SEATTLE, Wash. – Though it created several opportunities to make a bigger mark on the scoreboard, the Cal baseball team couldn't cash in on its chances as the Bears grounded into three double plays, left nine runners on base and fell 4-1 to Washington in the rubber match of a three-game series at Husky Ballpark.
Cal (20-21, 12-9 Pac-12) struck first Sunday, establishing the first momentum of the afternoon when a double by
Cameron Eden put runners on second and third and
Korey Lee proceeded to score on a passed ball. That lead lasted only until the bottom of the inning though as an RBI single by Josh Cushing and run-scoring walk by Levi Jordan put Washington (24-17, 10-8) up 2-1.
The Bears threatened in both the third and the fifth but on both occasions Washington starter Joe DeMers was able to get a key double play ball to end the threat. Cal again put itself in position to rally in the seventh thanks to singles by
Preston Grand Pre and
Jeffrey Mitchell, Jr. but Huskies reliever Leo Nierenberg again made the big pitch for Washington, inducing a fly out from the first hitter he faced to end the inning.
Nierenberg went the rest of the way for the Huskies to earn his first save of the season. Cal out-hit Washington 7-4, led by two doubles by Eden and a pair of singles by Grand Pre. On the mound, the quartet of
Matt Ladrech,
Zayne Patino,
Andrew Buckley and
Tanner Dodson combined to give up just three earned runs on the day.
"I'm disappointed we didn't play better today," Cal head coach
David Esquer said. "I thought we had some opportunities. I don't think I did a great job of coaching them today, to be honest with you. It's a tough one to swallow. I think we were in position to have a better outcome today but I think we're still learning. We have some positives from the weekend and we've got to get up again. We'll take our one win this weekend and move on but we've got to rebound."
Cal returns to action on Tuesday night when it hosts San Francisco in the second of two non-conference matchups between the Bears and Dons this season. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. at Evans Diamond. Cal will be back on the road next weekend with a three-game series at No. 1-ranked Oregon State and the series will be broadcast live by Pac-12 Networks.
