Bears Win Big At No. 18 Louisville

LOUISVILLE – The California baseball team (15-11, 6-5 ACC) evened its three-game ACC series at No. 18 Louisville (19-7, 4-4 ACC) with a come-from-behind 14-10 victory Saturday at Jim Patterson Stadium. Jarren Advincula (3-6, 3 R, 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI) had the first two-homer game of his career, drove in a career-high five and a career-high-tying three runs to lead a Golden Bears' squad that scored the game's final seven runs after trailing 10-7 after five innings. Advincula also extended his season-high and hitting streaks to 21 and 12 games.

Max Handron (3-4, 4 R, 2B, HR, HBP) and Carl Schmidt (2-5, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI) also homered and had multiple-hit games with Handron scoring a career-high four runs and picking up a season-high three hits, while PJ Moutzouridis (3-5, 2B, RBI) and Jacob French (2-5, 2B) had multiple-hit contests.

Oliver de la Torre improved to 2-2 on the season by earning the win with a career-high 5.2 innings of stellar relief as the final of four Cal pitchers. De la Torre struck out a career-high eight and limited the Cardinals to one run, two hits, one walk and one hit batsmen.

Cal started its comeback in the top of the sixth when Advincula hit his first triple of the season with two outs and scored on a passed ball to get the Bears within 10-8 before the Bears regained the lead by scoring four times with two outs in the seventh. Handron had the key blow with a two-run double before Schmidt put the Bears ahead 11-10 when he singled up the middle to bring home Handron. Schmidt scored the Bears fourth and final run of the frame when Louisville third baseman Jake Munroe dropped Advincula's pop up.

Handron and Schmidt started the ninth with back-to-back solo homers to provide a pair of insurance runs.

Louisville finished with four home runs including two from Tague Davis (2-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, BB) and one each from Zion Rose (2-5, R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI) and Lucas Moore (1-4, 2 R, HR, RBI, HBP) with Davis and Rose the lone Cardinals with multiple-hit and multiple-RBI contests.

Jack Brown, the third of four Louisville pitchers, took the loss. He allowed five runs (three earned), four hits, one walk and one hit by pitch, while striking one in 1.2 innings.

Cal jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning by scoring a pair of two-out runs on an RBI double from Dominic Smaldino and an RBI single by Moutzouridis after Alex Birge had started the rally with a one-out walk.

Louisville got one run back in the bottom of the first when Lucas Moore led off with a solo home run but Cal put up another two-spot in the second on the first of Advincula's two homers that plated Handron for the first of his four runs.

Cal's early three-run lead was short-lived as Louisville scored six times in the bottom of the second with the first two coming on Tague Davis' two-run homer to cut the Bears' lead to 4-3. Eddie King Jr. restarted the Cardinals' rally with a walk, moved to second on a ground ball then came around to score on a pair of wild pitches to tie the score at 4-4 with the second one coming on a walk to Bayram Hot and being the last pitch thrown by Cal starter Gavin Eddy. David Shaw hit the first two batters he faced to load the bases and Zion Rose gave Louisville its first lead of the game with a two-run double before a sacrifice fly by Garret Pike plated Hot to cap the six-run outburst.

The Cardinals tacked on another run in the bottom of the third when King Jr. led off with a double, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a Hot sacrifice fly but Advincula got the Bears within 8-6 when he answered with a three-run long ball that was his second homer in as many at bats.

Louisville added single runs in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings on solo homers by Rose and Davis to close out their scoring in the contest before they were blanked by de la Torre over the final four frames. Davis led off the seventh by drawing a walk before de la Torre retired the final nine batters he faced in order.

Cal and Louisville conclude their three-game series with a rubber match Sunday morning live on ACC Network. First pitch is at 9 am PT.