MALIBU, Calif. – A strong start from freshman pitcher Jared Horn kept the Cal baseball team in striking distance and three runs in the middle innings made the difference on the scoreboard as the Bears outlasted Pepperdine to earn a 3-2 win and take their first road series victory of the season.
 
A pitcher's duel materialized early under sunny Saturday skies in Malibu as Horn and Pepperdine right-hander Max Gamboa treated fans to a quality performance on both sides. Pepperdine (6-6) struck first, pushing a run across in the third, but that lead didn't last long as Cal made its move in the fifth inning.
 
And, as has become more of a frequent occurrence as the season develops, Cal (6-7) did its damage with two outs. Freshman Cameron Eden got the first clutch hit, singling in middle infield mate Anthony Walters to tie the game in the top of the fifth. When the throw went home, Eden capitalized and took second, giving Jonah Davis a chance to put the Bears in the lead.
 
The sophomore did just that, singling through the right side of the infield to plate Eden and make it 2-1. One inning later, Cal gained a valuable insurance run thanks to a solo home run to left by freshman Andrew Vaughn and the Bears took a 3-1 lead into the late innings.
 
Horn maximized the momentum gained from Vaughn's home run, working a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth to get the Bears back in the dugout. The freshman from Napa, Calif. continued into the seventh inning, finally giving the ball to closer Erik Martinez with two on and two out.
 
An RBI single by pinch-hitter Matthew Kanfer got the Waves a little closer, but Martinez wouldn't let them get any farther as he struck out Joe Caparis to end the threat. The Bears' closer allowed just one base runner over the final two innings and struck out two Pepperdine hitters in the ninth inning to close out the win.
 
Horn's stat line by the end of the day reflected his strength as the game went on. The right-hander allowed two runs on five hits, walked two and struck out a career-high eight to earn his first collegiate win.
 
"I was just trying to make pitches. I got better later in the game but it was still just executing fastball command and working in the curve ball to get guys out," Horn said. "Every time I prepare for the start it's the same thing every time. I approached today the same way, I'm just happy I got the win."
 
The win came in a completely different fashion than Friday's offensive barrage as Cal turned six hits into three runs to get the job done Saturday. Vaughn led the way with a 2-for-4 day. For the second-straight day, the Bears didn't commit an error, backing their pitchers with quality defense that included a number of impressive plays late in the game.
 
"They were two different ballgames and you've got to be able to win whatever game is played. You're not going to be able to offense every time out," Cal head coach David Esquer said. "I thought (Gamboa) threw a great ballgame. My takeaway is we saw a pitcher pitch as good as he can pitch and we still won the game, so that's a positive. I would like to have not struck out as much as we did but the guy was on and he was throwing good pitches. We scratched out three runs there and made them hold up. I was proud of a couple of the plays late in the game; Ty Greene throwing a runner out at second on a ball in the dirt and then Jonah Davis on that ball to center field. If anybody's watched him practice, that wasn't by mistake. He works on chasing those balls hard like that and coming down with the ball."
 
Cal and Pepperdine return to Eddy D. Field Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m. to wrap up their three-game set. All three games in the series will be broadcast live through the Pepperdine website and TheW.tv. And, live updates can be found by following Cal Baseball on Twitter (@Cal_Baseball).