May 7, 2011

Box Score

CORVALLIS, ORE. -

The No. 21-ranked California baseball team split a doubleheader with No. 3-ranked Oregon State Saturday, May 7 at Goss Stadium, defeating the highly ranked Beavers, 6-2, in game two and falling to OSU, 3-0, in the first game. Cal improved to 28-15 overall and 12-8 in the Pac-10. Oregon State goes to 33-11 and 13-4 in league.

In the Bears' win in the nightcap, sophomore left-hander Justin Jones was stellar, throwing a complete game in limiting the Beavers to six hits, two earned runs, no walks and nine strikeouts to improve his record to 6-4. Sophomore second baseman Tony Renda had the key hit for Cal, knocking a two-run homer in the fifth inning off of OSU left-hander Josh Osich, who the week before had thrown an no-hitter versus UCLA.

The Bears notched three runs in the fifth inning to overcome a 1-0 Beaver lead. Junior right fielder Chad Bunting started the inning off with a single, was advanced to second on freshman center fielder Louie Lechich's sacrifice bunt and scored on senior Austin Booker's RBI single. Renda later scored two more runs in the fifth inning on his two-run shot to left field - his second home run of the season.

Cal added another run in the sixth inning when sophomore third baseman Mitch Delfino scored on a wild pitch, and had two more runs in the eighth inning on Lechich's RBI single. Lechich ended up scoring the team's sixth run on an OSU throwing error.

The Bears lost game one despite junior right-hander Erik Johnson no-hitting Oregon State through six innings and limited the Pac-10 leading Beavers to two hits.

Cal outhit the Beavers, 9-2, against Oregon State's top starter, junior right-hander Sam Gaviglio, who improved his record to 9-1, throwing 6.1 innings with five hits, one walk and 10 strikeouts. Johnson (5-2, 7.0 innings, two hits, three runs, six walks, nine strikeouts), was as equally impressive as he had given up a run in the second inning on a sacrifice fly, but didn't yield a hit until an infield single to shortstop to begin the bottom of the seventh inning.

In the seventh inning, Oregon State's Brian Stamps got the big hit with a two-run pinch hit double off of Johnson.

A top hitter for Cal in game one was Renda, who was 2-for-4 with a double. Freshman center fielder Lechich also doubled for the Bears.

Cal is scheduled to play the final game of the three-game conference series Sunday, May 8 at 1 p.m. at Goss Stadium in Corvallis.