BERKELEY - A day after an offense-filled 11-7 comeback win by the Bears, a solid crowd at Stu Gordon Field saw the Bears pull out a victory in a lower-scoring affair, with the Bears prevailing 4-1 behind sparkling outings from starter Tom Mayer and reliever Connor Sullivan.
For 7 innings, it was a pitcher’s duel, with starter Mayer dealing, throwing 5.2 4-hit, shutout innings until reliever Jake Guardiancic came on to give up a game-tying single to pull the Bruins even at 1-1 in the 6th.
“Tom probably didn't have his best stuff today, which I thought made it even more impressive,” Cal head coach Mike Neu said after the game. “He went out there and competed and gave us 5 2/3 and zeros. His pitch count got a little up and we knew he probably didn't feel his best but he still battled through. And then obviously the bullpen did a great job. They got the one big hit to tie it, but after that, Connor was outstanding.”
The game remained knotted until catcher Caleb Lomavita lined a 2-run single, plating a pair of runs to pull ahead 3-1 in the bottom of the 7th.
The Bruins were threatening with runners on 1st and 2nd but an acrobatic diving catch by left fielder Jag Burden - a late-game defensive replacement - kept the Bruins off the board.
The Bears extended their lead to 4-1 with a roof shot by first baseman Peyton Schulz in the bottom of the 8th.
Reliever Conner Sullivan closed the door with a scoreless 9th to get the win with 3 shutout innings to give the Bears the conference-opening series win.
The Bears will be back in action at Evans Diamond Sunday at 1:05 to go for the series sweep in Berkeley.
