Bears Fall to TCU in NCAA Baseball
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Cal's eagerly anticipated return to the baseball postseason got off to a rocky start Friday.
TCU broke things open with a six-run sixth inning and dealt the Bears a 13-2 loss on the first day of the NCAA Regional in Fayetteville, Ark. Cal will now face Central Connecticut in a loser's bracket game at 10 a.m. (PT) Saturday at Baum-Walker Stadium, while TCU moves on to face host Arkansas, which defeated CCU on Friday afternoon.
Darren Baker's run-scoring single in the fourth pulled the Bears (32-19) to within 2-1, and they trailed by just two before the Horned Frogs (33-26) rallied in the sixth. Hunter Wolfe drove in a game-high four runs for TCU.
Cal starter Jared Horn went five-plus innings and gave up five runs (three earned). He struck out six and surrendered seven hits and three walks. The right-hander, named to the All Pac-12 team this week, struggled with his command early in the game but did well to help Cal avoid a bigger hole in the early innings.
Horn (6-2) escaped the second with no runs after putting a runner on third with one out. But the junior wound up taking his first loss since March 16, which was his second outing of the season.
The Bears have played overall stellar defense in a second-half stretch that saw them win 21 of their final 28 of the regular season. But they were hurt by three errors and three passed balls Friday.
Cameron Eden singled home the Bears' second run to go along with Baker's run-scoring hit.
The four-team Fayetteville Regional is one of 16 four-team pools that make up the 64-team NCAA Tournament field. The good news for Cal in its first postseason appearance since 2015: It's a double-elimination format. And it's worth remembering that in 2011, the Bears lost their Regional opener 6-4 to Baylor, only to fight through the loser's bracket to win that Regional and eventually advance all the way to the College World Series.
Freshman right-hander Sam Stoutenborough, Cal's wins leader this season with eight, will take the ball Saturday against Central Connecticut (30-22), which lost to Arkansas 11-5.