DURHAM, N.C. – The California baseball team (7-7, 1-1 ACC) dropped a 6-2 decision in the second game of an ACC series at Duke (9-6, 1-1 ACC) on Saturday at Jack Coombs Field. The game was tied, 2-2, until the Blue Devils scored twice in the sixth inning then added two runs in the seventh for the final tally.
Duke scored its two runs in the sixth after two were out off losing pitcher
David Shaw (0-1). Ben Rounds worked Shaw for a leadoff walk then moved to second on a passed ball and third on a ground out before scoring the go-ahead run on Wallace Clark's RBI single. Jake Berger then followed with a double to plate Clark.
The Blue Devils added a pair of insurance runs in their half of the seventh. Shaw was removed in favor of
Logan Piper after a hit batsmen, wild pitch, infield single and throwing error on the play gave the Blue Devils runners on first and third with no outs. Piper allowed an RBI groundout to pinch-hitter Macon Winslow to score AJ Gracia before Kyle Johnson's double and an intentional walk loaded the bases for Berger's walk on a 3-2 pitch.
Duke started the game's scoring with an unearned run in the first when Gracia singled home Clark after a
Cade Campbell throwing error kept the inning alive. But Cal answered right back in the top of the second to tie the score at 1-1 when
Carl Schmidt doubled with two outs and scored on a
Jacob French RBI single.
The Blue Devils took the lead back, 2-1, on a solo homer by Andrew Yu to lead off the bottom of the fourth but again Cal answered back in its next at bat when Campbell doubled with one out and scored on
PJ Moutzouridis' two-out RBI single on an 0-2 count.
Campbell (2-4, 2B) continued his strong start by extending his current hit streak to a career-high five games and improving his season batting average seven points to .414. Campbell has hit safely in 12 of Cal's first 14 contests. French (2-3, RBI) was the other Cal player with a pair of the Golden Bears' eight hits, while Campbell,
Seth Gwynn (1-4, 3B) and Schmidt (1-3, 2B) accounted for the team's three extra-base hits. The Bears did not go deep after hitting five home in a 14-1 win at Duke on Friday in their first-ever ACC game and had homered 13 times over their previous three contests including a school-record-tying eight at Santa Clara last Sunday.
Starter
Gavin Eddy (4.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO, 1 HBP) registered a no-decision while throwing a career-high 93 pitches. Shaw (1.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 WP, 1 HBP) was the first of three relievers followed by Piper (1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 SO) and
Kaden Taque (1.0 IP) did. Piper was not charged with a run but allowed both of the runners he inherited to score before Taque registered a three-up, three-down eighth in his second appearance of the campaign.
Berger (2-4, 2B, 2 RBI) and Yu (2-5, HR, RBI) had multiple-hit games for Duke with Berger the only player in the game to drive in multiple runs and Yu the only one to hit a home run.
Ryan Easterly (2-0) earned the win as the first of three Blue Devils who pitched in relief of starter Ryan Higgins (3.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 1 HBP). Easterly scattered three hits and one earned run over 3.0 innings, striking out two and throwing one wild pitch. Gabe Nard (1.1 IP, 2 SO) and Owen Proksch (1.0 IP, 1 BB, 2 SO) finished out the contest.
"I thought our guys competed really well, but we didn't play very clean and when you do that you're kind of leaving the door open," head coach
Mike Neu said. "But the way we competed was solid, and I told our guys I would take that all day. Now, we've just got to play better. If we do that, I'm not saying we're going to win the [Sunday] game, but we will probably give ourselves a better chance."
Cal and Duke wrap up their series with a rubber game in the finale on Sunday (8:30 a.m. PT). The Bears are slated to start
Ethan Foley (2-0, 3.09 ERA) on the hill, while the Blue Devils' probable starter is LHP Andrew Healey (1-1, 9.53 ERA).
A live video stream of Sunday's game will be available on ACCNX/ESPN+.
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