Bears Stage Comeback For First Win Of 2019 - California Golden Bears Athletics

Monday, February 18

Tempe, AZ

10:00 AM

California

1-3

Brigham Young

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Brigham Young	0	1	2	2	1	0	0	0	0	6	7	0
California	3	0	0	0	0	4	2	1	X	10	10	2

Sam Wezniak hit a bases-clearing triple in the sixth inning to key Cal's comeback.

Photo by: Rob Edwards/klcfotos

2/18/2019 5:44 PM | Baseball

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Wezniak's Three-Run Triple Keys Victory Over BYU

By: Cal Athletics

TEMPE, Ariz. – Trailing by three runs in the middle innings Monday, the Cal baseball team rallied for a 10-6 victory over BYU and its first win of the 2019 season.

The Cougars led 6-3 in the bottom of the sixth when Cal shortstop Sam Wezniak stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and delivered a bases-clearing triple to straightaway center that tied the game with one swing.

Connor Mack followed with a sacrifice fly to right and, just like that, the Bears (1-3) turned a three-run deficit into a 7-6 lead.

They would add some cushion and finish the four-day Angels College Classic on a positive note after dropping their first three games of the weekend in the desert.

"I think it was huge to end this weekend with a win and get us back on the right track," Wezniak said. "All in all it was a great team win."

It was a group effort indeed, as five Cal pitchers combined to hold BYU to seven hits. Freshman right-hander Mitchell Scott drew the start and gave up two hits and two earned runs over three innings. Lucas Gather, who recently came out of concussion protocol, and Jack Hinrichsen each threw an inning and then Jack Delmore (1-0) and Sean Sullivan combined for four scoreless innings to hold BYU (2-2) in check.

Andrew Vaughn got things going early with his second homer in four games, a solo shot in the first to right field. Both of Vaughn's homers so far have gone to the opposite field, and the 2018 Golden Spikes Award winner is 5-for-11 with two homers, five RBI and nine walks in four games.

Grant Holman added a two-run double that bumped the Bears' lead to 9-6 in the seventh, and Quentin Selma doubled home two runs of his own. Korey Lee and Max Flower each had two hits with two runs scored.

But Wezniak's three-run triple was the game changer, and it capped an impressive at-bat in which the sophomore battled back from a 1-2 count to run it to full before hammering a pitch from BYU's Ben Weese to erase a 6-3 deficit.

"I felt really good going into it and I knew I couldn't let the team down, and I got a pitch I could hit," Wezniak said.

Defensively, Flower made an impact all weekend with several standout plays, including a sliding catch in right field in the seventh after he shifted over from center.

Cal will hit the road again this weekend for a three-game series at Cal Poly that begins Friday at 6 p.m.