Bears Blank Huskies On Road

SEATTLE – California struck early and often offensively and five Golden Bear pitchers tossed a combined shutout in a 9-0 series-opening victory against Washington Friday night at Husky Ballpark.
 
Sophomore right-hander Josh White set the tone on the mound, pitching 3.2 scoreless innings in his first start of the season before turning it over to bullpen with a comfortable five-run advantage in the fourth inning. From there, four Cal relievers held Washington (17-19, 3-10 Pac-12) to just three hits while striking out a trio over the final 5.1 frames. Jack Wolger earned the win, working two hitless innings following White.
 
Cal (20-19, 7-9) played small ball to jump ahead with two runs in the first and another in the second. Bunt singles by Dylan Beavers and Darren Baker put runners on base for Nathan Martorella and Nathan Manning, who drove them in with a sacrifice fly and RBI single up the middle, respectively. Cole Elvis added another sac fly in the second, making it a 3-0 contest.
 
The Bears then flexed their power in the later stages of the game, using a two-run home run by Elvis and a solo shot from John Lagattuta to extend their lead to 6-0. A three-run, four-hit seventh inning – keyed by RBI doubles from Baker and Martorella – put the game out of reach.
 
NOTABLES

• The Bears are 5-1 against Washington under head coach Mike Neu and have won three straight games in the series.
• Cal won its second consecutive series opener and is 3-3 in such games during Pac-12 play.
• Cal collected 14 hits, its most since a 17-hit outburst against California Baptist on March 20.
• With a two-run first inning, Cal improved to 10-4 when scoring in the opening frame and 17-3 when striking first.
• The Bears issued just two walks Friday. They've allowed three walks or less in four consecutive games and 27 of 39 this season.
• Jack Wolger has held opponents without an earned run in seven of his past eight appearances.
• All nine Bears in the starting lineup tallied at least one hit, led by Dylan Beavers (3-for-4), who had his first three-hit effort since March 13.
• Darren Baker (2-for-4) stuffed the box score with two runs, two stolen bases, one RBI and a double.
• Nathan Martorella drove in three runs, his first RBIs since April 2.

 
UP NEXT
The series resumes at 2 p.m. PDT Saturday from Husky Ballpark. Sean Sullivan will get the ball for his 11th start of the season.
 
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