BERKELEY– The California baseball team (18-20, 6-14 ACC) jumped out to six-run lead after four innings before NC State (26-12, 11-6 ACC) scored the game's final seven runs in a 7-6 come-from-behind victory over the Golden Bears on Friday evening at Stu Gordon Stadium in the second game of an ACC series. Brayden Fraasman (1-5, R, HR, RBI) homererd down the left field line in the top of the seventh off losing pitcher
Cole Tremain (4-4) to provide the winning Wolf Pack run.
PJ Moutzouridis put the Bears ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the second with his third home run of the season on a two-out line drive over the left field fence.
Cal then exploded for five runs in the fourth when four of the first five players –
Carl Schmidt,
Cade Campbell,
Dominic Smaldino and Moutzouridis – singled to net a pair of runs before
Alex Birge came up two batters later and blasted a three-run shot over the right field wall to put the Bears ahead 6-0.
Cal starter
Austin Turkington had scattered three hits through his first four scoreless inning before hitting Luke Nixon to start the Wolf Pack's six-run fifth inning. Turkington then walked Drew Lanphere before allowing NC State's first run on an RBI single by Matt Heavner. Ty Head followed with another RBI single. Turkington retired Josh Hogue on an infield fly before being lifted in favor of
Spencer Dessart, who did not record an out in the three batters faced with Chris McHugh connecting for an RBI single. After a fielding error, a walk and another RBI single to Alex Soso, Dessart was removed in favor of Tremain, who allowed one inherited runner to score on Nixon's RBI single before finally getting the Bears out of the inning tied 6-6.
Jarren Advincula started the bottom of the fifth with a single to extend his hit streak to eight games as he hit safely for the 23rd time in the last 24 contests. Advincula would end up on third after his team-leading ninth stolen base of the season and a wild pitch before being stranded 90 feet from giving the Bears back the lead.
It would be the last time the Bears would have a baserunner as NC State reliever and winning pitcher Anderson Nance was dominant, facing the minimum number of 15 batters over the final 5.0 innings after starter Heath Andrews (4.0 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 4 SO) allowed Advincula's single. Nance struck out seven and improved to 6-1 on the season.
McHugh (3-4, R, RBI, BB), Nixon (2-4, R, RBI, SB, HBP), Heavner (2-4, R, RBI) and Sosa (2-5, 2B, RBI) had multiple-hit games for the Wolf Pack, while Moutzouridis (2-4, R, HR, 2 RBI) was the only Cal player with more than one hit.
The victory clinched the series for the Wolf Pack heading into Saturday's series finale on ACCNX/ESPN+. First pitch is at 2 p.m. PT.
STAY POSTED
For coverage of Cal baseball, please follow the Bears on X (
@CalBaseball) and Instagram (
@CalBaseball).