Peyton Schulze Busts Out, Bears Down Buckeyes, 16-1

FRISCO, Texas – In the span of 24 minutes Peyton Schulze smashed a grand slam and clubbed a two-run double as the California baseball team defeated Ohio State 16-1 on Saturday evening at the Frisco Classic.

Cal (7-2) scored a season-high 16 runs on 11 hits, scoring five runs in the first and 10 in the top of the fifth. Contributions came throughout the lineup as seven players recorded at least one RBI. Another big factor for the Golden Bears’ offensive fireworks was their lethality in two-strike counts. Cal was 7-for-21 with a walk, a home run, a double, and 10 RBI in 0-2 counts.

Ohio State (4-6) finished the night with one run on four hits. The lone run came in the bottom of the fourth inning on a solo home run by Marcus Ernst.

Schulze busted out of an early season slump in a big way. In the top of the first inning, he smashed a two-run single the opposite way that scored Rodney Green Jr. and Carson Crawford as part of the five-run first inning.

In the monstrous fifth inning, Lomavita once again led off with a single. Back-to-back walks to Green Jr. and Crawford loaded the bases for Tucker Bougie who got an RBI after being hit by a pitch to keep the bases loaded for Schulze who jumped all over an 0-2 slider for a grand slam over the left field fence. Dom Souto, Lomavita, and Crawford also collected RBIs in the fifth.

Schulze’s home run was his first as a Golden Bear and the third of his collegiate career. He finished the night 3-for-5 with two runs scored, and seven driven in. Lomavita and Crawford also collected multiple hits. Lomavita was 3-for-5 with two runs and two driven in with a double. Crawford also had a double. Cal had five extra-base hits on the evening.

Paulshawn Pasqualotto (1-0) was the recipient of the Bears’ early run support. The junior tossed a season-high four innings, scattering three hits, one earned run with no walks, and two strikeouts. He shook off the home run by Ernst and retired the next three batters he faced.

Connor Sullivan came in to pitch the final three frames for the Bears and was brilliant, holding OSU to one hit while striking out four for his first save of the season. The four strikeouts match his career-high set at Houston on February 19.

Ohio State starter Justin Eckhardt (0-2) finished the first but did not come out for the second. He was one of six pitchers OSU used to get through seven innings.

The last time the Bears scored 15+ runs in a game came on May 20, 2022, when they scored 18 in an 18-2 win over Utah.

UP NEXT

The Bears wrap up the Frisco Classic tomorrow morning when they take on Mississippi State at 9 am PT. Sunday’s game will feature live stats and will be streamed on D1Baseball.com.

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