday.
When the bus arrived back at hotel, the players got some time to work on papers and study for finals while the coaches and administrators headed back to the campus to attend an administrative meeting that had been moved back an hour because earlier lightning and rain had delayed the day's schedule.
A team meeting that started at about 9 p.m., ET, wrapped up the day's schedule. Coach Ninemire and media relations associate director Kyle McRae talked to the players about working with the media to start the meeting. Equipment manager Randy Venters ended the session on a high note by surprising the players with brand new uniforms to wear during the post-season.
Check back in later for more.
Photo by equipment manager turned photographer Randy Venters

Heading to Dinner

The team is heading to a local Olive Garden restaurant for some dinner and then back for a team meeting later tonight. Administrative staff and coaches have a Tournament meeting after dinner and then yours truly might check out a little of the Florida State-Grambling baseball game next door before heading back to give readers an update on the day's events and get some rest for Friday's NCAA opener against Mississippi State.

Check out Coach Diane Ninemire's video talking about Cal

We caught up with head coach Diane Ninemire after the team's workout Wednesday in Tallahassee. Check out some video footage of Ninemire talking about her team.

Cal is now about 27 hours away from its opening 2009 NCAA Regional game against Mississippi State on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 5 pm. Make sure you follow all the action on the gametracker page at CalBears.com.

The Bears are about 15 minutes away from another workout, this time an official practice at JoAnne Graf Field, where they will be playing tomorrow.

We'll check in back later tonight after the workout is over.
The team is headed to practice. More to come later.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Long Travel Day In The Books


A long but positive day is winding down for the Cal softball team as the midnight hour draws near in Tallahassee. It all started at about 3:30 am, Pacific Time, when the players, coaches and support staff loaded the bus on the Cal campus for a trip that would end about 3,000 miles later in Tallahassee.

The trip to SFO was quiet as sleep was a priority for most of us. Believe it or not, SFO was packed at 4:30 am. We went through the normal ticketing and security procedures for the 6 am flight. After arriving in Atlanta, the team split up on two connecting flights to Tallahassee. Once everybody got settled into the hotel
in Tallahassee, we headed over to Tallahassee Community College for a light workout. Got a few swings in on the field and in an indoor hitting facility next door. It was a good chance for the team to loosen up a little bit after the long day of travelling and everybody seemed pleased with the practice and preparation for Friday's NCAA opener against Mississippi State (5 pm, ET; 2 pm, PT).

After practice, we went directly to Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que for a team meal. Good food and fun was had by all and Valerie Arioto even treated everyone on the bus to a few "tunes" when she took the mic on the way back to the hotel.

Time to get some rest and get ready for a busy day tomorrow that includes a two-hour team practice at Florida State beginning at 1:15 pm, ET. There will also be a few administrative responsibilities for those of us support staff members and then we'll all be ready to go for Friday's action.

Check back later for Cal Softball updates from the NCAA Regional and Go Bears!!!!

Cal Softball arrives in Tallahassee

Cal softball has just arrived in Tallahassee and is off to a local junior college for a little workout. More to come later...