Hall of Fame
A dominant starting pitcher, Rochelle Dierkes was a fixture in the circle on championship teams at California from 1993-96. She was named a NFCA Second-Team All-American and the PSAC West Pitcher of the Year as a junior before helping the Vulcans capture the PSAC Championship and NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship the following spring. The Ohio native closed her career with 70 victories behind three-straight seasons of at least 20 wins and a 1.36 ERA while logging nearly 500 innings pitched for head coaches Linda Kalafatis and Rick Bertagnolli. Dierkes also was the school’s first-ever multi-time Academic All-American, as she accomplished the feat in 1995 and 1996.
As a freshman, she pitched in nine games and totaled 20.0 innings for a team that finished with 34 wins and made a fourth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament under Kalafatis. Dierkes then posted a breakout sophomore campaign in the first year under Bertagnolli, finishing with a 20-8 record while helping the Vulcans capture the first regional championship in program history. She worked 160.2 innings in the circle behind 20 complete games and became the second Cal pitcher to ever win 20 games in a season. As a junior, Dierkes finished fourth in NCAA Division II with a 0.54 ERA and ranked among the top 10 in the country with 28 victories – both school records at the time. She registered 17 shutouts and 24 complete games in 1995 while logging a then-school record 180.0 innings pitched with 119 strikeouts. The following year, Dierkes again posted 20 victories and teamed with sophomore sensation Danielle Penner for one of the most dominant pitching duos in the country. She finished the year with a 1.27 ERA over 137.1 inning pitched in 25 appearances. The Vulcans captured the program’s second-ever PSAC Championship after allowing a combined three runs in the league tournament. Cal dropped its initial game in the NCAA Tournament before claiming its second Mid-Atlantic Region title in three years.
Dierkes earned her bachelor’s degree in biology with a concentration in pre-optometry in 1996. She is one of three softball inductees into the Athletic Hall of Fame this year, the most in program history. Dierkes becomes the fourth softball pitcher in school history selected to the Athletic Hall of Fame, and the first since 2008.
updated April 20, 2024
