LOS ANGELES – Four Golden Bears blasted home runs and
Josh White struck out a career-high 10 batters as California rolled past another nationally-ranked opponent with a 14-2 win over No. 18 UCLA Friday night at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
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Cole Elvis (4-for-5, five RBI) and
Quentin Selma (4-for-4, two RBI) both homered in a pair of four-hit efforts while Cal tied a season high with 17 hits and scored in six of the first seven innings, including a five-run sixth. After picking up a key Pac-12 series win against then-No. 12 Stanford last weekend, the Bears (27-23, 13-12) stayed hot with their eighth win in the past 12 games Friday.
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Backed by more than enough run support, White was masterful across six innings pitched before leaving the game with a 12-2 advantage. The sophomore right-hander struck out 10 batters, including five in a row at one point, and held UCLA (31-17, 14-11) to a pair of solo home runs in the first and third innings. Outside of the home runs, White allowed just one Bruin to reach second base.
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Reuben Drogin and
Nick Proctor seamlessly took over relief duties, working three combined scoreless innings to seal the series-opening win.
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With a 1-1 tie in the top of the second, Elvis roped a two-run home run to right-center field and Cal never looked back. The Bears doubled their lead the following inning with back-to-back doubles by Selma and
Steven Zobac, followed by an RBI single from Elvis. It was Selma and Elvis again two innings later with a solo home run and an RBI double, respectively. UCLA starter Zach Pettway lasted just 4.1 innings against the Bears and allowed seven runs on nine hits.
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Dylan Beavers kicked off a five-run sixth inning with a solo home run – his 15th this season – before Zobac, Elvis and
Nathan Manning all drove in runs to extend Cal's advantage to 12-2.
Nathan Martorella added the exclamation mark in the seventh with a two-run home run to center field.
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NOTABLES
- Friday's win was Cal's fourth against a nationally-ranked opponent this season, and third since last Saturday.
- Cal's 14 runs scored Friday are its most against UCLA since a 16-0 win on May 6, 2007 in Los Angeles.
- The Bears dealt UCLA its first home loss of 10 runs or more since Arizona defeated the Bruins, 19-4, on March 18, 2017.
- Quentin Selma, Cole Elvis and Steven Zobac were a combined 11-for-14 with 10 RBI, six runs and five extra-base hits.
- Cal tied its season high of 17 hits for the third time.
- Darren Baker (1-for-5) tallied his 193rd career hit and now needs just seven to reach the 200-hit milestone for his career.
- The Bears improved to 22-9 when hitting at least one home run. They've hit multiple home runs in four of the past five games.
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UP NEXT
Cal goes for the series win against UCLA in game two Saturday. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. PDT from Jackie Robinson Stadium.
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