BERKELEY – The California baseball team (17-15) pounded out a season-high 18 hits on its way to a 14-8 nonconference victory over Pacific (13-21) on Monday evening at Stu Gordon Stadium.
Dominic Smaldino (3-4, 3 R, HR, 4 RBI, BB) hit his first collegiate grand slam while tying career highs for hits and RBI to key the win.
Jacob French (3-3, R, 3B, 3 RBI, HBP, SF),
Carl Schmidt (3-5, 2 R, 3B, 2 RBI) and
Jarren Advincula (3-6, 2 R, 2B, 3B, RBI, SB) also had three hits apiece with Schmidt equaling a career high for hits, while
PJ Moutzouridis (2-4, 2 R, RBI, BB) and
Seth Gwynn (2-5, R, HR, 2 RBI) added two each. Eight of the Golden Bears nine starters had at least one hit.
Ethan Foley (3-2) was credited with victory as the Golden Bears' most effective of seven pitchers. Foley came on with two outs in the Tigers' two-run top of the sixth, and after allowing one inherited runner to score, retired Pacific in order in both the seventh and eighth innings.
Brian McClellin (4-5, 3 R, HR, 3 RBI) and Jake Tandy (3-5, 2B, 2 RBI) had seven of Pacific's nine hits and drove in five of the Tigers' eight runs as the team's lone players with multiple-hit games. JT Waldon also drove in a pair.
The Tigers tallied the game's opening score on an RBI double from Tandy down the right field line with two outs in the top of the first before the Bears answered with four runs in the bottom of the second on an RBI single from Moutzouridis, a two-run single from Schmidt and an RBI triple by Advincula.
Pacific got a pair of runs back on McClellin's two-run homer in the top of the third before the Bears erupted for seven runs in the bottom half of the fourth to take a commanding 11-3 lead. Pacific starter and losing pitcher Carson Revay (2-4) gave way to Nathen Nino to start the Bears' half of the fourth and Schmidt greeted the first of five Tigers' relievers with a triple followed by Gwynn's homer over the left field wall. Advincula restarted the rally with a single, and after an Advincula stolen base followed by walks to
Alex Birge and
Cade Campbell to load the bases, Smaldino deposited an 0-1 offering from Nino over the left field wall for his first career grand slam.
Max Handron capped the rally by greeting the Tigers' second reliever of the inning Josh Souza with an RBI double.
Pacific was able to score five runs over the final five innings including two in both the fifth and sixth to inch back to within 12-7 at one point. The Tigers scored in the fifth on an RBI single from Tandy and a Waldon sacrifice fly. After the Bears answered with one in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly from French, the Tigers got their two in the sixth on a wild pitch and an RBI single from McClellin off Foley before he struck out Rylan Evans and retired Tandy on a groundout to Moutzouridis at shortstop to get out of the jam without further damage.
Cal added a pair of insurance runs on a two-run triple by French in the bottom of the seventh, while Pacific picked up a run in the top of the ninth off Cal's seventh and final pitcher
Jordy Lopez when McClellin started the inning with his fourth hit and eventually scored on Waldin's RBI fielder's choice.
Cal returns to ACC action with a three-game road series at No. 18/21/20 Georgia Tech (26-6, 11-4 ACC) this Friday-Sunday (3 pm/1 pm/10 am PT). A live stream of all three games will be available on ACCNX/ESPN+.
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