BERKELEY – Offense was the name of the game in a battle of Bears as Cal outslugged visiting Brown twice to sweep a doubleheader with wins of 11-6 and 10-9 on the first day of a three-day weekend series at Evans Diamond.
Cal (9-4) and Brown (3-3) return to Evans Diamond for game three of their four-game series on Saturday at 2 p.m. The series finale is set for Sunday at 1 p.m.
GAME ONE
Sustained offense trumped one big inning in the first game of the series as Cal scored in five different innings and senior
Zayne Patino came up big in relief to earn his first win of the season as the Golden Bears scored an 11-6 victory over their visitors from Providence.
Each team plated a run in the first to get both offenses started and it was
Andrew Vaughn in the middle of the action for Cal, doubling in the Golden Bears' first run in the bottom of the first. Cal added on in the bottom of the third, taking a 3-1 lead on a two-run single by
Jonah Davis.
Three more Golden Bears crossed the plate in the fourth, one coming courtesy of yet another home run off the bat of freshman
Sam Wezniak. Cal's third baseman belted his fourth round-tripper of the year to make it 4-1, an RBI single by
Darren Baker made it 5-1 and Vaughn finished the inning by driving in the Golden Bears' sixth run on a fielder's choice.
Brown launched its comeback bid in the sixth. The Bears scored five times on six hits to pull even at 6-all, chasing Cal starter
Jared Horn in the process. Patino entered and got Cal back to the dugout with a chance to pull back ahead.
It didn't take long for Cal to re-take the advantage. Baker put the Golden Bears ahead with an RBI single to right-center and Vaughn followed with an Evans Diamond rarity, sending a line drive off the batter's eye in center field for a three-run home run. By the end of the inning, Cal owned a 10-6 led.
An RBI single in the seventh by
Max Flower finished the Cal scoring and Patino took it from there, tossing 3 1/3 scoreless innings of relief to earn the win. The southpaw scattered four hits, didn't walk anyone and struck out three. Offensively, eight of Cal's nine starters collected a hit, led by two hits apiece from Greene, Baker, Vaughn, Davis and
Cameron Eden. Vaughn finished 2 for 3 with a double, home run and five RBI.
GAME TWO
Offense came fast and furious for Cal early, Brown rallied to tie the game in the middle innings and the Golden Bears turned to their power supply to eventually emerge victorious with fog enveloping Evans Diamond.
Cal got rolling right away, scoring six runs in the first inning to take the lead with a two-run single by Greene serving as the final highlight. Brown responded with four runs in the top of the second but Cal came right back with a pair of sacrifice flies in the bottom of the second to make it 8-4 Golden Bears.
Brown pulled ahead in the fourth inning, helped by a Cal error along with three Bears hits, scoring five times to take a 9-8 lead.
That advantage lasted all of two innings as Cal turned to the home run ball to take the lead back. Vaughn delivered the game-tying blow, driving a solo shot over the Clover sign in left-center field to make it 9-9. One inning later,
Korey Lee ricocheted one off the wall of the Recreational Sports Facility in left to put the Golden Bears up 10-9.
Joey Matulovich earned his first win of the season in relief, entering in the fifth and allowing just one unearned run in 3 1/3 innings of work. Dodson closed the game out, pitching the final two innings and striking out four to earn his second save of the year.
Cal collected 11 hits as a team in the second game of the day, led by three from Greene. Vaughn and Dodson also contributed two.
"It wasn't our best performance as a team and we struggled at times on the mound and defensively but our guys rallied," Cal head coach
Mike Neu said. "We made some big pitches and big plays on defense when we needed to and we obviously swung the bat really well. It did really show these guys had each other's back and we banded together to get big hits when we needed them."
