BERKELEY, Calif. – An offensive onslaught in the fifth inning provided the offense to back a strong start by senior pitcher Matt Ladrech and the Cal baseball team wrapped up a four-game sweep of Cal State Bakersfield with a 13-2 victory at Evans Diamond.
 
After a long day of baseball Saturday yielded plenty of offense and a pair of wins, Cal (5-2) turned to its senior Sunday starter to set the tone on a picturesque Berkeley day. Ladrech did just that, allowing just a single run in the second inning to give the Bears a chance to take control on the scoreboard.
 
The offense got cooking in the fifth inning with a massive two-out rally that put Cal squarely in command. RBI singles by Darren Baker, Andrew Vaughn, Max Flower and Jonah Davis, as well as an errant throw by CSU Bakersfield, produced the first five runs and Korey Lee provided the punctuation, doubling in two more with a drive off the wall in left-center field. By the time the inning ended, Cal held a 7-0 lead.
 
Cal put the game away in the next inning, plating five more runs to take a 12-1 advantage. A fielder's choice combined with an error scored the first two, Davis brought two more home with an emphatic triple to right-center and Lee again finished the inning with a quality at-bat that resulted in a sacrifice fly.
 
Ladrech yielded just one earned run in seven innings of work, scattering seven hits and allowing no walks while striking out two. Cal's southpaw starter was especially accurate, throwing 63 strikes on 88 pitches. Erik Martinez and Aaron Shortridge wrapped up the day on the mound with an inning of relief apiece.
 
"It was good to see him be efficient," Cal head coach Mike Neu said. "When he's good, he's on top of the ball, his changeup is good, he can throw pitches for strikes and get a lot of early outs. That's what he was able to do today. It was nice to see him do that because last game I thought he showed flashes of that but it wasn't consistent. We worked a little bit this week and he did a really good job making some adjustments."
 
Sunday's offensive fireworks capped a tremendous series at the plate for Cal. The Bears scored 58 runs on the weekend and scored blowout wins in three of the four games played. Five different Cal players recorded multiple hits with Davis ending a strong weekend 3 for 5 with a triple, two runs and three RBI. Baker scored three runs and also drove one in.
 
"We dropped one we should've had against (San Diego) and we were below .500 but it's nice to build momentum," Baker said. "Some guys got more comfortable. Cam (Eden) got going, Tanner (Dodson) got going and then myself. We're in good shape."
 
Cal will hit the road this week for its next three games as the Bears head to Frisco, Texas to compete in the Frisco Baseball Classic. Action starts Friday at 1 p.m. (PT) against Baylor, continues Saturday at noon vs. Louisiana Tech and wraps up Sunday at 9 a.m. against Texas A&M. The Bears return to Evans Diamond on March 6 for a 7:05 p.m. non-conference game against Xavier.