TEMPE, Ariz. – A late offensive burst was not enough Sunday as the Cal baseball team lost 9-5 to Northwestern in the Angels College Classic.
The Wildcats broke things open with seven runs over the fifth and sixth innings to command an 8-1 lead. That was too much for the Bears (0-3) to overcome, though they rallied for three runs in the ninth, including
Connor Mack's two-run homer.
Northwestern (2-2) took advantage of six Cal errors on the afternoon that led to four unearned runs. The Bears finish play in the inaugural Angels College Classic with a 10 a.m. (PT) game Monday against BYU at Tempe Diablo Stadium. The game will be streamed live at www.facebook.com/byubaseball.
First baseman
Andrew Vaughn went 2-for-2 with two runs and an RBI and reached base in all five of his plate appearances, including three walks, from the No. 2 spot in the order.
Quentin Selma saw his first action of the season, drawing a start in right field, and went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.
Northwestern jumped up with a run in the bottom of the first off lefty
Arman Sabouri, who went two innings and gave up four hits in his second "opener" outing of the team's first three games.
The Wildcats added three runs in the fifth to go up 4-0. The Bears answered in the sixth, when Vaughn's single to right-center scored Selma. But Northwestern added to its lead with four runs in the sixth off
Joe Ammirato, though just one of them was earned.
Mack, a sophomore who has started in left field and batted ninth in all three games so far, turned on a pitch and drilled it over the left-field wall in the ninth for his first collegiate long ball.
It appeared a good omen early on for the Bears when Sabouri and
Grant Holman, who relieved him on the mound, combined to escape bases-loaded jams in three consecutive innings from the second through the fourth. But although Northwestern stranded 14 runners on base, they also took advantage of their opportunities more.
Cal left 10 men on base, and stringing together hits and sustaining rallies is an area they'll be looking to improve Monday and beyond.
