TEMPE, Ariz. -- Northwestern staked Pac-12 power California to a five-run lead Sunday morning at the Kajikawa Classic before mounting a comeback, but that rally fell short in a 5-2 loss the Bears.

Cal now is a perfect 4-0 on the season with the win while NU is 2-3 after its loss. Northwestern returns to action Feb. 13-15 at UNLV's Wilson/DeMarini Desert Classic in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nev.

NU limited a powerful Cal offense to just four singles, but they came after walks or a hit by pitch -- all five Bears runs reached base in those manners. Northwestern's comeback was thwarted in the seventh by a great play on a hard-hit ball resulting in a game-ending double play.

Northwestern threatened first in the first, but it was Cal that put the game's first runs on the board in the bottom of the second. NU's Andrea DiPrima (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) smoked a one-out double and eventually got to third with one out before Cal's Katie Sutherland-Finch escaped the inning. Then, in the second, Cal scored by getting runners to first and third with one out. An error allowed the first run to come home before later on, with the bases loaded, a single to the outfield plated two more for a 3-0 California advantage.

Following the DiPrima double, Northwestern's high-powered offense scuffled against Cal starter Katie Sutherland-Finch, going down in order in the second, third and fourth frames. In the bottom of the fourth, the Bears got another two-out, two-run single to squeak through the infield and give them a 5-0 edge.

Northwestern broke through in the top of the fifth. Amy Letourneau (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) led off with a shot to dead center that was caught on the warning track -- the exact fate a ball she struck in the second received. Brianna LeBeau (Worth, Ill./H.L. Richards) then said enough of the warning track and launched a solo home run off the facing of the scoreboard to make it a 5-1 game with her first homer of 2015 and the 12th of her career.

The inning continued with another run scored in a much more scrappy manner. Alcy Bush (Riverside, Calif./Martin Luther King) stroked a two-out single to right and gave way to pinch runner Fran Strub (Coralville, Iowa/Clear Creek Amana). Strub moved to second on an illegal pitch call, then Krista Williams (Pleasanton, Calif./Amador Valley) put a ball in play that should have been an easy out at first, but it popped out of the first baseman's glove. Strub never stopped running from second on the play and slid around the tag attempt at the plate to make the score 5-2.

In the bottom of the fifth, Kristen Wood (Trevor, Wis./Wilmot Union) entered the game in relief of Letourneau and notched a 1-2-3 inning, capped by an incredible diving catch at second from freshman Brooke Marquez (Garden Grove, Calif./Pacifica). Wood then set the side down in order again in the sixth with the help of two strikeouts to keep NU's deficit at three runs.

Bush led off the top of the seventh with a solid single to center and again gave way to a pinch runner, this time Abbey Boyd (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier). Boyd moved to second on an illegal pitch, third on a Williams groundout, and then was joined on base when Sabrina Rabin (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) beat out an infield single to put runners at the corners. The next batter hit a ball up the middle, but the Cal second baseman ranged over and glove it on the run, using her momentum to get to the second base bag before turning and firing to first for a game-ending double play.

LeBeau, Bush and Rabin all had two hits in the game to lead NU at the plate.

Letourneau (1-2) took the loss, going 4.0 innings and allowing five runs on four hits with five walks and two strikeouts. Wood tossed two perfect innings of relief with two strikeouts.

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