Bears Complete The Sweep Over 5th Ranked Beavers

BERKELEY – The California baseball team completed the sweep over No. 5 Oregon State winning 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at Stu Gordon Stadium. The Golden Bears got another clutch performance from Seth Gwynn who drove in three, including a 2-run home run in the fourth.

Cal (24-14, 11-10 Pac-12) picks up its first sweep over a top-5 team since the Bears swept the Beavers in March, 2016. Cal has swept its third Pac-12 series in 2024 – the most since the Bears swept Washington State, Arizona State, and USC in 2017. Late-inning heroics were once again on display as the Bears earned their ninth comeback win of the season.

For the first time all series, Oregon State (30-9, 10-7 Pac-12) scored the contest’s opening run. The Beavers took the early lead in the top of the fourth on a solo home run from Dallas Macias, the first of two home runs for Macias on the day.

Cal starter Tom Mayer flirted with trouble most of the afternoon but did not allow the Beavers to break through. Mayer struck out a career-high eight batters in four innings of work. The home run to Macias was the lone blemish in his four innings of work. The Beavers were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position on Sunday, and just 2-for-11 with runners on base.

Strikeouts played a key role for Cal. The Bears finished the day with a season-high 16 strikeouts, eight each from Mayer and reliever Trey Newmann (2-4). Newmann entered the game in the top of the fifth and went the final five innings, allowing just one hit – a 2-run home run to Macias in the sixth, and a walk.

After the home run to Macias, Newmann went into lockdown mode, only allowing one base runner to reach over the final 3.1 innings – during that stretch he struck out six, including the side in the ninth to end the game.

Offensively, the Bears got just enough run support. Gwynn belted a 2-run home run in the third to give the Bears a 2-1 lead – his third of the series and sixth of the year. In the seventh, Cal completed the comeback thanks to an RBI double from Peyton Schulze that scored Caleb Lomavita. Gwynn recorded the game-winning RBI drawing a bases-loaded walk.

Gwynn finished the day 2-for-3 with a run scored and three RBIs. Lomavita went 2-for-4 with a run scored and Jarren Advincula went 2-for-3.

The loss went to Oregon State relief pitcher Laif Palmer (1-2). Palmer entered the game in the seventh and could not get out of the inning, allowing two hits, two runs, and two walks. OSU starter Segura went 6.0 complete, scattering seven hits, and two runs with a pair of walks and eight strikeouts.

Macias accounted for all three of Oregon State’s runs. He went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three driven in. His two home runs give him six on the year.

Cal looks to extend its winning streak to nine games on Tuesday when the Bears travel to Stockton to take on Pacific. First pitch between the Bears and Tigers is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., that game will be streamed on ESPN+.