CGB Hall of Fame: (2)Valerie Arioto v. (15)Harper Kamp

(2) Valerie Arioto

Cal Softball: In the dugout with Valerie Arioto (via calathletics)

NorCalNick: College softball is a sport dominated by amazing pitchers. Top ERAs routinely hover in the 1.00-2.00 range. Often, games feel like a frustrating game of chicken, while you wait for one team to make a mistake that allows a solitary run to cross to break a 0-0 deadlock.

Which only makes what Valerie Arioto did even more amazing. She destroyed college softball pitching in a way I didn’t think was possible, and in the process received the Barry Bonds treatment from opposing pitchers despite being surrounded with players good enough to start for the #1 team in the country. Her senior year numbers still seem unfathomable:

137 at bats

50 hits

23 home runs

94 walks (17 intentional)

On Base Percentage: .474

Slugging: .912

Almost half of her hits were home runs. About 17% of her plate appearances ended in home runs. If pitchers had challenged her, she could have approached 40 home runs on the season. And these numbers are for an entire season in the Pac-12, perennially the toughest conference in the country, and the playoffs, where offense goes to die.

The fences at softball fields are much closer than the fences at baseball fields, for obvious reasons. The pitching is tougher to hit, the heavy balls don’t fly as far, female hitters aren’t as strong as male hitters, etc. Arioto made Levine-Fricke field look like a little league diamond. Her home runs were no-doubters, moon shots sailing well over the fences erected to protect cars in the parking lot of the Strawberry Canyon Recreation Area, or laser beams that exited the field almost before you could react.

I know for every non-Giants fan, the name Barry Bonds is near-verboten. But for about five years or so, I watched the most dominating individual athlete I can ever recall. Bonds toyed with a sport renowned because you fail most of the time. And when it was over, and he retired, I thought that I would never see another athlete stand at the plate and control the game the way I saw him do it. And then a leftie came along who crowded the plate, but could turn on any ball with her bat speed. She wasn’t afraid to take a walk, but never let those walks take her out of her rhythm the next time a pitcher actually decided to challenge her.

Oh yeah, and she could pitch. Vote for Val!

Feature with Cal softball superstar, Valerie Arioto (via thedailycal)

(15) Harper Kamp

Harper Kamp vs Stanford 3-5-2011 (via ihelpathletes)

iVinishe: Harper Kamp is quite simply a True Golden Bear. Kamp earned honorable mention Pac-10 All-Freshman honors. As one of Ben Braun's final recruits however, Harper was faced with a difficult situation when Braun left the University of California: leave the school he had only played at for one year and had just let his head coach go, or stay and play for a new coach in an unfamiliar system. Though courted by several programs, Harper remained true to gold and blue, donning a California jersey 3 of the next 4 years, in spite of severe back and knee limitations.

After being unable to play due to injury during the 2009-2010 season, Harper returned as an upperclassman leader of the next two teams. Over the next two seasons, he received 2nd-Team All Pac-10/12 honors while displaying some of the toughest balls any Cal player has ever had. Through every grimace after a blow to the back, every flu game he had to receive IV's for, Harper exemplified what it means to be a Golden Bear. He was never the flashiest or the most athletic; however, his leadership, consistent performance on the court, and representation of the University of California has earned the respect and gratitude of Cal fans world wide.

KPIX Cal's Harper Kamp and his Bulldog Franklin (1/6/12) (via kpixsports)

You can also read more about Harper from our Remembering the Seniors post here.