https://calbears.com/schedule.aspx?path=softball

HC Ninemire is sending her team cross country in the month of February for their initial ten games. The Bears have always stayed out west for the early pre-conference schedule to experience good weather conditions.

The East coast has often been subjected to cold, rainy conditions in February, causing many game cancellations. On February 9th, 2019, Cal opens its season in Lafayette, Louisiana for five games at the home of the Ragin Cajuns. The next weekend the team sojourns farther east to Clearwater, Florida for another five ball games.

Ninemire then brings her troops home to California for two weekends in Palm Springs (5) and Santa Barbara (4).
Their final pre-Pac 12 competition will be five games in Manoa, Hawaii.

Cal opens conference play in Salt Lake City, Utah for a three game series against the Utes. The Bears home opener after 29 consecutive away games is on March 23rd on my 70th birthday against Stanford.

https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/softball/d1/ncaa-womens-softball-rpi

Bears overall schedule features 55 games with 39 road contests and 16 games in Berkeley.
GO BEARS!

That's a pretty tough OOC schedule for a... not so strong team. Our pitching will keep us in games but i'm not seeing how we score many runs to support them.

Next year is going to be brutal with Dung and Conley graduated. Hopefully we can make a somewhat decent run this year- in the tourney- to really lock in recruiting.

Has any word leaked out on 6-1 southpaw freshman, Alex Perez, as to her potential as a Pac Nine pitcher? The
nine member recruit class of 2019 has two pitchers but neither seem to be impact types...Have you heard any differently, CF? Hopefully we can grab another transfer like Dung or Conley or even a senior transfer.

Perhaps our new pitching coach, Angelica Selden, has some superior recruiting contacts in SoCal or in Northern California where she grew up. She's from Vacaville. I was not impressed with any of the pitching recruits brought to Berkeley by our prior pitching coach. I also was hoping for visible improvement in their skills under his tutelage
like teaching them how to throw a devastating changeup, etc. It never happened. GO BEARS!

I've continually revised my as always lowered expectations for all of Cal sports in lieu of this lowered my expectations for Cal woman softball. We'll be lucky to finish 7th place in conference. I don't see any of our opposition as being able to win a series from them. Stanford is not going to be are whipping boys / girls anymore they are back they've had three straight top 20 recruiting classes and they now have a competent / good coach.
And Schroeder if you're questioning why ninemire is starting out on the East coast this year did you ever stop to think that maybe ninemire is alienated herself from the organizers of some of the early season West coast softball tournaments.

Schroeder71 said:

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https://calbears.com/schedule.aspx?path=softball

HC Ninemire is sending her team cross country in the month of February for their initial ten games. The Bears have always stayed out west for the early pre-conference schedule to experience good weather conditions.......

Their final pre-Pac 12 competition will be five games in Manoa, Hawaii.

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I've always questioned the need to travel so far from the West Coast to play OOC games, especially when the sport consistently shows a large deficit in revenues/expenses. Granted I'm looking at a FY10 spread sheet which may not reflect the current situation, but WBB topped the list while WSB was in the top 8. I hope the AD is reviewing and approving the schedules of all sports that show a large deficit.

Ccajon2 said:

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And Schroeder if you're questioning why ninemire is starting out on the East coast this year did you ever stop to think that maybe ninemire is alienated herself from the organizers of some of the early season West coast softball tournaments.

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Color me not at all surprised. I've heard some recruitment horror stories from local travel/HS coaches. She's had a wonderful career but I am counting down the days until she retires. We need fresh blood... hoping Selden brings at least some of that to the program.

Schroeder71 said:

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Has any word leaked out on 6-1 southpaw freshman, Alex Perez, as to her potential as a Pac Nine pitcher? The
nine member recruit class of 2019 has two pitchers but neither seem to be impact types...Have you heard any differently, CF? Hopefully we can grab another transfer like Dung or Conley or even a senior transfer.

Perhaps our new pitching coach, Angelica Selden, has some superior recruiting contacts in SoCal or in Northern California where she grew up. She's from Vacaville. I was not impressed with any of the pitching recruits brought to Berkeley by our prior pitching coach. I also was hoping for visible improvement in their skills under his tutelage
like teaching them how to throw a devastating changeup, etc. It never happened. GO BEARS!

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I would strongly disagree about the 2019 class. Halajian is very, very good. Throws a very heavy ball and with some college level strength and conditioning can be a #1 pitcher in the rotation.

Perez has quite a long way to go in the circle.... but she can also swing the bat. I hope Ninemire will let her hit with such limited offensive choices this year.

CalFanatic said:

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That's a pretty tough OOC schedule for a... not so strong team. Our pitching will keep us in games but i'm not seeing how we score many runs to support them.


Next year is going to be brutal with Dung and Conley graduated. Hopefully we can make a somewhat decent run this year- in the tourney- to really lock in recruiting.

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Prediction for the season including preseason tournaments and midweek ooc games I think 25-6 ooc 10-14 conference which is being very optimistic.
..

Ccajon2 said:

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CalFanatic said:

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That's a pretty tough OOC schedule for a... not so strong team. Our pitching will keep us in games but i'm not seeing how we score many runs to support them.


Next year is going to be brutal with Dung and Conley graduated. Hopefully we can make a somewhat decent run this year- in the tourney- to really lock in recruiting.

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Prediction for the season including preseason tournaments and midweek ooc games I think 25-6 ooc 10-14 conference which is being very optimistic.
..

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I just went through our schedule and funny enough, I see us at 25-6 in OOC games as well. There are quite a few "trap" games that could lead to a few more losses.

Anything more than 6-7 wins in Conference play is.... optimistic.

CF-thanks for responding to my question about future Cal pitching prospects. Sona Halajian has not played high school ball recently so it has been hard for me to track her accomplishments. Evidently she has been playing summer travel ball. Who might be the #2 pitching option?

Bradie Fillmore certainly never panned out as a Div I pitcher like you anticipated from AAU summer ball, did she?

GO BEARS!

Wasn't really a need for Fillmore in the circle with the arms we had. I wonder if she pitches this year for Boise State. She had a great travel career- in the circle- for the WA Lady Hawks.

S71 you are correct-I believe Halajian chose to swim instead of pitch in HS. From what I understand, she is a very talented Water Polo player as well.

I think that she was the player that I read about that played water polo.

"California had another tough season in the Pac-12. It was the fifth season in a row that the Golden Bears finished sixth or worse in the conference; however it still has been good enough to make the NCAA Tournament the last four years. The Golden Bears have failed to get out of the regionals in all those seasons and Cal fans have come to expect better."

We SHOULD expect better and therefore, someone has to go.


https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/17009

We play Texas Feb 14. Former Duck coach Mike White is their new coach, who left the Ducks because the Longhorns offered him $500K a. Year, about $150k more than he was getting with the Ducks. He took 5 transfers to Tx with him.

Ninemire makes $255,000/year. Sec softball coaches all make between $400k--1 million a year. (Walton of UF).

CF-thanks for linking this college sports service. Does one have to subscribe?

One reason that Cal has lost in the regionals is that the Bears are always on the road...Hopefully, by the end of the 2020 season, Cal can host a NCAA regional if they can finish in the top 16 teams in the nation. Did you notice that this writer had the Bears finish seventh and the Beavers end up sixth this season in the Pac Nine? I guess Utah and Stanford are the bottom two teams...GO BEARS!

Schroeder71 said:

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CF-thanks for linking this college sports service. Does one have to subscribe?

One reason that Cal has lost in the regionals is that the Bears are always on the road...Hopefully, by the end of the 2020 season, Cal can host a NCAA regional if they can finish in the top 16 teams in the nation. Did you notice that this writer had the Bears finish seventh and the Beavers end up sixth this season in the Pac Nine? I guess Utah and Stanford are the bottom two teams...GO BEARS!

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I think you should just be able to click into the link. I was able too.

I'm going to revise my conference prediction. Oregon is a complete and total mess with White leaving. Down to 16 players. All pitchers with experience have transferred. They only have two transfers in the circle. If Cal can hit (big IF), we should be able to take the series from them, as well.

Pac 12 win prediction: 8-9 games

S71 if you can't view the link, i've copy and pasted the content for you below =)


California Team Page

California had another tough season in the Pac-12. It was the fifth season in a row that the Golden Bears finished sixth or worse in the conference; however it still has been good enough to make the NCAA Tournament the last four years. The Golden Bears have failed to get out of the regionals in all those seasons and Cal fans have come to expect better. This group has some holes to fill in the regular lineup, but there should be more than enough talent for Coach Diane Ninemire to take her team back to the middle of the Pac-12 and hope for something special come tournament time.

2018: 35-21, 7-16
2018 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Diane Ninemire

Key Departed Players:
Jazmyn Jackson, UTL, .325 BA, 4 HR, 33 RBI, 9 SB
Bradie Filmore, IF, .272 BA, 5 HR, 30 RBI
Kobie Pettis, IF, .258 BA, 22 RBI

Key Returning Players:
Lindsay Rood, IF, .337 BA, 23 RBI, 31 SB
Mikayla Coelho, OF, .320 BA, 7 HR, 36 RBI
Kamalani Dung, P, 1.96 ERA, 19-5 W/L, 160.2 IP, 186 SO
Zoe Conley, P, 2.25 ERA, 16-14 W/L, 195.2 IP, 189 SO

Projection:
California has the potential to take a step forward this year thanks to the pitching duo of Kamalani Dung and Zoe Conley. Dung went 19-5 last year with an impressive 1.96 ERA. Conley was more of the workhorse in the circle, netting 195.2 innings pitched with 21 complete games in 26 starts. Those two should finish their impressive collegiate careers on a high note and that alone is enough for California to beat anybody on any given day. They will need a little bit of offense though. Last year the Golden Bears finished a respectable sixth in the Pac-12 in scoring with 4.86 runs per game. The consistent bats of senior Lindsay Rood and sophomore Mikayla Coelho are a great place to start. Coelho had a very impressive freshman campaign, hitting .320 with seven homeruns and 36 RBIs. She could emerge as one of the better hitters in the Pac-12. Cal will need to find a few more hitters, but with Rood and Coelho leading the way, they can do more than enough to take Coach Ninemire to yet another NCAA Tournament.

CF-thanks for your efforts! I was able to link that website and I am counting down the Top 25 teams there. Why
are all three elite pitchers bailing out on Oregon? I realize that their HC went to Texas but do the players not get
along with the new female HC? Only one of those elite pitchers went with the coach to Austin, TX. Strange.

GO BEARS!

Cal Fanatic: Cal has 18 players on their roster for 2019. There are only a dozen (12) players that I think can hit for the 9 spots in the batting order. I'm including all four freshmen eventhough I have yet to see 'em perform. I left out
Jordan Fines, Destiny Blueford & Mariko Kondo as backup infielders plus three pitchers, Kourtney Shaw, Zoe Conley & Kamalani Dung. It obviously hurts to have lost one of the best Bear hitters in Bradie Fillmore to a transfer.

https://calbears.com/roster.aspx?path=softball&roster=1416&sort=position

Do you have any idea which players will play specific positions this season?

White is something else as a coach he actually had a hand in helping destroy the Stanford softball program as his daughter had played there and I guess help Foster so many allegations that caused Stanford head coach Rittman to quit. And, after that they've had a miserable four years, winning only about 5 Pac-12 games. Now,because of a $150,000 difference in what he wanted for salary he up and left the Ducks and took a bunch of players with them.

Schroeder71 said:

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CF-thanks for your efforts! I was able to link that website and I am counting down the Top 25 teams there. Why
are all three elite pitchers bailing out on Oregon? I realize that their HC went to Texas but do the players not get
along with the new female HC? Only one of those elite pitchers went with the coach to Austin, TX. Strange.

GO BEARS!

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This article from last week provides a lot of details about the coaching change in Oregon including background on how White left the program.

https://www.ducksports.com/sports/20190118/trouble-with-curve-oregon-ducks-softball-program-coping-with-chaotic-season-of-change

Since the article was posted, 2 more players have transferred and the Ducks are now down to only 15 players including just 2 starters from last year. What a mess!

Holy hell- another one is gone. Down to 14 players.

It appears that University of Oregon made a grave mistake in hiring Lombardi as their coach that article was pretty foreboding mentioning the new Coach basically had a very strict dress code and religious overtones? ***?

I'm penciling in us for 7th, UO for 8th, and furds for last in conference.

I'm not sold on Utah. We could slip into that 6th place spot. But we will see! We just have no offense. Some of these games will feel like late 1990's/early 2000's Cal softball

I truly don't see one player being able to hit double digit HR's. How sad for a once former top program. Ninemire's getting paid though.... and showing up to HS recruiting events without even acknowledging the coaches who put it on, so who cares- right Diane?

At least- from what I understand- Ninemire is staying for longer than 10 minutes when a young girl is told Cal will be there. Imagine being a young girl EXCITED about potentially being able to play at Cal.... and the coach rolls up in her nice car- decked out in Cal gear- stays for one inning (without talking to anyone) and leaves. You don't have to imagine things that are real! =)

Enough with my rant- it's just sad what has happened to this once illustrious program. Hopefully Selden helps bring some form of a young, new perspective on things.

Maybe once the new softball stadium is completed, they'll honor Diane by naming it Ninemire Diamond at Levine-Fricke Field (or something like that) and she'll gracefully retire.

Oregon State has their three top pitchers returning in-tact and they have a real opportunity to win the Civil War vs
Oregon. I believe that the Beavers have more offense than the Bears but this is another spot that is "open" in the Pac 9 standings.

It would appear that Washington & UCLA are head & shoulders superior. Arizona is probably third because ASU
lost their phenom frosh southpaw pitcher from last season. I have not studied the team's rosters, yet, to see how much hitting they have returning...It's wide open in conference this year after the aforementioned two perennial national powers. It should make things interesting...GO BEARS!

I agree with you but we both know nothing's going to happen to DN she'll retire when she's good and ready to our esteemed AD has a disaster in the men's basketball program and you know that his priorities will have to be to raise the 8 to 10 million in order to buy coach WJ out and get a halfway decent coach in there for next year.

Some more crazy news out of Oregon. Terra McGowan is (allegedly) not cleared to play. If that is true, Oregon will have 13 active players for the season.

Hopefully they can field a healthy 9 on the field....

Anyone willing to place bets on when our roster will get updated? Or get a bio on the CalBears.com page for Anjelica Selden? I mean seriously, the season starts in 10 days. The SID for Cal Softball is truly awful. It was never like this.

Cal receiving votes in the coaches poll!

https://nfca.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8018:usa-today-nfca-d1-preseason-poll-2019&catid=109&Itemid=149

Really enjoying going to each FULLY updated roster page and reading each bio/seeing updated photos. Hopefully we get it updated before February 9th. Seriously, is a college student running the softball website? It is embarrassing for a D1 program. The hard working players deserve better.

This poll evidently knows that Cal cannot hit. The Bears ranked #35 & Oregon State rated #38. Utah & Stanford are NR.

The top 25 has the following makeup:
--------------------------------------------------
SEC---11
Pac 9---5
Big 12---4
Big 10---2
ACC-----1
also, Louisiana-Lafayette & James Madison (what conferences are these two schools members of?)

The season kick-offs one week from Friday.
https://calbears.com/schedule.aspx?path=softball

The opening two weekends in the southeast could be brutal for Cal. The first weekend the Bears face #15 Louisiana
Ragin' Cajuns twice with their Oregon transfer in the circle on their home field. The second weekend in Florida, Cal faces four ranked teams and Notre Dame (#27-second in votes). Ninemire &Co could be fortunate to return west at .500 (5-5). GO BEARS!

CalFanatic said:

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Some more crazy news out of Oregon. Terra McGowan is (allegedly) not cleared to play. If that is true, Oregon will have 13 active players for the season.

Hopefully they can field a healthy 9 on the field....

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UO now down to 12 players. McGowan confirmed to be ineligible to play and an OF has suffered a season ending knee injury. This is unraveling fast.

https://www.ducksports.com/sports/20190128/oregon-softball-catcher-terra-mcgowans-appeal-to-play-in-2019-denied-by-asu