PULLMAN, Wash. – The California baseball team got a tremendous pitching performance from reliever Luke Short, and the offense provided enough support to earn a 4-3 win over Washington State Friday evening at Bailey-Brayton Field.
 
Cal (18-14, 6-10 Pac-12) ended its seven-game losing streak in Pac-12 play finishing the night with four runs on 10 hits. The Bears slugged two home runs on the evening, the first a 2-run shot by Rodney Green Jr. in the fifth to give Cal a 2-1 lead, but it was the RBI single in the ninth by Nico Button that proved to be the difference.
 
Washington State (17-15, 7-9 Pac-12) struck first in the bottom of the first inning but was held in check by Short (3-1) for seven dominant innings. The Cougars made it interesting late, rallying for two runs in the ninth before stranding the trying run in second. Max Hartman, Nate Swarts, and Cole Cramer all had RBIs for WSU.
 
Cal opted for an opener with Austin Turkington getting the start in game one of the three-game series. Turkington got the first two outs of the inning on three pitches but struggled to record the final out.
 
Casen Taggert started the run scoring rally drawing a walk. Turkington loaded the bases with two outs surrendering a single up the middle and a walk when Swarts singled to short. A tremendous play by PJ Moutzouridis kept the ball in the infield and did not allow the Cougars to score a second run on the hit. Turkington got out of the jam getting a ground out to first.
 
Washington State starter Grant Tayler (4-2) held the Bears scoreless through three innings. He ran into trouble in the top of the fourth when Ryan Tayman blasted a ball past the third baseman for a leadoff single. The next batter, Green turned on a 1-0 offering from Taylor for his eighth home run of the year and 28th of his career.
 
Taylor finished the night going 7.0 complete, allowing seven hits, three runs, three earned with no walks and nine strikeouts.
 
Short entered the game in the bottom of the second inning and was brilliant from the start. The senior retired the first seven batters he faced before giving up a pair of singles in the fourth. Short retired seven in a row after striking out the side in the seventh and working a quick top of the eighth.
 
In the top of the ninth with the Bears leading 3-1, Cal got a crucial insurance run when Max Handron singled up the middle with one out. He moved over to third on a failed pick off attempt by relief pitcher Jack Lee and came around to score when Button smashed a ball into the gap to make it 4-1.
 
Short came back out in the ninth and immediately ran into some trouble. Swarts led off the home half with a triple to left field on a ball that bounced high off the wall. He scored on a ground out to second from Cramer to make it 4-2. After getting the second out of the inning on a fly ball to center, Short surrendered a double down the left field line by Crew Parke.
 
The double by Parke ended the night for Short. He went 7.2 innings, scattering five hits, two runs – both earned, with a walk and a season-high nine strikeouts. Tyler Stasiowski came into the game to close it out and after allowing an RBI single up the middle to Hartman he got Taggart to strike out to record his fourth save of the year.
 
Peyton Schulze remains red hot for the Bears. He went 2-for-4 on the evening. Caleb Lomavita stole his ninth base of the year before leaving the game in the bottom of the third inning. Jarren Advincula went 1-for-4 to extend his reached base safely streak to 23 games.
 
Game two of the series is scheduled to begin at 2 pm tomorrow. Saturday's game will be televised on Pac-12 Washington.
 
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