BERKELEY – On a day the Cal baseball program honored its past, credit the 2019 Bears for knowing how to finish the afternoon in fitting style.
After giving up a lead in the top of the seventh, the Bears batted around in a six-run bottom of the inning and beat Long Beach State 10-5 on Saturday at Evans Diamond.
With that, Cal (13-11) guaranteed at least a series victory over the Dirtbags (3-22) and will go for a sweep Sunday. But the Bears also treated a large group of their alumni to a 15-hit offensive show.
Cal honored a group of teams from the 1970's -- with a spotlight on the 1974 club -- for their contributions to the program both in the past and present.
Players from that era in particular have remained very active with the Cal Baseball Foundation.
"It's always great to see those guys over the years," head coach
Mike Neu said. "I've gotten a chance to know those guys pretty well. It's such a great group, and it's also good for our guys to know the history of the program."
The Bears led 4-2 before Long Beach State rallied for three runs in the top of the seventh to take the lead.
It was short-lived.
Cameron Eden led off the bottom of the seventh with a homer to left that tied it. Two batters later,
Korey Lee mashed a 417-foot shot deep over the wall in center to put the Bears back up 6-5.
They would bat around that inning, with
Connor Mack doubling home two runs as part of his 3-RBI day and
Garret Nielsen and
Quentin Selma adding run-scoring singles.
Lee has gone deep three times in the past two games. But in addition to the hitting display, Cal got an encouraging start from right-hander
Jared Horn, who threw a season-high six innings and held Long Beach State to two runs on four hits with no walks.
"We're playing good ball right now," Horn said. "I think our offense is swinging the bat well and our pitchers are picking each other up. We're really happy we got the series win, but we'll try and go for the sweep tomorrow."
Cal hosts the series finale Sunday at 1:05 p.m.
Neu and his coaching staff also had to be pleased with the contributions near the bottom of the order from Mack and Nielsen, a freshman outfielder who hadn't appeared in a game before Friday. He went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run as the designated hitter Saturday.
With
Brandon McIlwain and
Grant Holman out with injuries, the Bears are looking for additional sources of offense.
Offense was no problem Saturday, and the hits came in bunches in front of many in the stands who know quite well the feeling of victory at Evans Diamond.
Neu marveled at the camaraderie that still exists among the former players who were on hand Saturday.
"To see them together years later, they're still tight-knit and right back to when they were in college when they're together," he said. "So I think it's just awesome to see the rich history our program has. And really, it's probably one of the best college baseball histories of any program in the country."
