BOSTON - The California baseball team had a four-run lead and looked to be on its way to evening a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series at Boston College on Saturday until the Golden Bears gave up eight runs in the bottom of the sixth inning in an eventual 9-6 loss to the Eagles at Brighton Baseball Field.

Cal starting and losing pitcher Ethan Foley (2-2) cruised through the game's first five innings, allowing only one run, two hits and one walk while setting down 15 Eagles, including seven via strikeouts. Foley gave up a run on a two-out double by Jack Toomey in the bottom of the first before retiring 12 straight and 13 of the next 14 hitters he faced to get through the first five frames with a 5-1 lead.

But it was a different story in the Eagles' eight-run bottom of the sixth when Foley (5.0 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO, 1 BK) faced five batters without recording an out and was removed after giving up Danny Surowiecz's first career grand slam and second career long ball that gave the Eagles a 6-5 advantage and their first lead of the game, Take Kreis relieved Foley but walked the bases loaded without getting an out. Garrett MacKowiak came on and walked in a run before two runs scored on Ty Mainolfi's sacrifice fly just shy of the wall in right center field.

Cal managed only Carl Schmidt's leadoff solo homer in the top of the seventh the rest of the way but did also get runners on second and third with only one out in the top of the eighth inning on a single by Daniel Murillo and a double from from Jett Kenady. But Kyle Kipp struck out Lawson Olmstead and retired Cade Campbell on a ground out to get out of the jam without any damage then retired the Bears in order in the top of the ninth to finish off his second save of the campaign.

Cal built its 5-1 lead by scoring three runs in the first before adding single runs in the fourth and fifth frames.

The first six runners reached in the Cal first and all three runs scored on Kenady's fifth home run of the season. The Bears had the bases loaded with three runs already in and no outs but Boston College starter Tyler Mudd got out of the mess without giving up any more runs by retiring the bottom three hitters in the Bears' lineup in order.

Cal increased its lead to 4-1 in the fourth when Kenady singled with two outs, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single from Olmstead. 

Joshua Hanson gave the Bears their fifth run of the game in the fifth with a two-out solo homer that was his second longball of the season.

Kenady (4-5, 2B, HR, 3 RBI) and Schmidt (4-5, HR, RBI) had four hits each, while Hideki Prather (2-5) also had a multi-hit game as Cal out-hit Boston College, 14-5. Toomey (2-4, 2B, RBI) was the only Boston College player with more than one hit, while Mainolfi drove in three and had the Eagles' other extra-base hit with an RBI double to drive in the first run of the Eagles' sixth.

Luke D'Ancona (2-1) picked up the victory as he was in the game when Boston College exploded for their eight-run sixth. 

RHP Gavin Eddy (3-1, 2.73) is expected to be Cal's starting pitcher against the Eagles on Sunday as the Bears are looking to avoid being swept in a second consecutive series to begin its ACC slate. Boston College (15-8, 5-3 ACC) will counter with LHP Brady Miller (0-0, 2.00). The time of Sunday's first pitch has been moved up three hours to 7 am PT due to Sunday's weather forecast in Boston.