BERKELEY – Villanova had the tying run on second base in the top of the ninth but Christian Becerra shut the door as the California baseball team held on to win 8-6 on Tuesday night at Stu Gordon Stadium.
Cal (8-3) finished the night with eight runs on six hits, the three big hits were supplied by Kade Kretzschmar, Peyton Schulze, and Caleb Lomavita. Villanova (1-10) finished the night with six runs on 10 hits, including home runs by Collin Quintano, Jack O’Reilly, and Cameron Hassert to make it interesting down the stretch.
Kretzschmar continued to heat up, he got the Golden Bears on the board with a solo home run in the bottom of the second. The home run was his second in as many games and tied the game at 1-1.
In the fifth inning, with Villanova back out front 2-1, Schulze smacked a ball into shallow right field that scored Carson Crawford and Rodney Green Jr. The two-run single by Schulze was part of a four-run inning that saw Lomavita score on a wild pitch, and Jag Burdon score on a bases-loaded hit batter.
With Cal leading 5-2, Lomavita provided the Bears with a little extra breathing room in the bottom of the sixth. With two runners on, Lomavita smashed a ball over the left-center field wall for his third home run of the year and the 10th of his career to give Cal an 8-3 lead.
The Wildcats made it interesting in the top of the seventh inning when Hassert hit a three-run home run, the third home run of the game for Villanova, to bring the Wildcats within two.
In the top of the ninth inning, Becerra came into the game with a two-run advantage. After giving up a leadoff single, a two-out single and a wild pitch had runners at second and third but Becerra calmly struck out Craig Larson for the third and final out. It was the second save of the season.
Cal used seven pitchers on the evening. Andres Galan got the start and needed just eight pitches to get through the first inning. Jack Kirrer and Robert Aivazian made their collegiate debuts on the mound. Kirrer threw two complete, giving up a solo home run while striking out three. Aivazian got a strikeout and a pair of comebackers for his 1-2-3 inning.
Chris Stamos (2-1) got the win, he threw 2.1 innings, scattering a hit and a run while striking out four. Taking the loss was Cade Udell (0-2), he threw 2.2 innings, giving up four runs, all earned with three walks. He did strike out seven.
UP NEXT
Cal begins Pac-12 play this weekend when it travels to Tucson for a three-game series against Arizona. Friday’s opener is scheduled to start at 5 pm PT and will be streamed on Arizona Livestream-3. Live stats will also be available at CalBears.com.
Related:
Peyton Schulze Busts Out, Bears Down Buckeyes, 16-1
Bears Roll to 6-1 with Doubleheader Sweep of UConn and Cal Poly
