Cal Baseball: Bears Pitchers Dominate in Sweep of Washington
Cal’s baseball team got its Pac-12 record back to .500 by recording its first series sweep in nearly two years over the weekend.
The Golden Bears pitchers dominated Washington in Seattle, allowing just two earned runs in the three games combined, and Cal completed its three-game sweep of the last-place Huskies with a 3-2 victory on Sunday afternoon.
The Bears (22-19, 9-9 Pac-12) would still need a strong finish in its remaining games to reach the 64-team NCAA playoffs. Cal faces some of the best teams in the conference in its final 13 scheduled Pac-12 games, which will present a challenge but also provides a means to make a positive impression.
Darren Baker had multiple hits in all three games and went 7-for-11 in the three-game series in Seattle. He added two walks, giving him an on-base percentage of .692 for the weekend.
Dylan Beavers smacked his 12th home run of the season on Sunday (hitting the right-field foul pole) to take over sole possession of the Pac-12 lead in that department.
A Cal player would also lead the conference in earned-run average if Josh White had pitched one-third of an inning more. He has an ERA of 1.77, considerably better than the official Pac-12 leader Will Frisch of Oregon State at 2.28. But White has pitched 40 2/3 innings in Cal’s 41 games, and a pitcher needs to pitch at least one inning per game to qualify.
White is typically Cal’s closer but when usual Friday starter Grant Holman experienced some arm soreness last week, White was called upon to be the Cal opener against Washington in the first game of the series.
He pitched 3 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball to push Cal on its way to a 9-0 victory in the opener.
Saturday starter Sean Sullivan gave up just one earned run in the first six innings of Cal’s 5-1 victory in the second game, and Holman came back to start Sunday’s game and threw four innings of one-hit shutout ball. Cal’s five relievers pitched one inning apiece Sunday and yielded two runs, only one of which was earned, and Nathan Martorella delivered the big hit with a two-run single in the eighth.
Twelve Cal pitchers struck out 30 batters and held Washington to two earned runs and a .182 average in the three-game series.
All four of Cal’s remaining Pac-12 foes are nationally ranked in at least one of the major college baseball rankings, although we use D1Baseball rankings in this story. (Other rankings are listed below.)
After Tuesday’s game against San Jose State, the Bears face Arizona State (25-14, 10-8 Pac-12) for three home games, then take on 16th-ranked Stanford (24-9, 10-5) for four games, followed by three games against 25th-ranked UCLA (25-14, 12-9) and three more against No. 11-ranked Oregon (27-11, 11-7).
National rankings of Pac-12 teams posted Monday
D1Baseball (top 25)
9. Arizona
11. Oregon
16. Stanford
25. UCLA
.
Baseball America (top 25)
7. Arizona
17. Oregon
19. Stanford
.
NCBWA (top 30)
10. Arizona
12. Oregon
16. Stanford
22. Oregon State
26. UCLA
.
Collegiate Baseball (top 30)
8. Arizona
14. Stanford
15. Oregon
21. Arizona State
.
USA Today coaches poll (top 25)
10. Arizona
12. Oregon
16. Stanford
25. UCLA
.
RPI computer rankings (used by NCAA playoffs selection committee)
8. Arizona
12. Oregon
26. Stanford
28. Oregon State
32. UCLA
34. Arizona State
58. Washington State
108. Cal
111. USC
174. Utah
187. Washington
.
Cover photo of Nathan Martorella by Robert Edwards, KLC fotos
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Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53
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