SAN FRANCISCO – The California baseball team won its fifth consecutive game Monday with a 10-6 road victory over San Francisco (12-13) in a nonconference contest at Benedetti Diamond. Cal scored four times in the top of the ninth to snap a 6-6 tie with
PJ Moutzouridis' three-run double with two outs to clear the bases the key blow. Three Golden Bears combined to strike out 19 Dons to tie for the most strikeouts in Cal's recorded history and the second-most by an ACC team this season. Starting pitcher
Ethan Foley sent a career-high 13 batters back to their dugout on strikes.
Cal jumped out to a 6-0 lead after three and a half innings by combining to score six runs after two were out in the third and fourth frames.
The Bears picked up their two runs in the third on
Ryan Tayman's two-run single down the right field line after
Dominic Smaldino and
Carl Schmidt had started the rally by leading off the inning with back-to-back singles and
Cade Campbell had kept the rally alive by drawing a two-out walk to bring Tayman to the plate.
The Bears four runs in the fourth came on a Schmidt RBI-single, a two-run homer from
Jarren Advincula and an RBI single from Campbell.
Alex Birge doubled following Advincula's long ball to restart the rally.
Meanwhile, Foley was in cruise control with the first seven outs he recorded and 13 of the first 15 coming on strikeouts He had allowed just four singles when Eddison Esquivel blasted a two-run shot over the left field wall for the Dons' first two runs of the game. Two batters later Foley gave up a second two-run shot to Tyson Moore and his afternoon was over.
Logan Piper came on to get the final two outs but the Dons had quickly pulled to within 6-4.
USF then pulled even in the bottom of the seventh on its third two-run homer in two innings when Patrick Keighran connected for a two-run shot off Piper.
The Dons then carried their momentum over to the top of the eighth inning, turning a line drive by ACC Player of the Week
Jacob French drive into a double play with Moutzouridis being doubled up after going on the pitch. After the Dons picked off a baserunner for their final out in the eighth, it seemed like it might be their day but Piper retired the side in order with two strikeouts in the bottom of the eighth to get to the Bears' ninth.
Schmidt and Advincula started the game-winning ninth-inning rally with back-to-back one=out singles to put Bears on first and third. Advincula then stole second to take the Dons' middle infielders out of double play position and bring them in, and it made a big difference when Birge hit a ground ball up the middle that San Francisco shortstop Tyler Harries dove to glove but had no play at the plate on. Instead, Harries tried to get Advincula at third but he was safe. Birge was credited with an RBI fielder's choice as the eventual game-winning run scored on the play. Tayman was retired on an infield fly for the second out before Moutzouridis' took losing pitcher AC Cabrera off the right center field fence to plate three insurance runs.
Cole Tremain came on to pitch the bottom of the ninth and struck out the Dons in order.
Foley (5.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 13 SO) was credited with the win to improve to 3-1 this season. He threw an even 100 pitches.
Moutzouridis (2-4, 2B, 3 RBI, HBP) and Advincula (2-5, 3 R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 SB) had two-hit and multiple-Rbi games to lead Cal's 12-hit attack with eight of the nine starters picking up at least one hit.
Keighran (3-4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI), Esquivel (2-4, R, HR, 2 RBI) and Moore (1-2, R, HR, 2 RBI) accounted for six of the Dons' 10 hits and all six runs with each hitting a two-run homer.
Cal (14-10, 5-4 ACC) continues its current season-long nine-game road trip in which it has won the first five contests with a three-game series at Louisville this Friday-Sunday (3 pm, 11 am, 9 am PT). A live video stream of the first two games will be available on ACCNX/ESPN+, while Sunday's series finale will be televised by the ACC Network.
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