February 5, 2008

Berkeley, CA (UWIRE) -- Last year, the Cal softball team snuck into the postseason with a record of 33-30 and, after a 13-6 win over Florida State in the opening game, it looked as if the Bears' streaky play might carry them.

But as Cal learned throughout the regular season, teams that live by the streak also die by the streak. It was no different in the postseason for the Bears, and the harsh reality sunk in two games later with a 13-1 elimination loss to Alabama.

Cal had its share of accomplishments in 2007, including record setting marks in home runs (49), RBI (278) and runs scored (322). However, most of the success came towards the end of the season after the Bears had suffered a series of losing streaks, especially in Pac-10 play, where they began 2-11 before turning things around.

"Anytime you have a young team, they really don't have the wealth of knowledge to play the game in Division I," coach Diane Ninemire said. "All our losses earlier in the year we built off and we came up with some really good wins against top-10 teams. It proved that we can play with these teams, we just have to have consistency."

This season, Cal will look to build off the experience of last year's rocky start. The Bears have only two freshmen on this squad compared to seven last season.

The only senior Cal lost was Alex Sutton. Sutton was the lone player that participated in the College World Series in 2005, when the Bears lost to UCLA. She batted .306 with 12 home runs in her senior season and was elected to the All Pac-10 second-team.

"She scored many runs and had many RBIs for us," sophomore Bernice Masaniani said. "Everyone looked up to her. She'll be tough to replace but as the year goes on we should be just as good if not better."

Two main reasons for that should be the additions of freshmen Valerie Ariota and Sanoe Kekahuna. Ariota, a first-baseman and a pitcher with an offspeed specialty, also has a powerful bat and, according to Ninemire, has the potential to be just as good as Sutton. Kekahuna, a native of Maui, Hawaii should also add to the offense as she batted .668 in high school.

In addition, three new transfers have fit in nicely both on and off the field.

"I'm here to be a team player and fill in wherever they need me," said sophomore Lauren Bauer, who transferred from UC Riverside. "The title of being a transfer doesn't have much of an effect playing with the team as a whole."

Last season, the Bears didn't always stay united and that cost them. This year, there don't seem to be any problems as the team is gelling rather quickly.

"So far we have good chemistry and we really get along," sophomore Brittany LaRosa said. "When we have good chemistry we tend to play better because we have fun and get along more, but when we play as individuals there's more discord."

The team worked throughout the fall to improve team chemistry.

In addition to getting to know each other on the field, the team spent time with a sports psychologist to work on building trust.

"Everyone should just do their own jobs and take accountability for their actions," LaRosa said. "As long as we see that there's effort then we'll respect each other."

In a sport as unpredictable as softball, Ninemire admits that the mental aspect of the game is more important than it might seem.

"We practice so much of the X's and O's but what a lot of teams let fall through the crack is mindset and confidence," Ninemire said. "One thing that will be on our side is our team chemistry will be a lot better this year than it was last year."

(C) 2008 Daily Californian via UWIRE