BERKELEY – With emotions running the gamut from excitement to desperation back to jubilation, the Cal baseball team experienced a little bit of everything in its series finale against No. 15-ranked UCLA at Evans Diamond.
 
But, by the end of an exceedingly pleasant day in Berkeley, the Bears left their home ballpark with enough smiles to go around as a six-run rally in the eighth inning proved crucial in helping Cal defeat the Bruins 8-3 to clinch a critical Pac-12 series victory over their Southern California counterparts.
 
Trailing 3-2 heading to the final two innings, Cal (16-10, 3-6 Pac-12) applied a little pressure to start what would turn out to be the winning rally. Jonah Davis got the inning started by reaching on a hit by pitch, the fourth time in the weekend he'd been plunked, and a perfect sacrifice bunt by Jeffrey Mitchell Jr. turned into an errant throw by UCLA and two men on base.
 
Sam Wezniak added to the inning with a bunt of his own, reaching first safely when UCLA couldn't decide who would field the ball. Darren Baker followed with a chopper over the pitcher that he beat out for an infield single, tying the game and keeping the bases loaded in the process. A sacrifice fly by Max Flower put Cal ahead 4-3 and, after a fielder's choice brought the first out of the inning, Tyrus Greene brought Wezniak in with a single to center that made it 5-3.
 
Tanner Dodson kept the inning rolling with a single to right and Andrew Vaughn provided the game's final blow, lining a double into the right field corner that cleared the bases and left Cal up 8-3 heading to the ninth.
 
Dodson, who entered in the seventh, finished the game on the mound as a 5-4-3 double play provided the final outs of the contest. The right-hander earned his first win of the season with 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. He took over for junior Aaron Shortridge who delivered another quality start as he pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed three runs (one earned) on seven hits. He struck out three and didn't walk anyone in the effort.
 
Cal's first runs of the day came on a two-run homer by Vaughn in the first as the nation's leader in round-trippers belted No. 14 on the season. He finished the day 2 for 4 with a double, run scored and five RBI. Greene and Baker collected two hits apiece and Cal finished the series 33 for 99 (.333) as a team.
 
While the offensive numbers certainly stood out, Cal's numbers on the mound also jumped off the page. The Bears compiled a team ERA of 2.33 over the three-game series, allowing just seven earned runs in 27 innings. Dodson pitched twice, earning a win and a save while throwing 4 2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
 
"I think it says a lot about our guys," Cal head coach Mike Neu said. "You go into league and start 0-5 and things can really go bad if you don't have a team that knows how to handle it, knows how to play one game at a time and not get too overwhelmed by the results. Our guys did that, because we win against Oregon, take a tough loss yesterday and come back today and win a big one to put yourself back in position to make a run again. I think it was a really big win. I think it says a lot about the leadership of our team and our guys taking it one game at a time."
 
Cal remains at home next week to host Utah in a three-game Pac-12 series beginning Thursday at 6:05 p.m. Friday's game is set for a 7:05 p.m. start and Saturday's series finale is scheduled for a 2:05 p.m. first pitch. The Bears wrap up their three-game homestand on April 10 with a 7:05 p.m. game against San Francisco.