March 31, 2009

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SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. - The California baseball team got a solid outing from sophomore right-hander Kevin Miller (1-1, 5.2 innings, five hits, one run, two walks, six strikeouts), and a home run and a save from junior Blake Smith on the way to a 4-3 victory over San Francisco in the fourth annual Dante Benedetti Classic Tuesday at AT&T Park. The Golden Bears improved to 15-10, while the Dons fell to 11-17.

The Bears scored two runs in the fourth inning on Smith's lead-off homer that went about 380 feet to left center field and junior second baseman Jeff Kobernus' hard-hit RBI single to the left side. Cal added a run in the third inning when junior center fielder Brett Jackson struck out, but made it all the way around the bases when USF catcher Ryan Lipkin threw wildly to first base and the ball went down the right field line.

The Dons scored a run in the bottom of the sixth on Stephen Yarrow's RBI double off of Miller to make the score 3-1. The Bears came back with a run in the eighth inning when Jackson led-off with a double to left field (his second double of the game) and scored on sophomore shortstop Brian Guinn's single through the right side.

After Cal's junior left-hander Michael Bugary pitched 2.1 innings of effective relief (no hits, no runs, one walk, four strikeouts), Smith came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth. He ran into trouble when he walked pinch hitter Bobby Ethel and gave up a single to left to Zach Kim. After getting the next two outs, Smith yielded an RBI single to Derek Poppert, followed by a double to Drew Johnson. With the tying run on third base and the winning run on second, Smith was able to get Dane Braunecker to ground out to the pitcher to end the game.

Jackson, Guinn and Kobernus all finished with two hits apiece, with Guinn and sophomore first baseman Mark Canha extending their hitting streaks to 13 games. Bugary now has 40 strikeouts in 27.1 innings with a 1.32 ERA.

The Benedetti Classic celebrates the legacy of a giant in San Francisco youth and collegiate baseball. Dante Benedetti, who coached USF baseball for 22 years (1962-80), passed away in 2005 at the age of 86. The Bears have now played in the Dante Benedetti Classic in 2006, 2008 and 2009.

Cal's next home game will be against Long Beach State on Wednesday, April 1 at 2:30 p.m. at Evans Diamond.

Home Runs:

Cal: Blake Smith, solo home run in the fourth inning.

San Francisco: None.