WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.— The streak has ended. The California baseball team got back in the win column Sunday defeating Wake Forest 5-3 for its first ACC victory of the season.
Great pitching and a three-homer seventh inning saw the Golden Bears (14-13, 1-8) break a ten-game skid that directly followed their 11-game win streak. The Demon Deacons (20-8, 6-6) saw their conference record drop back to .500 with the loss.
It was a career day for Cal starter
Gavin Eddy (4-1) who earned the win and collected a career-high nine strikeouts in 6.1 innings of work. The sophomore allowed just one run on eight hits and did not register a single walk.
The game was scoreless for the first five innings with Eddy getting strikeouts in big moments to strand three Demon Deacons runners in scoring position. It wasn't until the top of the sixth that the Bears broke the scoreless tie with
Jett Kenady collecting a lead-off double and scoring on an RBI single by
Daniel Murillo.
The big inning came in the seventh when Cal hung a four via three long balls.
Tyler Leroy led off the inning with a solo shot for just his third hit but second home run of the season. After a
Taichi Nakao double it was
Jett Kenady crushing a ball to left field and
Lawson Olmstead followed with a solo to give the Bears back-to-back home runs and a 5-0 lead.
The Deacons finally broke through with a single run in the next half inning and put up a two-spot in the bottom of the eighth to cut the lead to 5-3.
The tying run got on base and the go-ahead run came to the plate for the Deacons in the bottom of the ninth, but
Cole Clark entered and got a game-ending double play to earn his second save of the season.
Relievers
Quinn Larson and
Ryan Spalliero made appearances for the second day in a row and were once again effective with Larson allowing two runs on one swing with two strikeouts in 1.1 innings and Spalliero getting two key outs in the eighth and ninth.
Cal now returns home to Stu Gordon Stadium this week hosting Saint Mary's on Tuesday and No. 3 Georgia Tech in a three-game series that begins Thursday.
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