PITTSBURGH – California brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth but any hopes of a dramatic comeback went away when Pitt ended the threat with a fly ball to center, winning game two 5-3 on Saturday afternoon at Charles L. Cost Field.
 
Cal (18-21) struck out 11 times and left seven runners on base but still had a chance to tie the game in the ninth inning when Joey Donnelly singled through the left side to bring Max Handron to the plate representing the tying run. Pittsburgh's relief pitcher Bryan Nash completed the save getting Handron to fly out to center field for the final out.
 
The Golden Bears finished the afternoon with nine hits, four of them coming in a three-run rally in the seventh that cut the Panther lead to two. It is just the third time this season Cal has lost when outhitting its opponent.
 
Pitt (19-21) takes the series thanks to strong pitching from starter Logan Evans (3-1) who struck out a career-high 10 batters in six innings of work. Evans faced the minimum through four innings and allowed just six hits and two runs with a walk to earn his third win of the season.
 
Paulshawn Pasqualotto (2-1) was tough through four. He struck out the side in the first and added two more strikeouts in the second. The pitch count kept Pasqualotto from going deeper in the game. He took the loss going four complete, scattering three hits, a run, with five walks and six strikeouts.
 
The Panthers broke the scoreless time in the bottom of the fourth inning. Two walks and an infield single loaded the bases with one out. Anthony Lasala hit a line drive to center for the sacrifice fly to score the game's first run. Pasqualotto minimized the damage, getting his sixth and final strikeout to end the threat.
 
In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Panthers added four more runs on two hits. Justin Acal led off the inning with a double down the right field line. The next batter Johnny Long III singled to center to put runners at the corners with no outs. Pitt didn't record a hit the rest of the inning off relief pitcher Matt Lozovoy, but it would not matter. A fielder's choice, a walk, a fielding error, and a sac bunt allowed the Panthers to score enough runs to hold on for the win.
 
The Bears finally got on the board in the seventh inning. With one out Carson Crawford pulled a double down the left field line. He came in to score on the single up the middle from Nathan Manning. Matthew Fernandez came in to replace Evans and allowed a single back up the middle to Souto to put two on for Handron who singled into no man's land down the left field line allowing Manning and Souto to score. Fernandez walked Caleb Lomavita but ended the threat by getting Rodney Green Jr. to pop up to short.
 
Kade Kretzschmar led the Bears with two hits, he finished the afternoon 2-for-4 with a pair of opposite-way singles. It is his 11^th multi-hit game in the month of April. Robert Aivazian tossed a scoreless fifth inning with a strikeout. Lomavita went 1-for-3 to extend his reached base safely streak to 12 games.
 
UP NEXT
Game three is scheduled for a Noon ET/9 am PT start time. Sunday's game will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
 
STAY POSTED
For coverage of Cal baseball, please follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalBaseball), Instagram (@CalBaseball), and Facebook (/CalBaseball/).