BERKELEY – Four runs in the first inning put the Cal baseball team on the front foot early and a sustained offensive attack combined with a strong effort by four pitchers on the mound helped the Bears turn that initial lead into a victory as they beat Washington 11-4 to open a three-game series at Evans Diamond.
 
Cal (22-13, 8-8 Pac-12) got rolling right away Friday with Tyrus Greene bringing the home crowd to attention on the first pitch a Golden Bear saw. Cal's leadoff man shot the first offering from Washington starter Lucas Knowles over the fence in right-center field, giving the Bears a 1-0 lead as fast as possible.
 
That was only the beginning of a fruitful first inning. Tanner Dodson doubled, Andrew Vaughn walked and Jonah Davis got hit by a pitch to load the bases and two runs eventually scored on a play that included a dropped fly ball and an errant throw. Darren Baker capped the inning with an RBI single and Cal led 4-0 at the end of an inning.
 
Washington (17-16, 8-5) countered with three runs in the fourth inning but Cal got one right back in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Dodson. When the Huskies threatened again in the fifth, Zayne Patino entered from the Cal bullpen and got the big outs he needed, inducing a fly out and pop out to leave a pair of Washington runners stranded and keep Cal ahead 5-3.
 
After Patino got the Bears through the top of the inning, Cal's bats took over in the bottom. An RBI single by Max Flower and two-run single by Cameron Eden plated three runs and pushed Cal's advantage to 8-3. Washington added a run in the seventh but Cal scored one more in the seventh and two in the eighth to finish the scoring.
 
Matt Ladrech got the start for Cal on Friday and pitched into the fifth, allowing three runs before giving way to Patino, who earned his third win of the season with 2 2/3 innings of one-run relief. Joey Matulovich worked an inning and a third, striking out three without allowing a runner and Erik Martinez finished up by recording the final two outs.
 
"I felt like we came out great and scored four runs early but we also had some opportunities to maybe top off those runs and we made some baserunning mistakes," Cal head coach Mike Neu said. "There were a couple opportunities you'd like to take advantage of that we didn't and that kind of let them hang around but, at the end of the day, I thought our guys did a good job of pressing on. Even though it probably wasn't the cleanest game we've ever played, we were still able to push through."
 
Offensively, Cal tallied 14 hits as a club with Greene, Vaughn, Davis, Jeffrey Mitchell Jr. and Baker all recording two hits apiece. Flower drove in three runs and Eden drove in two.
 
"Just be ourselves," Greene said of the offensive focus entering Friday's game. "Our coaches talked about really bearing down in those at-bats with runners on and focusing more. That's all you can do – get your pitch."
 
Cal and Washington will tangle again on Saturday when they reconvene at Evans Diamond at 4:05 p.m. Saturday is Cal Day on the Berkeley  campus, so fans are encouraged to plan ahead when it comes to transportation to the game. Sunday's series finale is set for a 12:05 p.m. first pitch and the game also features the annual Bark in the Park promotion in which fans are encouraged to bring their dog to the ballpark. For more info, visit CalBears.com/pupclub.