California Golden Bears
2020 California Golden Bears softball team
UniversityUniversity of California, Berkeley
Head coachChelsea Spencer (1st season)
ConferencePac-12
LocationBerkeley, CA
Home stadiumLevine-Fricke Field (Capacity: 1,204)
NicknameGolden Bears
ColorsBlue and gold[1]
   
NCAA Tournament champions
2002
NCAA WCWS runner-up
2003, 2004
NCAA WCWS appearances
1986, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2011, 2012
AIAW WCWS appearances
1980, 1981, 1982
NCAA Tournament appearances
1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2023
Regular Season Conference championships
1979, 1980, 1981, 1986, 1987, 2005, 2012

The California Golden Bears softball team is the college softball team representing the University of California, Berkeley in NCAA Division I. The team plays its home games at Levine-Fricke Field, which is located in Strawberry Canyon near California Memorial Stadium. While the stadium was built in 1995, it is not up to the standards of the NCAA, and therefore cannot host NCAA tournament games. California softball is one of the most consistently successful programs at the school, having appeared in 28 consecutive NCAA tournaments from 1986 through 2013, and winning a national championship in 2002. The current head coach is Chelsea Spencer, a former player at California under head coach Diane Ninemire.

History

Levine-Fricke Field, home of California softball

The California Golden Bears softball team has been one of the most consistently successful programs at the University of California since its inaugural season in 1972. Through the program's first forty years (1972–2011), it has had a record of 1,445–705–3 which is a .672 win percentage. The Bears are consistently ranked in the top 25, have reached the postseason for 27 straight years, have reached the Women's College World Series 14 times (11 NCAA, 3 AIAW),[2] and have won 1 Women's College World Series Championship in 2002. The current head coach is Diane Ninemire, who is currently in her 25th season leading California's softball program. Ninemire holds the California school record for most all-time wins by a coach, and has an overall record of 1,059–509 (.675).[3] The current home field of the California Golden Bears softball program is Levine-Fricke Field located in Strawberry Canyon behind California Memorial Stadium and Witter Rugby Field and the programs offices are located in the Simpson Center for Student Athlete High Performance. Levine-Fricke Field opened in 1995 with a capacity of 500 permanent seats and it was announced by the athletic department that the stadium had expanded to 1,204 seats on April 11, 2012.[4][5] Despite the fact that Levine-Fricke Field is relatively new (compared to California's other facilities), it is not up to the standards needed to host NCAA Tournament games so even though California has received a national seed multiple times in its history, they have never been able to host a regional or super regional. Before moving into Levine-Fricke Field, softball played at a facility called Strawberry Field right next to the current stadium where Witter Rugby Field is now located, before that, the team played at Hearst Field (now the Hearst Field Annex) near the Hearst Gymnasium.

2002 season

In 2002, the California Golden Bears softball program won its first national championship after defeating the defending national champion Arizona Wildcats on May 27, 2002. There were high expectations heading into the 2002 campaign after reaching the Women's College World Series from 1999 to 2001 and with the Bears ranked #5 in the preseason poll. They remained in the national rankings (never falling out of the top 10) until they were the unanimous #1 after clinching the national championship and the Bears finished the 2002 campaign with a 56–19 (12–9, Pac–10), good for 4th in Pacific–10 Conference. After winning the national championship in 2002, the most outstanding player of the tournament was senior RHP Jocelyn Forest and Diane Ninemire and her coaching staff were named the Speedline/NFCA Division I Coaching Staff of the Year.

2012 season

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 2002 national championship team. The Bears started the season as #3 in the NFCA poll and spent most of the season as the #1 team in the country in both the ESPN and NFCA polls. The Golden Bears compiled a record of 50–4 (21–3 in conference play), received the overall #1 seed in the 2012 NCAA Division I softball tournament, and thanks to upgrades at Levine-Fricke Field, California will be able to host tournament games for the first time since 1993.

Season-by-season results

Statistics overview
Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Debbie Gebhardt (NCIAC) (1972–1973)
1972 Debbie Gebhardt 2–4———
1973 Debbie Gebhardt 2–4—4th (NCIAC)—
Debbie Gebhardt: 4–8 (.333)—
Coni Staff (NCIAC) (1974–1975)
1974 Coni Staff 5–4—5th (NCIAC)—
1975 Coni Staff 4–3—3rd (NCIAC)—
Coni Staff: 9–7 (.563)—
Myrtle Baker (NCIAC/NorCal) (1976–1977)
1976 Myrtle Baker 9–6—3rd (NCIAC)—
1977 Myrtle Baker 12–95–34th (NorCal)—
Myrtle Baker: 21–15 (.583)5–3 (.625)
Bonnie Johnson (NorCal) (1978–1982)
1978 Bonnie Johnson 19–19–1—2nd (NorCal)—
1979 Bonnie Johnson 37–9—1st (NorCal)—
1980 Bonnie Johnson 46–11—1st (NorCal)6–3 (AIAW WCWS, 9th Place)
1981 Bonnie Johnson 48–13—1st (NorCal)4–4 (AIAW WCWS, T–5th Place)
1982 Bonnie Johnson 37–17–1—2nd (NorCal)2–4 (AIAW WCWS, T–3rd Place)
Bonnie Johnson: 187–69–2 (.730)—
Donna Terry (NorPac/Pac-10) (1983–1987)
1983 Donna Terry 26–216–64th (NorPac)—
1984 Donna Terry 27–19–18–43rd (NorPac)—
1985 Donna Terry 35–256–44th (NorPac)—
1986 Donna Terry 43–178–2T–1st (NorPac)4–3 (WCWS, T–3rd Place)
1987 Donna Terry 34–158–21st (Pac-10)0–2 (NCAA Regional)
Donna Terry: 165–97–1 (.630)36–18 (.667)
Diane Ninemire (Pac-10/Pac-12) (1988–present)
1988 Diane Ninemire 39–247–115th (Pac-10)1–2 (NCAA Regional)
1989 Diane Ninemire 38–2610–104th (Pac-10)0–2 (NCAA Regional)
1990 Diane Ninemire 41–289–93rd (Pac-10)2–2 (NCAA Regional)
1991 Diane Ninemire 48–2014–63rd (Pac-10)0–2 (NCAA Regional)
1992 Diane Ninemire 47–168–83rd (Pac-10)3–2 (WCWS, T–5th Place)
1993 Diane Ninemire 37–2012–103rd (Pac-10)2–2 (NCAA Regional)
1994 Diane Ninemire 40–2110–125th (Pac-10)1–2 (NCAA Regional)
1995 Diane Ninemire 41–2120–83rd (Pac-10)1–2 (NCAA Regional)
1996 Diane Ninemire 41–2314–124th (Pac-10)4–2 (WCWS, T–5th Place)
1997 Diane Ninemire 36–2613–144th (Pac-10)2–2 (NCAA Regional)
1998 Diane Ninemire 35–2712–144th (Pac-10)1–2 (NCAA Regional)
1999 Diane Ninemire 51–2213–145th (Pac-10)7–3 (WCWS, T–3rd Place)
2000 Diane Ninemire 49–256–15T–7th (Pac-10)4–3 (WCWS, T–7th Place)
2001 Diane Ninemire 54–186–147th (Pac-10)5–3 (WCWS, T–5th Place)
2002 Diane Ninemire 56–1912–94th (Pac-10)8–0 (WCWS Champions)
2003 Diane Ninemire 49–2010–113rd (Pac-10)8–2 (WCWS, 2nd Place)
2004 Diane Ninemire 53–1313–8T–2nd (Pac-10)7–2 (WCWS, 2nd Place)
2005 Diane Ninemire 52–1513–8T–1st (Pac-10)6–4 (WCWS, T–7th Place)
2006 Diane Ninemire 49–1412–93rd (Pac-10)4–2 (NCAA Super Regional)
2007 Diane Ninemire 34–327–148th (Pac-10)1–2 (NCAA Regional)
2008 Diane Ninemire 43–277–145th (Pac-10)3–3 (NCAA Super Regional)
2009 Diane Ninemire 38–2010–105th (Pac-10)3–2 (NCAA Super Regional)
2010 Diane Ninemire 44–1710–114th (Pac-10)3–2 (NCAA Super Regional)
2011 Diane Ninemire 45–1315–62nd (Pac-10)6–3 (WCWS, T–5th Place)
2012 Diane Ninemire 58-721–31st (Pac-12)8–3 (WCWS, T-3rd Place)
2013 Diane Ninemire 38–1910–14T–5th2–2 (NCAA Regional)
2014 Diane Ninemire 23–294–189th
2015 Diane Ninemire 39–1810–147th1–2 (NCAA Regional)
2016 Diane Ninemire 33–24–111–11–16th2–2 (NCAA Regional)
2017 Diane Ninemire 32–246–178th2–2 (NCAA Regional)
2018 Diane Ninemire 35–217–167th1–2 (NCAA Regional)
2019 Diane Ninemire 28–275–188th
2020 Diane Ninemire 10–9[n 1]0–0
Diane Ninemire: 1,355-687-1 (.663)337–367–1 (.479)
Tammy Lohmann (Pac-12 Conference) (2020–2020)
2020 Tammy Lohmann 13–11[n 2]0–0Season canceled due to COVID-19
Tammy Lohmann: 13–11 (.542)0–0 (–)
Chelsea Spencer (Pac-12 Conference) (2021–Present)
2021 Chelsea Spencer
Chelsea Spencer: 0–0 (–)0–0 (–)
Total:1,445–705–3 (.672)

      National Champions         College World Series Participants         Conference Champions

Source: 2012 Golden Bears Record Book Archived 2016-03-10 at the Wayback Machine

Coaches

Head Coach Years Win–loss Pct.
Debbie Gebhardt1972–19734–3.333
Coni Staff1974–19759–7.563
Myrtle Baker1976–197721–15.583
Bonnie Johnson1978–1982187–69–2.729
Donna Terry1983–1987165–97–1.629
Diane Ninemire1988–20201,355-687-1.663
Tammy Lohmann202013-11.542
Chelsea Spencer2020–Present–

Source:

Notable players

National awards

NFCA Catcher of the Year
  • Haley Woods (2006)

Conference awards

Pac-12 Player of the Year
  • Valeria Arioto (2012)
Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year
Pac-12 Coach of the Year

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Ninemire stepped down after the first 19 games of the season. Tammy Lohmann served as acting head coach for the remainder of the season.
  2. ↑ Diane Ninemire stepped down after the first 19 games of the season. Lohmann served as acting head coach for the remainder of the season.

References

  1. ↑ Cal Brand Guidelines (PDF). June 1, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  2. ↑ Plummer, William; Floyd, Larry C. (2013). A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States: Turnkey Communications Inc. ISBN 978-0-9893007-0-4.
  3. ↑ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/cal/sports/w-softbl/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/2012SoftballRecordBook.pdf Archived 2016-03-10 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ "California Golden Bears - Facilities". Archived from the original on 2012-05-30. Retrieved 2012-04-12.
  5. ↑ "Cal Adds 704 Bleacher Seats to Levine-Fricke Field - the University of California Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
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