May 25, 2008
BERKELEY, CALIF. - Senior second baseman Josh Satin, playing his last home game at Evans Diamond, hit a home run to left center field off of UCLA reliever Brendan Lafferty to lead-off the bottom of the 10th inning and propel No. 15-ranked California to a 7-6 extra inning victory over the Bruins. The Golden Bears, who now expect to receive an NCAA Regional at-large berth on Monday (selection show 9:30 a.m. on ESPN), improved to 33-19-2 overall and 12-12 in the Pac-10. UCLA, who had shut out Cal, 8-0 Friday and 7-0 Saturday, dropped to 31-25 and 13-11 in conference play.
Satin's clutch roundtripper capped a spectacular college baseball game. The Bears had owned a 4-0 lead after scoring single runs in the second, fourth, sixth and seventh inning, only to see the Bruins tie the contest, 4-4, on Casey Haerther's pinch hit grand slam in the eighth inning off of Cal reliever Matt Gorgen. UCLA then appeared to seal the win by scoring two runs in the top of the ninth inning on a two-run single by Cody Decker for a 6-4 advantage.
But the Bears came roaring back when sophomore right fielder/pitcher Blake Smith led-off the bottom of the ninth with a home run to center field off of Lafferty (3-3, 2.2 innings, five hits, three runs, two walks, one strikeout). Sophomore third baseman Jeff Kobernus followed with a walk and was advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by junior shortstop Michael Brady. Kobernus then stole third base and scored on freshman left fielder Mark Canha's clutch double to left field for the 6-6 tie.
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After Smith (3-0, 2.2 innings, three hits, two runs, two walks, three strikeouts) was able to get UCLA first three hitters in the order out in the top of the 10th, Satin sealed the dramatic win with his towering shot - his 18th homer of the season.
Cal scored its first run of the day in the second inning on sophomore catcher Dylan Tonneson's RBI groundout. The Bears added another run in the fourth inning on Smith's first home run of the day, a deep shot over the right field fence off of UCLA reliever Matt Grace. Cal's third run came in the sixth inning on an RBI single by junior left fielder Charlie Cutler. The Bears' fourth run occurred in the seventh inning when Satin led-off the inning with a triple down the right field line and scored on Tonneson's RBI single over UCLA second baseman Alden Carrithers.
Satin and Smith both finished with three hits on the day, while Cutler, sophomore center fielder Brett Jackson and Kobernus had two hits apiece. Freshman right-hander Kevin Miller had a solid start for Cal, throwing 4.0 innings with four hits, no runs, three walks and two strikeouts.
"This weekend every run was a grind, so when UCLA got the lead late in the game today, it would have been easy for our guys to just say it wasn't our weekend," said Cal coach David Esquer. "But our guys didn't give in. I am really proud of this team. It was just a great college baseball game."
Home Runs:
UCLA: Haerther, grand slam in the eighth inning.
Cal: Smith, solo home run in the fourth inning. Smith, solo home run in the ninth inning. Satin, solo home run in the 10th inning.
