Bears Suffer First Defeat of Season, Fall to Nevada 10-1
BERKELEY - The Bears were back at The Stu today for their third game of the young season after smashing Nevada to the tune of 14-1 and 11-3 to start their 10-game season opening homestand on a strong note. Apparently the Bears used up their allotted hits for the weekend as Nevada bounced back with an emphatic 10-1 win on Sunday.
6’5 soph hurler Oliver de la Torre was on the mound in game three and the Pleasanton native retired the first seven batters he faced before giving up back-to-back walks to start the 3rd. Two batters later, Nevada took the lead with a bloop hit by utility player Jayce Dobie putting the Wolfpack on the board followed by a 3-run homer by infielder Sean Yamaguchi later in the inning that snuck over the right field wall by inches to put the Bears in an early 4-0 hole.
Pitcher Logan Piper came on in relief and closed out the inning before surrendering a 2-run big blast to left to put the Bears in a 6-run hole in the 4th. A wild pitch by Cal pitcher Ryan Spalliero extended the Wolfpack lead to 7-0 an inning later.
The Bears finally got their first hit off of Nevada hurler Casey Burfield in the bottom of the fifth when LF Cade Campbell singled up the middle but Campbell and catcher Alex Birge were left stranded after a Seth Guinn strikeout ended the inning.
A Spalliero wild pitch allowed another run and a Kaden Taque walk forced in another, putting the Bears in a 9-0 hole in the 6th.
In the bottom of the 7th, frosh shortstop Elijah Clayton - son of former major league shortstop Royce Clayton - made his first appearance as a Bear, coming in for DH Ryan Tayman and immediately stealing 2nd. He went on to score after a Campbell single finally plated the first Bears’ run of the day, making it 9-1. Campbell leads the Bears in hitting so far this season with a .455 average along with 2 home runs and 8 RBI.
Frosh pitcher Miles Tenscher surrendured a final run to Nevada with a walk and a pair of singles in the 9th to close out the scoring, handing the 2-1 Bears their first loss of the season. They’ll be back at Evans Diamond Monday at 1 to close out the series.
Related:
Cal Opens Season With 14-1 Win Over Nevada