BERKELEY – The California baseball team (5-5) wrapped up a 10-game homestand that was the longest to open a season in recorded school history with a 4-2 loss to Santa Clara (6-3) on Saturday afternoon at Stu Gordon Stadium.

Cal scored a run in the bottom of the ninth inning and brought the tying run to the plate with no outs after Dominic Smaldino led off with a single and scored on Jacob French's RBI double down the left field line before Santa Clara reliever Caden Wooster struck out three consecutive Golden Bears to end the threat and earn his second save of the season.

Both teams had chances in the first two innings but neither scored – the Bears stranded four runners and the Broncos' three – before the game developed into a pitching dual between Santa Clara starter Victor Martinez and California starter Gavin Eddy.

Martinez (1-1) earned the victory and allowed only one hit over 7.0-plus scoreless innings before he was removed after walking Ryan Tayman to lead off the Bears' eighth. Martinez scattered four walks and struck out seven. At one point, Martinez retired 17 consecutive hitters and the only hit against him came was Cade Campbell's double on a misplayed fly ball by Broncos' right fielder Payton Lambert to lead off the Bears' second.

Eddy (0-1) took the loss despite allowing only one hit and one unearned run over a career-high 5.1 innings. Eddy walked six and struck out two.

Santa Clara struck first in the top of the sixth to end a scoreless tie. Dylan Joyce and Conner Smith started the rally by drawing one-out walks to chase Eddy before the Broncos scored an unearned run when Cal second baseman Jarren Advincula was charged with an error when he was unable to come up with Tate Medicoff's soft liner. Reliever Cole Clark got Lambert to hit into an inning-ending double play to escape without further damage.

The Broncos added two runs in the top of the seventh inning off Clark to go ahead 3-0 when Malcolm Williams doubled with two outs to score Max Ross and Ben Cleary, who had walked and singled back-to-back with one out to start the rally.

Cal finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth to cut the deficit to 3-1 when Advincula doubled with two outs and scored on Seth Gwynn's RBI single.

Santa Clara added an unearned insurance run in the top of the ninth by taking advantage of a catchers' interference on Alex Birge and Advincula's second error of the game before reliever Miles Tenscher got the Bears out of the jam without any further damage by getting the final three outs including the last two on a double play.

Nobody from either team had a multiple-hit contest.

The teams continue their four-game series that started with a Bronco win in Berkeley on Friday night with the final two contests at Santa Clara on Sunday (2 p.m.) and Monday (6 p.m.) in the Bears' final preparations for their first ACC games in school history at No. 17/19/18 Duke (March 7-9).

Tickets for all 2025 Cal baseball home games are on sale at CalBears.com.