From almost striking out in Tempe to coming out swinging against Saint Mary’s, Cal softball has had a strong start to the season. Mixing in wins and losses, the Bears have been improving as their spring playtime has progressed.

Heading out to the Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium in Tempe for a five-game series, the blue and gold partook in the Littlewood Classic over the course of two days in the middle of February.

Coming off a 4-1 record at the Easton Classic, the Bears were looking to improve their already impressive record.

“We got off to a pretty hot start, we went on 4-1 in Fullerton, we played really well. We should have done 5-0 in the weekend.” said junior Makena Smith. “As a team this is our first real season together, which is great and we love it. We all love being out on the field. We are only going to get better from here.”

Better being a relative term, as the blue and gold left the Littlewood Classic with a record slightly lower than that of the Easton Classic: 3-2 compared to their previous 4-1 at Easton, though against more difficult competition.

Jumping off the deserted diamond in Arizona with a solid record, the Bears headed home to come out victorious against Saint Mary’s, 12-1.

DeMarini Invitational Preview 

Next the Bears are off to compete in the DeMarini Invitational this weekend at Stanford, with a set of back-to-back matches against Fresno State and Mount St. Mary’s. Fresh off their 12-1 blowout against Saint Mary’s, the Bears will look to build momentum in the lead-up to Pac-12 play and continue their winning streak.

The Bears now sit at 8-3 on the year and are off to their best start to a season since 2018. Now under the helm of second-year head coach Chelsea Spencer, who took over after Diane Ninemire stepped down after 32 years as head coach, the blue and gold look to be building something special this season.

Standing in their way this weekend are the Bulldogs and the Mount. Fresno State has struggled this season with a 1-8 record. It has played tough competition but still should be a beatable opponent for the Bears. It most recently dropped a Bay Area battle against Santa Clara 0-8.

Mount St. Mary’s is a slightly stronger opponent but is still middling. It sits at 2-3 on the season and is fresh off an 11-0 drubbing at the hands of NC State.

If the Bears hope to continue their early-season success seen through their hot start, this four-game set this weekend are victories they need to secure. They need to be careful not to overlook their opposition either and their star players will need to be at their best.

Cal has four players who are all in the double digits in hits this season — junior Makena Smith, sophomore Tatum Anzaldo, sophomore Sona Halajian and freshman Acacia Anders. It’s an exciting young core who have started all 11 of the Bears’ games this season and been the leaders in Cal’s victories.

Many expected Cal’s youth to bring it potential future success but challenges this season due to inexperience. Instead, the Bears’ young nucleus looks to have arrived ahead of schedule, and will hope to build on their surprising start to the season this weekend.