Starting today and proceeding through Sunday, a classic battle between defending champs and up-and-comers will unfold at Levine-Fricke Field in Berkeley.
The UCLA softball team may hold a lopsided 78-22 all-time record against California, not to mention an 11-1 advantage in NCAA titles, but this season, only one loss and one spot in the national rankings separate the two teams.
The No. 8 Bruins (31-10) come into the series having taken two out of three games in their last three-game tilt against Washington, while the No. 9 Bears (30-9) have won three of their last four contests.
“We expect a great game as always with Cal,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “When we get on the road, we’re with ourselves, and we get into a routine that makes it easy for us to just lock in, so I’m excited for (the series).”
But the rivalry delves beyond the letters that adorn the uniforms. For UCLA freshman catcher Alyssa Tiumalu ““ who was raised in Elk Grove, approximately a two-hour drive away from Berkeley ““ the weekend presents an opportunity to play in front of family.
“My family moved to Palm Springs, so I live there now, but I haven’t been able to go back to (Elk Grove) yet,” Tiumalu said. “I’m really excited to go back near my hometown; a lot of my family is going to be there.”
Tiumalu will also get to rekindle some good-natured competition with Cal’s sophomore pitcher Jolene Henderson and sophomore catcher Lindsey Ziegenhirt, both of whom she played against in high school.
“Jolene and Lindsey are a year older than me, so we were always rivals back and forth in high school. It’ll be cool to keep it up,” Tiumalu said.
Yet even with the familiarity, the conference race and the jockeying for playoff positioning, the Bruins know better than to get sucked into subplots or to look too far ahead. As was their core formula last season during their championship run, they will stick to their game plan, taking each day as it comes.
“Of course we want W’s this whole weekend, but we’re going to focus on each game, go in there and just give it our all,” sophomore right fielder B.B. Bates said.