Bears Complete Sweep Over Pitt

PITTSBURGH — The Bears brought the brooms with them to Pittsburgh this weekend as the California baseball team swept Pitt with a 13-2 seven-inning run-rule win Sunday at Charles L. Cost Field.

The Golden Bears (18-16, 4-11) posted exactly 16 hits for the third time this weekend to earn their first ACC sweep of the season and first since taking all three from Stanford on the road in March of last season. Cal has now won four straight games with double-digit hits and at least an eight-run deficit.

While the offense was once again relentless, the performance by Cal’s pitching staff today and this weekend overall cannot be understated. Ethan Foley earned the start making his first appearance in two weeks and had a strong outing tossing three full innings of one-run ball. The senior struck out two and scattered five hits and a walk. Freshman Otto Espinoza (2-1) followed Foley out of the pen and did the rest earning the win with four one-run innings where he allowed just three hits and a walk while striking out four.

Cal had a 3.52 team ERA and a 1.52 WHIP in this series with just seven arms accounting for the 23 innings of work. The Panthers (22-12, 6-9) only managed to collect seven extra-base hits on the Bears’ staff, which held Pitt to a .258 batting average.

After going down 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning, Cal responded with two runs in the second, six in the third, four in the fourth and a single run in the fifth to take a 13-1 lead. The Bears posted eight extra-base hits, including a season-high tying four home runs, and drove in 12 RBI.

Junior catcher Hideki Prather went 3-for-4 with a career-high six RBI after collecting Cal’s first grand slam of the year in the fourth inning. Daniel Murillo added his second home run of the series in that inning as well, hitting a lead-off solo shot on a full count that he worked back from 0-2. Carl Schmidt hit his second home run of the weekend as well giving him six on the year which is tied for second-most on the team.

Freshman centerfielder Joshua Hanson continued the best series of his young career by going 2-for-4 with a 460-foot three-run home run from the ninth spot in the lineup. He ended the weekend with a .500 average, drove in six runs and scored six runs of his own.

The bottom third of Cal’s lineup was tremendous all weekend combining for 18 hits and 17 runs. Sophomore right fielder Ethan Kodama was one six Bears to turn in a multi-hit effort today going 3-for-4 from the eight-hole and Cade Campbell added a pair of hits, a pair of runs, and a double from the seven-hole.

Cal’s offense finished the series outscoring Pitt 39-9 and hitting .432 with an OPS of 1.250, which is its highest in any series this season by .400.

The Bears will now return home to Stu Gordon Stadium to host San Jose State on Wednesday before welcoming in Louisville for a weekend series that begins Friday.