Big news for this week:
Bears are playing at night in Evans Diamond for the first time with the installation of lights. So now that the games are starting later in the day, there are less excuse for those in the area to not catch a Cal Baseball game. This also means that we can possibly get these type of moments now.
Or for the longer version:
But hopefully not, since a tremendous amount of $$$ went into putting those lights up.
Quick Recap of Last Week's Action:
Wednesday, March 20, 2013: Cal 1, San Jose State 3
Bears' 8 game win streak was snapped prior to the team's arrival at Westwood. Devon Rodriguez's solo homer was not enough for the Bears.
The Cal baseball team saw its eight-game win streak come to an end, dropping a 3-1 decision Wednesday (March 20) at San Jose State. The Golden Bears, which hadn't lost since March 4 at Rice, dropped to 13-8 overall. Cal got its lone run on a solo home run by junior first baseman Devon Rodriguez in the fourth inning.
Freshman left-hander Jake Schulz (0-2, 4.0 innings, four hits, two runs, no walks, three strikeouts) gave up two runs in the third inning to the Spartans (6-15) on an RBI single by Ricky Acosta and an RBI double down the right field line by Michael Gerlach. Cal came back with a run in the top of the fourth inning on Rodriguez's deep home run to right center field off of San Jose State starter Daniel Chavez (1-1, 5.1 innings, five hits, one run, no walks, four strikeouts).
Friday, March 22, 2013: Cal 5, UCLA 1
Freshman right hander Ryan Mason was outstanding in 8 innings for the Bears. Devin Pearson led off the game with a double and then scored, the Bears never looked back.
In a huge win for Cal baseball, the Golden Bears upended No. 11-ranked UCLA, 5-1, Friday (March 22) night at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Cal (14-8, 4-0) broke a 1-1 tie with four runs in the seventh inning on RBI doubles Chris Paul and Brian Celsi, and an RBI single by Devin Pearson. Freshman right-hander Ryan Mason was superb, throwing 8.0 innings and striking out five to improve his season record to 4-0.
"It was a great pitching performance by Ryan Mason," said Cal coach David Esquer. "We also got big hits from Chris Paul and Brian Celsi, and Devin Pearson had an outstanding game and was in the middle of all our scoring. The guys played a great game."
Saturday, March 23, 2013: Cal 3, UCLA 8
An early 2-0 Bears lead thanks to a two run homer from freshman Nick Halamandaris was wasted in the 4th inning, helped out by senior pitcher Justin Jones' own error. Bears' relief corp offered relief as the UCLA SS Pat Valaika broke things open with a triple that cleared a bases loaded two out situation.
Cal baseball took an early 2-0 lead over No. 11 UCLA, but yielded a combined seven runs in the fifth and sixth innings and fell, 8-3, Saturday (March 23) at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Golden Bears (14-9, 4-1) dropped their first Pac-12 contest of the year, but saw freshman designated hitter Nick Halamandaris hit a home run for his first collegiate hit and junior right fielder Jacob Wark go 3-for-4.
Sunday, March 24, 2013: Cal 2, UCLA 10
Bears against jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, but was doomed (also again) by a couple of big innings.
Cal baseball (14-10, 4-2) was again plagued by giving up big innings, losing to No. 11 UCLA, 10-2, Sunday (March 24) in the third game of the three-game Pac-12 series at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Golden Bears had scored first on junior catcher Andrew Knapp's RBI double in the first inning, but gave up four runs in the third and five runs in the eighth to put the game out of reach.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013: Cal 5, San Francisco 2
Bears gave usual starter Keaton Siomkin the start and scored a run in the 3rd, 2 in the 6th, 1 in the 7th before giving up 2 to the Dons in the bottom of the 8th. Bears got an additional insurance run in the 9th to get back on the winning side.
The Cal baseball team was able to score five runs off of nine San Francisco pitchers on the way to a 5-2 victory over the Dons Tuesday (March 26) at Benedetti Diamond. The Golden Bears, who were led by the hitting of Jacob Wark and the pitching of Chris Muse-Fisher, improved to 15-10 overall and will next play their first-ever night game at Evans Diamond, Thursday, March 28 at 7 p.m. versus USC in the opening game of a three-game Pac-12 series.
Junior right fielder Wark finished the day 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Muse-Fisher picked up his first win of the year in relief, throwing 2.0 innings with no hits, no runs, no walks and five strikeouts. San Francisco native Dylan Nelson earned his second save of the season for the Bears, throwing the final 2.0 innings (two hits, no runs, two strikeouts).
Pac-12 Baseball Standings:
Pac-12 Baseball Standings:
SCHOOLS CONFERENCE OVERALL
Oregon St. 5-1 21-2
UCLA 5-1 17-4
Oregon 5-1 18-6
California 4-2 14-10
Washington St. 2-1 15-8
Arizona St. 2-4 13-7
Utah 2-4 11-10
USC 2-4 9-15
Washington 2-4 6-16
Stanford 1-2 11-7
Arizona 0-6 15-11
Pac-12 Teams in the Rankings (NCBWA):
Oregon State - 3
UCLA - 6
Oregon - 8
Stanford - 23
Arizona State - 26
Receiving votes: Arizona
Pac-12 teams beat up on one another causing several squads to drop in the ranking. UCLA moved up one spot after going 2-1 against the Bears.
Coming Up This Week for Cal Baseball:
Bears catch a break this weekend at home with the unranked USC Trojans visiting Thursday through Saturday. The Saturday day game is featured on the Pac-12 Networks. The Bears would also play Furd at Furd on April 1st, MLB Opening Day for most team. The Monday Furd game would be the second consecutive Cal Baseball games on the Pac-12 Networks.
GO BEARS!