California defeated Arizona State 5-0 on Friday to claim the inaugural Pac-12 softball championship.
The Sun Devils (45-7, 17-4 Pac-12) needed to win two of the three games of the series to earn the title but came up short against the Golden Bears (50-3, 21-2 Pac-12), who can complete a three-game sweep in the regular-season finale on Saturday.
Cal wasted no time taking control, as Danielle Henderson brought Breana Kostreba home on a long single to left-center to make it 1-0 in the second inning.
In the bottom of the fourth, Henderson brought home Cal's second run with a single to left that plated Elia Reid. The Bears tacked on an additional two runs in the fifth to take a 4-0 lead, forcing ASU to bring in Mackenzie Popescue to replace Hillary Bach in the circle.
Bach worked 4 1/3 innings and took the loss, her first of the season after starting with 19 consecutive wins.
Cal added one more run in the fifth after the extend its lead to 5-0 when Jace Williams scored on a sacrifice fly by Henderson.
Valerie Arioto went the distance in the circle for the Bears to improve to 20-2. Popescue pitched the final 1 2/3 innings for the Sun Devils.
The NCAA tournament field will be announced Sunday afternoon, with ASU expected to host a regional.
