SAN DIEGO, Calif. – One tough inning doomed the Cal baseball team in game one of a doubleheader and a chilly night yielded chilly bats in the day's finale as the Bears dropped an 11-8 decision to host San Diego and fell 3-1 to Cincinnati at Fowler Park.
Cal (1-2) returns to Berkeley for the 2018 home opener next week as the Bears host Cal State Bakersfield for four games. Friday night's game is scheduled for a 7:05 start, a Saturday doubleheader will begin at 2:05 p.m. and the series finale will start Sunday at 1:05 p.m. Tickets for all four games can be purchased by clicking the Tickets link at CalBears.com.
San Diego 11, Cal 8
A seven-run explosion in the seventh inning by the host Toreros made the difference as the Bears dropped game one of Saturday's doubleheader despite a big game from
Andrew Vaughn.
San Diego (1-1) jumped out to the early lead, plating three runs in the bottom of the first to take the advantage. A two-run home run by
Jonah Davis in the top of the second brought the Bears closer but the Toreros added a run in the bottom half to take a 4-2 lead.
A big game for Vaughn got rolling in earnest in the third as Cal's first baseman tied the score with one swing, belting a two-run home run between the batter's eye and the light post in right-center field. Later in the inning,
Korey Lee untied the game with an RBI double and Cal took a 5-4 lead.
Vaughn added an insurance run for the Bears with an RBI single in the sixth but San Diego turned the tables in the seventh. The Toreros scored seven runs on five hits with an RBI double by Jay Schuyler and run-scoring singles from Shane McGuire and Jeff Houghtby along the way.
The Bears still had some fight left in them and it was again Vaughn who helped provide a jolt of energy for his team. This time, he sent a line-drive home run just over the fence in left field for another two-run home run to bring Cal to within three at 11-8. That was the last big blow for the Bears though as San Diego's Justin Friedman closed out the game for the Toreros.
Vaughn's stat line jumped off the page by the end of the game as the sophomore went 5 for 5 with two home runs, a double, two runs scored and five driven in. Lee, Davis and
Darren Baker finished with two hits apiece. On the mound, starter
Joey Matulovich settled in after a few early hiccups and delivered a solid outing, pitching 5.2 innings and allowing three earned runs, eight hits and one walk while striking out six.
Cincinnati 3, Cal 1
A pair of solo home runs provided the bulk of the offense for Cincinnati but the Bears never got their own bats going on a cold night in San Diego.
After traveling all day, Cincinnati (1-0) struck right away with a leadoff home run by Kyle Mottice. Cal countered in the second on a double by Davis and triple by
Ripken Reyes but Cincinnati took the lead right back on a ball up the middle by Mottice that plated one.
Cincinnati's final run came on a home run in the fourth by Manny Rodriguez but that was all the offense that either team would produce for the rest of the evening.
Cal starter
Matt Ladrech departed after four innings, striking out a career-high seven while allowing three Bearcat runs.
Rogelio Reyes entered for the Bears and looked sharp in his season debut, striking out four in three scoreless innings. And, Dodson ended the game with a scoreless inning.
Offensively, Cal collected nine hits with Greene and Flower each tallying two. Vaughn finished the day 6 for 9 with a hit in the nightcap.
"The first game it did [feel like a Regional]," Cal head coach Mike Neu said. "We came out the first game, you have a good atmosphere, we've got Horn on the mound and our guys played with a lot of energy, and it was a long day today, but we obviously had a couple rough spots. We gave up seven in that first game with a two-run lead. Then, we had a couple miscues early on in this game, as well, and we've just got to clean that up if we're going to be the typeof team we need to be.
Some guys did some really good jobs. We had flashes of guys doing some great things. Vaughn swung the bat really well. I thought Tanner threw the ball great at the end, and Rogelio Reyes. We had some bright spots, but we're still learning the team. We've just got to learn how to put everything together."
