No. 24 Cal took two out of three games from Oregon State (21-28) over the weekend at Levine-Fricke Field in Berkeley to end the 2024 regular season.

Lagi Quiroga headlined by hitting a home run in all three matchups and Mika Lee followed with routine web gems and clutch hitting epitomized by a walk-off, run-ruling homer on Friday.

“I've had a pretty decent weekend, so I just knew that I was seeing the ball pretty well and going (after) the ball pretty well,” Lee said after Sunday’s 6-5 loss in which she had a massive two-out, two-RBI double in the sixth inning. “So just knowing that we were in a big-time situation — we were down one at that time … I just knew I had to come (through) for my team, especially for the seniors this weekend. It's super important for them.”

Outscoring the Beavers in the series 17-7, the Bears handled one of the better pitching staffs they faced in a while. Before Oregon State, Cal’s previous two opponents were Arizona State and Nevada — two programs carrying less favorable arms.

The series win concluded the Bears’ fourth regular season under coach Chelsea Spencer. Cal, finishing 36-16, continues to improve under the blue and gold alumnus, climbing from 17 wins in 2021 to its most since 2015 (39).

“Wow,” Lee added, proud of the current state of Cal Softball after the regular season’s end. “Yeah, we knew coming in that (the Beavers) were a really good team. They've had some upset wins throughout the whole year. So (we knew) we couldn't take them lightly and that we were facing probably one of the best pitching staffs that we've faced in a while … (and) that we had to be on our A game, just come in, (perform in) clutch situations, hitting, good defense, all that.”

The Bears' next matchup will come against their Bay Area rival, No. 6 Stanford, in the first round of the 2024 Pac-12 Softball Tournament at the Cardinal’s Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium — the tournament’s host site.

Cal and Stanford last met in March at Levine-Fricke Field, where the home team was swept and outscored 19-6.

“I really do believe and have trust in my team that we’re going to get back from this,” Quiroga said after that series. “It sucks and it’s hard, especially because it’s our rival, but it’s just a minor setback.”

The Bears simply must put up a better fight against the Cardinal. After all, the conference’s eventual champion — a title that has eluded Cal since 2012 — will earn an automatic bid to the Women’s College World Series.

Fortunately for Cal, it will take momentum into Palo Alto.

On Tuesday, the Pac-12 released its All-Conference teams, among other already-announced honors and nods, and the Bears were heavily represented.

Tatum Anzaldo was named to the All-Pac-12 first team and All-Defensive team, Acacia Anders and Elon Butler made the All-Pac-12 second team, Haylei Archer and Tianna Bell made the All-Pac-12 third team and Quiroga — the reigning Pac-12 freshman of the week — made the All-Pac-12 freshman team.

Butler and Quiroga also ended the season as the conference’s co-leaders for home runs, hitting 16 apiece.

Surprisingly, pitcher Randi Roelling earned zero recognition after tossing 120 innings — 1/3 less than Archer — as a freshman on a nationally ranked team.

Nevertheless, Cal has the résumé of a contender and is eager to have another shot at taking home some hardware at the conference and national level.

Led by their seniors, the Bears are excited for the real season to start: the postseason. However, win or lose, Cal knows this is its last dance with some of its best players.

“(The seniors have) been huge,” Lee concluded. “I mean, they're obviously such a huge part of our team. Obviously, Tate’s a staple at third base right now, and Archie’s just been on a lockdown for pitching the entire year.”

“They've built a great team culture that we've built on heavily throughout the past few years and it's gonna be really sad to see them go.”