Tuesday Rally

BERKELEY – California erased a nine-run deficit with an 11-run fifth inning and went on to blast San José State, 18-10, in the Golden Bears' non-conference finale Tuesday afternoon at Evans Diamond.
 
Quentin Selma capped Cal's monster of a fifth inning with a go-ahead grand slam and the Bears scored seven unanswered runs across the seventh and eighth frames en route to their fourth consecutive victory. Cal improved to 23-19 overall with the win.
 
Tuesday's outcome looked grim for the Bears as they grabbed their bats in the bottom of the fifth, trailing 9-0. San José State (6-14) had seized a commanding lead with a solo home run in the second, following by an eight-run fourth inning. Cal walked five Spartans in the fourth – twice with the bases loaded – and allowed three hits, including a three-run home run by Ruben Ibarra.
 
Momentum swung into the Bears' favor the following inning when they sent 15 batters to the plate and came away with 11 runs scored. Keshawn Ogans roped a pinch-hit two-run home run in the second at bat of the inning before Nathan Manning delivered a two-run double to make it a 9-4 game. The rally continued when John Lagattuta and Dylan Beavers drew bases-loaded walks, sandwiching an RBI single by Ogans in his second at bat of the frame. Selma then blasted his go-ahead grand slam to right-center, giving Cal an 11-9 advantage.
 
SJSU got one back in the next frame before Mitchell Scott and Ian Villers tamed the Spartans' bats over the final third of the contest. Scott, who worked two scoreless innings, got an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play in the eighth before Villers closed the door with a 1-2-3 ninth.
 
After adding a pair of insurance runs in the seventh, Cal tacked on another five in the eighth on home runs by Cole Elvis and Beavers, followed by an RBI double in the gap by Darren Baker.
 
NOTABLES

• Cal's 18 runs scored are a season high and its most since plating 18 at Washington on May 23, 2019.
• The Bears set or tied other season-highs in hits (17), home runs (4) and walks drawn (8).
• Darren Baker (3-for-5) had his fourth straight multi-hit game and stole two bases. He is 10-for-16 at the plate since April 30.
• Dylan Beavers has homered in three consecutive games, the first Bear to do so since Korey Lee on March 29-31, 2019. He continues to lead the Pac-12 with 13 home runs this season.
• The quartet of Beavers, Baker, Selma and Ogans were a combined 10-for-18 with 12 RBI on Tuesday.
• Despite recording just 0.2 innings pitched, Connor Oswalt earned his first career win on the mound.

 
UP NEXT
Cal opens a three-game Pac-12 series against Arizona State Friday at Evans Diamond. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. PDT.
 
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