Bears Fall To No. 24 Utes In Opener

BERKELEY – The California softball team dropped the series-opener to No. 24 Utah, 3-1, on Friday afternoon at Levine-Fricke Field.   

Tatum Anzaldo and Elon Butler both went 2-for-3 to lead the Bears (22-9-1, 4-5-1 Pac-12). The conference-leading Utes (22-5, 6-1 Pac-12) had five players with one hit apiece.

Utah jumped out early on Cal starter Annabel Teperson, plating two runs on a hit and a couple of Golden Bear errors in the first frame. The Bears fought back in the home half, however, scoring a run on a Butler RBI double off the wall in left to make it 2-1 after one inning.

The Utes added one more in the third on a two-out RBI double to right center, leading Cal to bring in Haylei Archer to start the fourth with a two-run deficit. Archer turned in another great performance in the circle the rest of the way, retiring 12 of the 14 batters she faced while allowing just one hit.   

UP NEXT
Cal and Utah meet for game two of the series on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for noon from Levine-Fricke Field.       

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