SAN FRANCISCO – In a game that lacked any flow or rhythm Tuesday afternoon, Darren Baker provided an unexpected jolt of excitement in the seventh inning.

Baker was on third base as the Cal baseball team had runners on the corners with two outs. USF lefty Kasey Koppelmaa threw a pickoff throw to first and Baker immediately broke for home, sliding in safely on a bang-bang play.

The daring steal of home gave the Bears a three-run lead, and they needed to muster a little creativity throughout their 10-5 victory at Benedetti Diamond.
Despite the lopsided final margin, this one didn't come easy for Cal (28-15). The Bears struck for four runs in the top of the first, but USF (27-22) pulled to within 5-4 in the fifth and trailed 6-4 in the seventh before Baker pulled off his 90-foot mad dash.

He and third-base coach Damon Lessler "were on the same page," Baker said. "When it got to two strikes, if he picked to first base I was gonna take off, and it worked out."

That was only part of an impressive overall day for the sophomore second baseman. He singled home two runs during that four-run first inning rally and scored two runs as the Bears pocketed a non-conference 'W' that makes them 17-4 over their past 21.

Sam Wezniak went 3-for-4 with two RBI, Cameron Eden was 3-for-5 with an RBI, Korey Lee drove in two runs and freshman Cole Elvis hit a two-run homer late to pad the Bears' lead.

With a three-game series on tap this weekend against rival and No. 3-ranked Stanford, Tuesday's non-conference matchup could have been a trap game. But Cal eventually pulled away. Seven pitchers passed the baton to each other to bring it to the finish line, with Rogelio Reyes standing out in particular with four strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings.

Baker's 2-for-4 day raised his average to .302. And his speed was on full display during that seventh-inning sequence. He beat out an infield single, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch before he surprised the ballpark on the pickoff play.

"He just does some things like that," Cal head coach Mike Neu said. "His instincts out there are really, really good -- offensively and defensively. But it really showed up on the bases with that play today."

Tuesday's win sets the stage for a much-anticipated three-game set at Evans Diamond against the Cardinal, which is tied with Oregon State atop the Pac-12 standings at 17-4. Cal is in fourth place with a 13-8 conference mark and ranked 35^th in the latest RPI rankings, a strong spot to be in currently when it comes to projecting NCAA Regional berths. The series begins with a 7:05 p.m. game Friday followed by a 2:05 matchup Saturday and a 12:05 game Sunday. All three will be televised by the Pac-12 Network.