2012 California Golden Bears softball
Women's College World Series Participants
Berkeley Super Regional Champions
Berkeley Regional Champions
Pac-12 Conference Champions
ConferencePac-12 Conference
Record56–5 (21–3 Pac-12)
Head coach
  • Diane Ninemire
Assistant coachTammy Lohmann
John Reeves
Angie Jacobs
Home stadiumLevine-Fricke Field

The 2012 California Golden Bears softball team is the representative of the University of California in the 2012 NCAA Division I softball season. The team plays their home games in Levine-Fricke Field and they entered the 2012 season after making the Women's College World Series with a 45–13 record in 2011 and making the postseason for 27 straight years.

Regular season

California (in pink jersey because of the "strike out cancer" day) celebrates winning the inaugural Pac-12 Conference championship.

The 2012 season began for the Golden Bears with extremely high expectations with head coach Diane Ninemire going as far as comparing her 2012 squad to the Bears' 2002 national championship team. California started the season as #3 in the NFCA poll and spent most of the first half of the season as #1 in the ESPN poll and #2 in the NFCA poll. Heading into conference play, the Golden Bears had compiled a record of 26–1 with their only loss coming at the hands of then #18 Hawai'i in extra innings in Honolulu after previously beating then-#6 Texas in a hard fought game. To start off the conference slate, then-#2 California traveled across the bay to face then-#9 Stanford in a 3-game series in Palo Alto, and the Bears promptly swept the Cardinal to earn the #1 spot in both polls for the first time during the 2012 campaign. After the three game sweep of Stanford, the #1 Bears did not slow down, sweeping then-#3 Washington in Berkeley and unranked Utah in Salt Lake City. After the Washington series, the Bears were the unanimous #1 team in the country according to the NFCA and ESPN polls and at this same time, California came in as #1 in the NCAA's RPI rankings.[1] The Bears would go on to face then-#13 Arizona and despite losing their first conference game to the Wildcats, they still won the series 2–1 and retained the #1 ranking in both the NFCA and ESPN polls. The following weekend, the Bears travelled to Eugene to take on the then-18th ranked Ducks, and again took two of three games and retained the #1 spot in both polls for a fifth consecutive week. On April 24, 2012, California was in first place in the Pac-12 Conference with Arizona State only one game behind the top ranked Bears. In the second-to-last conference series of the regular season, both the Sun Devils and Bears swept their opponents (Utah and Oregon State respectively) setting up a showdown in Berkeley for the conference championship. Going into the final weekend series of the regular season, the Golden Bears sported a 19–2 record in conference play and needed to take 2 of 3 from second place (and #2 in the national polls) Arizona State. The Bears won the first game of the series thanks to walk off two-run home run by senior Valerie Arioto and won the second game of the series by a final score of 5-0 therefore winning the inaugural Pac-12 championship.[2] The 2012 conference championship was the Bears' first sole conference championship since 1987 (they shared a title in 2005), which just happened to be the first Pac-10 conference championship that was awarded. Because California won their conference, they received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, was later awarded the #1 overall seed in the tournament, and because of the upgrades at Levine-Fricke Field, the Bears will host games in Berkeley for the first time since 1993.[3]

Attendance statistics

In 2012, California broke all attendance records for the softball program partially because on April 11, 2012, the University of California athletic department announced that they had more than doubled the capacity of Levine-Fricke Field by adding 704 bleacher seats in the outfield.[4] On April 29, 2012, the California softball program broke the previous attendance record of 969 in a game against the UCLA Bruins with an announced crowd of 1,069, California then, however, broke the record again later on in the season with a crowd of 1,135 for the final game of the regular season.[5][6] Overall, the Bears drew a crowd over 1,000 three times during the season for the first time in the program's history.

Capacity: 500 (Feb.-Apr. 10), 1,204 (Apr. 11-)
Average attendance: 529 (56.3% capacity)
Total attendance: 7,939 (15 games)

Postseason

On May 13, 2012, it was announced that the Golden Bears would receive the #1 overall seed in the 2012 NCAA softball tournament and will host a regional at Levine-Fricke Field in Berkeley. Also, if the Bears advance to the Super Regionals, they will also host that series in Berkeley. In the past, Levine-Fricke Field has not been able to host tournament games because it was considered inadequate by NCAA standards, however, the University of California athletic department was able to add approximately 704 bleacher seats in the outfield to bring capacity well above the minimum of 500 in February 2012 and will rent temporary light and build a temporary press box in order to play night games and accommodate television crews.

Berkeley Regional and Super Regional

The Bears opened up the tournament in Berkeley against the Iona Gaels on Friday, May 18, 2012. The regional will run from Friday, May 18 through Sunday, May 20 and will be a double-elimination tournament featuring #1 seeded California, Iona, Arkansas, and Boston University. The Bears won the first game of the Berkeley Regional by defeating the Iona Gaels 8–0 in 5 innings but then were shocked by Arkansas on day two of the regional losing 3-2 to the Razorbacks. California bounced back by defeating Boston University in 6 innings by a final score of 8–0 and promptly beat Arkansas 10–2 and 7–0 on Sunday to advance to the Super Regional round that will also be played at Levine-Fricke Field. The Bears defeated the #16 seed Washington Huskies in the Berkeley Super Regional in two straight games on May 26 and 27. After sweeping the Berkeley Super Regional, California earned a berth to the Women's College World Series for the 12th time in program history.

First round Round 2 Regional finals Super regionals
               
1 California 8
Iona 0
1 California 2
Arkansas 3
Boston University 2
Arkansas 3
Arkansas 2 0
Berkeley Regional
1 California 10 7
Iona 3
Boston University 4
1 California 8
Boston University 0
1 California 5 2 —
16 Washington 0 0 —
16 Washington 2
Harvard 0
16 Washington 2
Texas Tech 0
Texas Tech 6
Maryland 1
16 Washington 4 —
Seattle Regional
Harvard 0 —
Harvard 3
Maryland 2
Texas Tech 0
Harvard 2

Women's College World Series

On May 27, 2012 the #1 seeded California Golden Bears clinched the program's 12th Women's College World Series berth by defeating the Washington Huskies in the Berkeley Super Regional. The Bears' first opponent in the world series will be LSU on Thursday May 30.

First round Second round Semifinals Finals
               
1 California 5
LSU 3
1 California 0
4 Oklahoma 3
4 Oklahoma 5
South Florida 1
4 Oklahoma 5 —
3 Arizona State 3 —
LSU 1
South Florida 0
LSU 0
3 Arizona State 6
4 Oklahoma 4 6 4
2 Alabama 1 8 5
3 Arizona State 3
11 Oregon 1
3 Arizona State 1
2 Alabama 2
2 Alabama 5
7 Tennessee 3
2 Alabama 5 —
1 California 2 —
11 Oregon 3
7 Tennessee 1
11 Oregon 3
1 California 6

Game logs

Regular season

2012 California Golden Bears Softball Game Log
February: 12–0 (Conference: 0–0; Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0; Neutral: 12–0)
#DateOpponentScoreRankWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStadiumBox
1February 10vs. #9 Tennessee13–5#3J. Henderson (1–0)I. Renfroe (0–1)4081–0 (0–0)Farrington StadiumW1
2February 11vs. Bradley5–0#3V. Arioto (1–0)M. Lynch-Crumri (1–1)1852–0 (0–0)Farrington StadiumW2
3February 11vs. Texas State10–0 (5)#3J. Henderson (2–0)C. Hall (0–1)2203–0 (0–0)Farrington StadiumW3
4February 12vs. Syracuse6–3#3J. Henderson (3–0)J. Caira (2–1)964–0 (0–0)Farrington StadiumW4
5February 17vs. DePaul2–0#1V. Arioto (2–0)H. Penna (0–1)5–0 (0–0)Eller Media StadiumW5
6February 18vs. San Jose State7–0#1J. Henderson (4–0)A. Pridmore (0–1)1206–0 (0–0)SLC ParkW6
7February 18vs. UC Riverside10–0 (5)#1V. Arioto (3–0)J. McDonald (0–1)7–0 (0–0)SLC ParkW7
8February 19vs. LSU14–3 (5)#1J. Henderson (5–0)B. Mack (1–3)8–0 (0–0)Stephanie Craig ParkW8
9February 24vs. Fordham5–0#1V. Arioto (4–0)J. Mineau (0–1)1259–0 (0–0)Big League DreamsW9
10February 25vs. New Mexico St.2–0#1J. Henderson (6–0)A. Newman (0–1)12010–0 (0–0)Big League DreamsW10
11February 25vs. Cal Poly4–1#1V. Arioto (5–0)R. Patton (0–1)12011–0 (0–0)Big League DreamsW11
12February 26vs. Cal St. Northridge7–0#1J. Henderson (7–0)M. Pagano (0–1)13012–0 (0–0)Big League DreamsW12
February 29Pacific#1Cancelled (rain)12–0 (0–0)Levine-Fricke Field
March: 19–1 (Conference: 4–0; Home: 4–0; Road: 4–1; Neutral: 11–0)
#DateOpponentScoreRankWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStadiumBox
13March 2vs. FIU8–1#1V. Arioto (6–0)M. Dawson (5–3)13–0 (0–0)Anderson Family FieldW13
14March 2vs. Southern Miss8–0 (5)#1J. Henderson (8–0)G. Luciani (2–1)14–0 (0–0)Anderson Family FieldW14
15March 3vs. East Carolina11–3 (5)#1V. Arioto (7–0)C. Smith (2–0)28715–0 (0–0)Anderson Family FieldW15
16March 3vs. Northwestern5–1#1J. Henderson (9–0)M. Lamberth (2–4)16–0 (0–0)Anderson Family FieldW16
17March 7UC Davis11–3 (6)#1J. Henderson (10–0)J. Thweatt (2–7)13717–0 (0–0)Levine-Fricke FieldW17
18March 10vs. San Diego State12–0 (5)#1J. Henderson (11–0)R. Arbino (7–5)18–0 (0–0)Bulldog DiamondW18
19March 10vs. Butler14–1 (5)#1V. Arioto (8–0)B. Fisher (1–3)1,25019–0 (0–0)Bulldog DiamondW19
20March 11vs. Purdue9–1 (6)#1J. Henderson (12–0)A. Whittemore (2–2)25020–0 (0–0)Bulldog DiamondW20
21March 11@ Fresno State8–5#1V. Arioto (9–0)M. Moses (8–7)21–0 (0–0)Bulldog DiamondW21
22March 14vs. #21 Texas A&M3–0#1J. Henderson (13–0)M. Dumezich (11–5)22–0 (0–0)Rainbow Wahine StadiumW22
23March 15vs. #6 Texas6–3#1V. Arioto (10–0)B. Luna (9–1)J. Henderson (1)23–0 (0–0)Rainbow Wahine StadiumW23
24March 15@ #19 Hawai'i3–1 (10)#1S. Ricketts (13–1)J. Henderson (13–1)1,20023–1 (0–0)Rainbow Wahine StadiumL1
25March 16vs. Marist1–0#1V. Arioto (11–0)M. White (1–5)J. Henderson (2)24–1 (0–0)Rainbow Wahine StadiumW1
26March 17vs. Winthrop7–1#1J. Henderson (14–1)N. Becker (5–7)25–1 (0–0)Rainbow Wahine StadiumW2
27March 20Princeton8–0 (5)#2V. Arioto (12–0)L. Kuhn (1–3)25026–1 (0–0)Levine-Fricke FieldW3
28March 23@ #9 Stanford9–0#2J. Henderson (15–1)T. Gerhart (20–2)85727–1 (1–0)Smith Family StadiumW4
March 24@ #9 Stanford#2Postponed (rain); Rescheduled for March 2527–1 (1–0)Smith Family Stadium
29March 25@ #9 Stanford4–3#2V. Arioto (13–0)N. White (5–3)J. Henderson (3)46228–1 (2–0)Smith Family StadiumW5
30March 25@ #9 Stanford8–0#2J. Henderson (16–1)T. Gerhart (20–3)38929–1 (3–0)Smith Family StadiumW6
31March 28Sacramento State8–0 (5)#1V. Arioto (14–0)S. Voelz (4–2)9330–1 (3–0)Levine-Fricke FieldW7
32March 30#3 Washington2–1#1J. Henderson (17–1)K. Inglesby (16–1)24031–1 (4–0)Levine-Fricke FieldW8
March 31#3 Washington#1Postponed (rain); Rescheduled for April 131–1 (4–0)Levine-Fricke Field
April: 14–2 (Conference: 12–2; Home: 8–1; Road: 6–1)
#DateOpponentScoreRankWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStadiumBox
33April 1#3 Washington5–3#1V. Arioto (15–0)K. Stanchek (9–1)32–1 (5–0)Levine-Fricke FieldW9
34April 1#3 Washington6–4#1J. Henderson (18–1)K. Inglesby (16–2)68033–1 (6–0)Levine-Fricke FieldW10
35April 5@ Utah10–0 (5)#1J. Henderson (19–1)M. Ramírez (2–1)20334–1 (7–0)Ute Softball FieldW11
April 6@ Utah#1Postponed (snow); Rescheduled for April 734–1 (7–0)Ute Softball Field
36April 7@ Utah11–3 (5)#1V. Arioto (16–0)G. Nielson (17–8)38935–1 (8–0)Ute Softball FieldW12
37April 7@ Utah12–3 (6)#1J. Henderson (20–1)G. Nielson (17–9)50336–1 (9–0)Ute Softball FieldW13
38April 11@ Saint Mary's9–0#1V. Arioto (17–0)J. Lemmon (8–9)22037–1 (9–0)Cottrell FieldW14
39April 13#13 Arizona2–0#1J. Henderson (21–1)K. Fowler (12–4)41538–1 (10–0)Levine-Fricke FieldW15
40April 14#13 Arizona8–3#1S. Babcock (15–7)V. Arioto (17–1)66438–2 (10–1)Levine-Fricke FieldL1
41April 15#13 Arizona6–0#1J. Henderson (22–1)K. Fowler (12–5)51739–2 (11–1)Levine-Fricke FieldW1
42April 18Santa Clara10–2 (5)#1V. Arioto (18–1)J. Turner (2–9)11340–2 (11–1)Levine-Fricke FieldW2
43April 20@ #14 Oregon8–1#1J. Henderson (23–1)J. Moore (21–7)45741–2 (12–1)Howe FieldW3
44April 21@ #14 Oregon1–0#1J. Moore (22–7)V. Arioto (18–2)47541–3 (12–2)Howe FieldL1
45April 22@ #14 Oregon10–0 (6)#1J. Henderson (24–1)J. Moore (22–8)63342–3 (13–2)Howe FieldW1
46April 27#14 UCLA3–0#1J. Henderson (25–1)J. Hall (16–8)35343–3 (14–2)Levine-Fricke FieldW2
47April 28#14 UCLA8–0 (6)#1V. Arioto (19–2)J. Hall (16–9)J. Henderson (4)84144–3 (15–2)Levine-Fricke FieldW3
48April 29#14 UCLA10–3#1J. Henderson (26–1)J. Hall (16–10)1,06945–3 (16–2)Levine-Fricke FieldW4
May: 5–1 (Conference: 5–1; Home: 2–1; Road: 3–0)
#DateOpponentScoreRankWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStadiumBox
49May 4@ #22 Oregon State9–1 (5)#1J. Henderson (27–1)T. Andreana (9–10)33346–3 (17–2)OSU Softball ComplexW5
50May 5@ #22 Oregon State4–2#1J. Henderson (28–1)M. Demore (7–5)42147–3 (18–2)OSU Softball ComplexW6
51May 6@ #22 Oregon State4–1#1J. Henderson (29–1)P. Hall (4–3)69748–3 (19–2)OSU Softball ComplexW7
52May 10#2 Arizona State4–2#1J. Henderson (30–1)M. Popescue (7–2)40749–3 (20–2)Levine-Fricke FieldW8
53May 11*#2 Arizona State5–0#1V. Arioto (20–2)H. Bach (19–1)1,02550–3 (21–2)Levine-Fricke FieldW9
54May 12#2 Arizona State5–0#1D. Escobedo (20–4)J. Henderson (30–2)1,135**50–4 (21–3)Levine-Fricke FieldL1
*California clinched the 2012 Pac-12 Conference Championship on May 11, 2012 after defeating #2 Arizona State 5–0.
**All-time single game attendance record at Levine-Fricke Field.
Legend
California Win California Loss
*All Rankings are from the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll[7]

Postseason

2012 California Golden Bears Softball Postseason Game Log
Berkeley Regional (#1 Seed): 4–1
#DateOpponent (Seed)ScoreRankWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStadiumBox
1May 18Iona8–0 (5)#1J. Henderson (31–2)S. Jackson (17–13)1,0591–0Levine-Fricke FieldW1
2May 19Arkansas3–2#1K. Beasley (11–9)V. Arioto (20–3)C. Cohen (2)—1–1Levine-Fricke FieldL1
3May 19Boston University8–0 (6)#1J. Henderson (32–2)W. Tuthill (14–6)1,0642–1Levine-Fricke FieldW2
4May 20Arkansas10–2 (5)#1J. Henderson (33–2)H. McLemore (2–1)—3–1Levine-Fricke FieldW3
5May 20Arkansas7–0#1J. Henderson (34–2)K. Beasley (11–10)1,0284–1Levine-Fricke FieldW4
Berkeley Super Regional (#1 Seed vs. #16 Seed): 2–0
#DateOpponent (Seed)ScoreRankWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStadiumBox
1May 26#18 Washington (16)5–0#1J. Henderson (35–2)K. Inglesby (19–11)1,1171–0Levine-Fricke FieldW1
2May 27#18 Washington (16)2–0#1J. Henderson (35–2)B. Walker(10–6)1,1252–0Levine-Fricke FieldW2
Women's College World Series (#1 Seed): 0–0
#DateOpponent (Seed)ScoreRankWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStadiumBox
1May 26LSU#1Time: 12:30p PDT • Television: ESPN2Hall of Fame Stadium
2TBDTBD#1Time: TBD PDT • Television: ESPN2Hall of Fame Stadium
Legend
California Win California Loss
Home Away
*All Rankings are from the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll[7]

Rankings and standings

2012 ranking movement

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
Week
PollPre12345678910111213PostFinal
NFCA/USA Today[8]4332222111111113
USA Softball/ESPN.com[9]3111112111111113
NCAA RPI[10]Not released311111112

2012 Pac-12 Conference standings

Conference Overall
Team W L Pct. GB W L Pct.
1 #1 California Golden Bears* (WCWS) 21 3 .875 — 50 4 .926
2 #2 Arizona State Sun Devils** (WCWS) 18 4 .818 2 46 7 .868
3 #12 Oregon Ducks** (WCWS) 13 9 .591 7 39 15 .722
4 #16 Arizona Wildcats** 12 12 .500 9 35 17 .673
5 #15 UCLA Bruins** 12 12 .500 9 36 18 .667
6 #17 Stanford Cardinal** 11 13 .458 10 38 17 .691
7 #24 Oregon State Beavers** 9 14 .391 11½ 34 21 .618
8 #18 Washington Huskies** 7 16 .304 13½ 36 17 .679
9 Utah Utes 2 22 .083 19 28 28 .500

*Automatically qualified for the postseason by virtue of winning the Pac-12 Conference championship.
**Received an at-large berth to the 2012 NCAA softball tournament.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Polls Champion Cal as Unanimous Number One - the University of California Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Bears Win Pac-12 Title by Defeating ASU 5-0 - the University of California Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Cal Softball To Host Berkeley Regional - The University of California Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on May 17, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Cal Adds 704 Bleacher Seats to Levine-Fricke Field - the University of California Official Athletic Site". www.calbears.com. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  5. ↑ "No. 1 Bears Beat Bruins 10-3 to Sweep Series - the University of California Official Athletic Site". www.calbears.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  6. ↑ "University of California Athletics". Calbears.com. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Team USA". usasoftball.com. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  8. ↑ "NFCA | National Fastpitch Coaches Association". nfca.org.
  9. ↑ "NCAA College Rankings and Polls - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  10. ↑ "DI Softball Rankings - NCAA Women's Softball RPI | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com.
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