Quentin Selma, John Lagattuta
Robert Edwards/KLC fotos
Quentin Selma (left) and John Lagattuta drove in all five of Cal's runs in a 5-1 series-clinching win vs. USC Saturday.
1
USC USC 12-11
5
Winner California CAL 16-10
USC USC
12-11
1
Final
5
California CAL
16-10
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
USC USC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 0
California CAL 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 X 5 7 0

W: Pasqualotto, Paulshawn (3-3) L: Cornwell, A. (3-3)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Cal Athletics

Series-Clinching Win

Selma, Sullivan Lead Bears To 5-1 Victory Over USC

BERKELEY – Quentin Selma drove in four runs with two swings of the bat and Sean Sullivan silenced USC over 4.2 innings on the mound as California earned a series-clinching 5-1 win against the Trojans Saturday afternoon at Evans Diamond.
 
The win solidified Cal's first series victory against USC (12-11, 5-4 Pac-12) since 2017, and secured the Golden Bears' (16-10, 4-2) sixth consecutive series win dating back to late February.
 
Sullivan headlined a quartet of Cal pitchers that limited the Trojans to just one run on three hits and combined for 11 strikeouts. The junior right-hander tallied seven of those strikeouts and allowed one hit and three walks to USC throughout the first half of Saturday's rubber match. Sullivan did not earn the decision, as he was relieved by Ian Villers with two outs and a runner on in the top of the fifth.
 
The Bears put the first number on the scoreboard, plating a pair of runs in the opening inning. Nathan Manning and Dylan Beavers reached base with one-out singles and scored on an RBI single by Selma and a sacrifice fly by John Lagattuta, respectively.
 
With Sullivan rolling on the mound, Selma made it a five-run advantage in the home half of the third with a three-run home run to left-center field, his second dinger of the series. Darren Baker and Manning scored on the home run after both were hit by pitches to reach base. Though Cal's bats mustered just two hits the rest of the way, the pitching staff kept USC at bay.
 
Villers needed just one pitch to escape the fifth inning unscathed in relief of Sullivan; catcher Cole Elvis corralled a ball in the dirt and threw out the lone Trojan runner, who was drifting off of first base. Paulshawn Pasqualotto and Steven Zobac threw two innings apiece to close it out. Despite issuing four walks, Pasqualotto (3-3) worked himself out of two jams for a pair of hitless frames and picked up the win along the way.
 
USC scored its only run of the game in the top of the ninth on a sacrifice fly.
 
NOTABLES
  • The Bears have opened Pac-12 play with two consecutive series wins for the first time since 2015.
  • Cal is 12-4 at Evans Diamond this season.
  • Cal improved to 12-0 when scoring first and 9-2 when scoring in the first inning.
  • The three hits allowed by Cal's pitching staff ties a season low (March 20 vs. CBU).
  • Sean Sullivan now has three outings with seven strikeouts or more.
  • With four RBI Saturday, Quentin Selma now leads Cal with 25 for the season. He leads Cal in multi-hit games (11) & multi-RBI games (8).
  • Darren Baker (0-for-3) was hit by a pitch, which extended his reached-base streak to 31 games. He also swiped his 14th bag of the season.
  • Hance Smith (2-for-4) recorded his third multi-hit game of the year.
 
UP NEXT
Cal turns to junior right-hander Sean Sullivan on the mound for Saturday's rubber match. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. PT at Evans Diamond.
 
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