SAN FRANCISCO – Tanner Dodson is used to saving games as the closer for the Cal baseball team.

On Tuesday, he used that same right arm to provide a whole different kind of late-inning relief.
 
With host San Francisco threatening to tie the game in the eighth inning, Dodson threw the potential tying run out at the plate to preserve a one-run lead that Cal eventually turned into a 5-4 victory at Benedetti Diamond.
 
The game's pivotal stand came as Cal (12-4) had its proverbial back to the wall in the late innings. With one run already across and the bases loaded with no outs, Arman Sabouri was called out of the bullpen facing a 1-1 count against USF pinch-hitter Nick Yovetich.
 
Sabouri induced a ground ball to first baseman Andrew Vaughn, who came up throwing to the plate to get the first out of the inning. That brought leadoff man Jonathan Allen to the plate and, with three hits on the afternoon already, Allen seemed to provide just what USF needed with a fly ball to center.
 
That's where Dodson entered the picture. Cal's closer secured the catch and fired home, skipping the ball to the plate on a hop. Catcher Korey Lee caught it, pivoted and tagged Aaron Ping as he tried to slide in, preserving the Bears' one-run lead.
 
Sabouri came back out for the ninth and ended the game with a 5-4-3 double play to earn his first career save and give Cal its sixth-straight win. The lefty's outing came on the heels of a five-inning relief stint on Saturday that ended on a walk-off home run by Darren Baker.
 
Cal didn't waste much time getting on the scoreboard Tuesday, plating a pair of runs in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. An RBI double by Dodson brought the first run home and an errant throw allowed the Cal junior to make his way all the way around the bases to put the Bears ahead by two.
 
One swing by Vaughn added to Cal's lead in the third inning as the sophomore launched a solo home run, his 10^th round-tripper of the year, to left-center field. San Francisco (9-7) got on the board over the next two innings, scoring a single run in both the fourth and fifth to cut Cal's lead to 3-2.
 
As both pitching staffs cycled through the bullpen, Cal added a little insurance to its lead. An RBI single by Korey Lee made it 4-2 in the sixth and a sacrifice fly by Darren Baker pushed the advantage to 5-2 in the seventh.
 
On the mound, Cal relied on six different pitchers in Tuesday's victory. Rogelio Reyes worked the first two innings, striking out three and allowing just one hit to improve to 2-1 on the season. Erik Martinez, Andrew Buckley, Joey Matulovich and Reuben Drogin also saw mound time. Matulovich delivered another critical stand for the Bears in the fifth as he worked out of the bases loaded, one out jam he inherited without allowing a run.
 
Tyrus Greene and Dodson each recorded two hits to lead the way as Cal tallied 10 hits on the afternoon. Tuesday's game served as Cal's final tune-up for Pac-12 play as Oregon State pays a visit to Evans Diamond this weekend to kick off conference action. The Bears and Beavers begin their three-game series on Friday at 7:05 p.m., continue with game two on Saturday at 3:05 p.m. and wrap up play on Sunday with a 1:05 p.m. first pitch.