BERKELEY – Just a few days after helping the Cal baseball team earn a momentum-building win at Oregon, senior Matt Ladrech toed the slab at Evans Diamond for a unique Thursday game against No. 15-ranked UCLA that required a little shuffling of Cal's normal weekend rotation.
 
The results were just as impressive.
 
After throwing between 50 and 60 pitches on Sunday, Ladrech returned on Thursday and put the Bears in position to win, tossing six innings of quality baseball that helped Cal earn a 5-2 victory over the Bruins at Evans Diamond.
 
Cal's usual Sunday starter did what he always does to keep UCLA off balance. Using location and the willingness to let his defense work behind him, Ladrech worked into the seventh inning and finished the evening with a stat line of six innings pitched, six hits, two runs, two strikeouts and no walks.
 
"I think it was a combination of getting ahead and throwing strikes and then just changing speeds. We try to be as versatile as we can with offspeed and fastball location and get some balls on the ground. Mike called a great game and the defense made some great plays. That makes it a lot easier on me."
 
Offensively, Cal (15-9, 2-5 Pac-12) got going in the third inning when Jonah Davis hustled down the line to reach on an infield single that brought Andrew Vaughn in to score. One inning later, the Bears really got the bats going as Cameron Eden brought in a run with an RBI single, Vaughn added another with an RBI base hit of his own and Davis punctuated the inning with a two-run single up the middle.
 
UCLA (15-6, 5-2) made a bid for a comeback with single runs in the fifth and seventh inning but the bullpen duo of Zayne Patino and Tanner Dodson shut the door on that effort with three scoreless innings of relief. Dodson pitched the final two and allowed just one hit on his way to earning save No. 5 on the season.
 
Cal pounded out 14 hits as a team, led by a 4 for 4 game by Davis. Vaughn went 3 for 5 with two runs scored and an RBI while Darren Baker and Sam Wezniak each contributed two hits.
 
Action resumes Friday at 6:05 p.m. as Jared Horn takes the mound for Cal against UCLA's Zach Pettway. The Bears and Bruins will conclude their series Saturday at 2:05 p.m. with right-hander Aaron Shortridge the probable starter for Cal. UCLA has not announced a starter for the contest.