Feb. 17, 2012
Box Score
BERKELEY -
Led by the stellar pitching of junior left-hander Justin Jones and two-hits apiece from Tony Renda, Andrew Knapp and Chad Bunting, the No. 22-ranked Cal baseball team opened its 2012 season with a 9-1 victory over visiting Pacific Friday (Feb. 17) at Evans Diamond. The Golden Bears, who advanced to the College World Series in 2011, had a successful opening day as Jones returned from a strained left bicep that sidelined him for the CWS, throwing 5.0 innings with four hits, one run, one walk and six strikeouts.
It was Jones' first outing since his June 11, 2011 win (7-0) against Dallas Baptist in the NCAA Super Regional in Santa Clara. He had thrown 6.0 innings with one hit, no runs, one walk and three strikeouts before leaving prior to the seventh inning with an arm injury. In Friday's game against Pacific, three other Bear pitchers (senior Joey Donofrio, freshman Keaton Siomkin and sophomore Ryan Sandler), limiting the Tigers to two hits and no runs with four strikeouts in the final four innings.
Cal had scored single runs in the first inning on sophomore first baseman Andrew Knapp's sacrifice fly and senior catcher Chadd Krist's sacrifice fly in the third inning off Tiger starter Travis Lumby (4.0 innings, three hits, two runs, three walks).
Pacific battled back to get within 2-1 with a run in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Dustin Torchio off of Jones. But the Bears broke the game open by scoring seven runs in the next three innings. Cal scored three runs in the sixth inning when junior third baseman Mitch Delfino had an RBI ground out, Bunting scored on a throwing error by Tiger shortstop Josh Simms and junior left fielder Darrel Matthews had a sacrifice fly to right field.
In the seven inning, Renda led off with a double and eventually scored on Krist's sacrifice fly to right field. In the eighth inning, Bunting led off with his second double of the day and scored on Delfino's RBI single up the middle. With two outs in the eighth, pinch hitter Jacob Wark had a two-run single up the middle for the final 9-1 margin.
Renda concluded the day 2-for-3 with a double, Knapp was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Bunting was 2-for-4 with two doubles. Krist had a double in his first at-bat of the 2012 season, giving him 47 career doubles, eighth on the Cal career doubles list.
The Bears next travel to Klein Family Field in Stockton to play the Tigers on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 1 p.m., before returning to Evans Diamond for the third game of the series, Sunday, Feb. 19 at 1 p.m.
