BERKELEY – An error-plagued day put the Cal baseball team in position to chase No. 1-ranked Oregon State and the Bears couldn't make up an early deficit as they dropped a 6-4 decision to close the weekend at Evans Diamond.
Oregon State (18-1, 3-0 Pac-12) got started right away Sunday, plating an unearned run on a throwing error in the first inning. A two-run home run by Michael Gretler in the second added to the margin and Cal trailed 3-0 after an inning and a half.
A sacrifice fly by
Quentin Selma got Cal (12-7, 0-3) on the board in the second but Oregon State countered in the fourth, adding another unearned run on an RBI double by Andy Armstrong. The Bears hung tough, scoring in the bottom of the fourth on a wild pitch, but the Beavers added to their lead with an infield single by Adley Rutschman putting OSU ahead 5-2 in the seventh.
A two-run home run by Jeffrey Mitchell Jr. gave Cal life in the ninth inning, bringing the Bears to within two at 6-4. Oregon State closer Jake Mulholland entered needing two outs and he got them to finish the game, picking up his eighth save of the season.
For the third day in a row, Cal got what it needed on the mound to be competitive.
Matt Ladrech yielded just two earned runs in 3 1/3 innings and the quartet of
Zayne Patino,
Joey Matulovich,
Tanner Dodson and
Erik Martinez allowed just two runs the rest of the way. Dodson pitched three innings and allowed one run on two hits. Defensively, the Bears committed four errors on the day.
The Bears couldn't find a rhythm against Oregon State starter Grant Gambrell as the right-hander worked 5 1/3 innings and allowed one earned run to earn the win. Cal recorded seven hits on the day with seven different Bears recording one hit apiece.
Cal returns to action next weekend with a three-game series at Oregon. Play begins Friday at 6 p.m., continues Saturday at 2 p.m. and concludes with a noon first pitch on Sunday. A live stream of all three games can be found through the links on the Cal Baseball schedule page. The Bears return to Evans Diamond on March 27 for a 7:05 p.m. contest against UC Davis.
