CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The California baseball team turned in one of its most dominant and well-rounded performances of the season Friday to take Game 1 of the series over Miami 9-2 at Mark Light Field in Coral Gables, Florida. The Golden Bears used five home runs and an absolute gem by starting pitcher
Oliver de la Torre to win their third straight Friday game.
The Bears (22-18, 7-12 ACC) showed out on both sides of the ball for head coach
Mike Neu, who coached in his first game at The Light, the field where he played his college ball. Neu, who helped lead Miami to a College World Series championship in 1999, is now 2-0 against his alma mater with the Bears knocking the Bears out of the ACC Championship last year.
Righty de la Torre earned his third straight win tossing eight innings of two-run ball. The junior allowed just two hits and a walk while striking out seven. After allowing a couple of early runs, de la Torre went on a hot streak retiring 15 straight batters from the end of the third inning to the start of the eighth.
Cal's offense got out to a hot start in Game 1 thanks to a pair of longballs by two freshmen. Shortstop
Jett Kenady cranked a two-run shot to left center field and just two at-bats later designated hitter
Lawson Olmstead sent a solo homer to the exact same spot to put Cal up 3-0.
The Hurricanes (30-11, 10-9 ACC) answered right back with a run in the bottom half of the inning, but their ups were cut short by an impressive outfield assist by Cal centerfielder
Joshua Hanson who threw out a runner trying to tag up from first. Hanson got that run right back for Cal with an RBI groundout in the top of the second to extend the Bears' lead to 4-1.
Miami scored its second and final run in the bottom of the third but once again Hanson found yet another unique way to impact the game drawing a bases-loaded walk on a full count to extend the Cal lead to 5-2.
The Bears distanced themselves from the 'Canes in the sixth and seventh adding three more home runs to their night. After leftfielder
Carl Schmidt doubled to open the sixth he was brought home by third baseman
Cade Campbell who sent a ball 422 feet over the left field wall to make it a 7-2 ball game.
Kenady led off the seventh inning with his second home run of the night, this time a solo shot that he flicked out to left field to earn the first multi-homer game of his career. Two pitches later first baseman
Daniel Murillo joined the fun with his team-leading 10th home run of the season, a majestic 426-foot blast to make the final score 9-2.
Cal used just nine hits to score its nine runs with Campbell joining Kenady as the only other Bear with a multi-hit effort going 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI.
Freshman
Cade Colombara closed out the game with a scoreless ninth allowing just one walk to go with one strikeout.
The Bears are back at The Light tomorrow night for game two of the series which begins at 3 p.m. PT on ACCNX.
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