May 25, 2012
Box Score
STANFORD, CALIF. -
In a crazy contest that tied the school record for the longest game in Cal baseball history, junior shortstop Tony Renda drove home sophomore second baseman Mike Reuvekamp with an RBI single up the middle in the top of the 18th inning to give the Golden Bears a 5-4 win over No. 14-ranked Stanford Friday night (May 25) at Sunken Diamond. In a game that lasted nearly six hours (5:58), junior left-hander Justin Jones was finally able to end the game when he forced Brian Ragira to ground out to Reuvekamp with the tying run on third base to preserve Cal's (28-24, 11-17) victory over its Bay Area rival (37-15, 17-11).
The winning pitcher for Cal was junior right-hander Logan Scott (4-2), who pitched a season-high 5.1 innings with three hits, no runs, one walk and three strikeouts. Jones, who was slated as the Bears' starting pitcher for Saturday's contest versus Stanford, earned his first save of the season, going 1.0 innings, with one hit, no runs, one walk and one strikeout. The losing pitcher for the Cardinal was reliever Dean McArdie (3-3, 6.0 innings, three hits, one run, two walks, five strikeouts).
Ruevekamp started Cal's rally in the 18th inning with a sharp single to left center field. Senior left fielder Danny Oh sacrificed Ruevekamp to second base before Renda hit his two-out single through the middle of the infield off of McArdie. The Bears hung on for the win after Kenny Diekroeger had started the bottom of the 18th with a double down the left field line off of Jones. After a sacrifice bunt put Diekroeger at third base, Jones walked Danny Diekroeger to put runners at first and third, but was able to strikeout Stephen Piscotty and get Ragira to ground out to seal the win. The Bears' victory over Stanford snapped the Cardinal's eight-game winning streak and tied record for the longest game since Cal had an 18-inning game with Santa Clara in 1943.
Earlier, senior catcher Chadd Krist had hit a clutch two-run double (for his school record 62nd career double) with two outs in the top of the 12th inning to give Cal a 4-2 lead. Oh, who was 4-for-6 for the evening, started off the 12th with a single, was sacrificed to second base by junior designated hitter Vince Bruno. Renda followed with a walk, and after Mitch Delfino was retired, Krist knocked in two runs with a hard-hit ball to left center field.
In a bizarre bottom of the 12th inning, Stanford thought it had won the ballgame. With two outs, Austin Wilson hit an RBI double to get the Cardinal within, 4-3. After Alex Blandino was intentionally walked, pinch hitter Brett Michael Doran hit a ball down the left field line that home plate umpire Billy Speck incorrectly called a home run and Stanford rushed the field in celebration. After Cal argued the call, the umpires convened and corrected the call. However, Doran ended up hitting a slow grounder just past Logan Scott that scored the tying run, but fortunately for the Bears, Reuvekamp threw Wilson out at home plate tying to score the winning run.
Cal had scored the first run of the game in the second inning when Stanford's starter Mark Appel (7.0 innings, six hits, one run, two walks, eight strikeouts) hit Delfino with a pitch to lead off the inning. Then after Krist sacrificed Delfino to second base, sophomore first baseman Andrew Knapp drove in Delfino with a double down the right field line.
Stanford tied the game, 1-1, in the fourth inning with a run off of Cal senior right-hander Matt Flemer (7.2 innings, seven hits, one earned run, one walk, one strikeout). Ragira hit a chopper to second baseman Derek Campbell, who threw wildly to first base, allowing Ragira to advance to second base. Wilson flew out to deep center field to advance Ragira to third base, and Ragira scored on Eric Smith's sacrifice fly to center field.
The Cardinal took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. Blandino led off with a double down the left field line and was sacrificed to third base by Smith and scored on Dominic Jose's single up the middle.
But the Bears were able to come back to tie the game, 2-2, with a run in the top of the eighth inning. Delfino led off with a single to right field, advanced to second base on Cardinal catcher Smith's passed ball, and went to third base on Krist's single through the left side of the infield. Delfino later scored on Darrel Matthews' RBI ground out to second base.
Besides Oh's four hits, Delfino was 3-for-8 and Krist and Knapp had two hits apiece. Flemer went 7.0 or more innings for the 13th time in 15 starts this season. Oh has now had multiple hits in five straight games.
Cal will next face Bay Area rival Stanford in the second game of the three-game Pac-12 series, Saturday, May 26 at 1 p.m. at Sunken Diamond. KNEW 960 AM, part of the IMG Sports Network, and Cal's student radio, KALX 90.7 FM, will be broadcasting the rest of the Stanford series with a 1 p.m. start on Sunday, May 27 as well.
