The California Golden Bears got off to a solid start with a 1-0 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats to take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-three super regional series. The winner of the series advances to the 2011 Women’s College World Series, joining Alabama, Arizona State, Florida, and Oklahoma State.
The Bears received a dominant pitching performance from Jolene Henderson, who held the Wildcats to one hit and one walk over seven innings. The difference-maker for Cal was a fourth inning one-out home run by Franci Echavarria. The Bears had a chance for insurance runs in the fifth but couldn’t score a runner from third with one out.
The teams will square off in game two at 10:00am pacific on Sunday on ESPN. You can also watch the game via live online stream at ESPN3.com. If Cal wins they advance to the WCWS. If Kentucky wins, the two teams will square off in a winner-take-all elimination match at approximately 12:30pm pacific on Sunday. Saturday’s win improved Cal to 3-0 all-time against Kentucky.