BERKELEY – The California baseball team completed a perfect homestand and opened the year 5-0 at home for the first time since 2018 following a 3-1 win over visiting Sacramento State on Tuesday evening at Stu Gordon Stadium.
 
Cal (7-1) received strong pitching throughout the contest, with its young arms refusing to surrender a run for most of the contest. The Golden Bears staff struck out 12 on the night, six from starter Quinn Larson and five from reliever Oliver Boone (1-0).  It is the seventh time in eight games Cal's staff has struck out 10 or more in a game. Cal did that just 12 times in 2023.
 
Sacramento State (3-5) got a solid pitching performance from starter Andrew Overland (0-1). Overland took the loss, allowing just one run on four hits over four innings. The Hornets' offense managed just four hits on the night and stranded 12 runners on base going 2-for-15 with runners on and 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.  
 
Offensively, the Bears once again got a boost thanks to the long ball. In the bottom of the first, Caleb Lomavita got the Bears on the board working the count full. On a 3-2 offering he jumped on a fastball and sent it over the left-field fence for his fourth home run of the year. Lomavita now has 27 for his career, just three shy of cracking Cal's top-10 list for career home runs.
 
On the mound, Larson got through three-plus with overpowering stuff. The six strikeouts match his career-best in his start against BYU last Tuesday. Sacramento State was able to record just two hits against the freshman, however, walks and the pitch count became an issue. Sacramento State got two aboard in the first four innings against Larson, but he was able to get out of the jam each time – the last time with an assist from relief pitcher Logan Piper who recorded the final out in the fourth stranding runners at the corners.
 
The two sides traded zeros until the bottom of the sixth inning when Cal added a pair of insurance runs. Carson Crawford started the rally with a one-out solo home run to left center, his second of the year. Back-to-back doubles by Jarren Advincula and Alec Ritch made it a 3-0 ball game. Advincula and Lomavita were the only Cal players with multiple hits on the evening.
 
Boone entered the game in the fifth inning and was masterful through four, earning his first collegiate win. He scattered two hits and a walk. He struck out five on the night, none bigger than his strikeout of pinch hitter Ryan Christiansen that ended the threat in the eighth. Tucker Bougie earned the save, his first of the season, pitching an uneventful top of the ninth.
 
Rodney Green Jr. and Max Handron also had hits for the Bears. Green singled in the first and stole his fourth base of the season.
 
UP NEXT
Cal will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada for a three-game tournament at the Las Vegas Ballpark. Cal will take on Ohio State on Friday at 6 p.m., Oklahoma on Saturday, and Pitt on Sunday.
 
STAY POSTED
For coverage of Cal baseball, please follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalBaseball), Instagram (@CalBaseball), and Facebook (/CalBaseball/).