Bears Earn Run-Rule Win Over Hurricanes, Advance To Face Wake Forest

DURHAM, N.C. – The California baseball team got off to a strong start at the ACC Baseball Championship on Tuesday with a 12-2 first-round victory over Miami (31-24) at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The win came in the Golden Bears' first-ever game at the ACC's annual event that awards an automated berth to the NCAA Championship to its winner. Alex Birge hit two-run homers in both his first and last at bats to put the Bears on the scoreboard first and give Cal a run-rule shortened eight-inning victory. Oliver de la Torre pitched a career-high-tying 6.0 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out seven while facing only two batters over the minimum in an efficient 85 pitches.

P.J. Moutzouridis (3-6, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI, SB), Dominic Smaldino (2-3, R, RBI, BB, HBP), Birge (2-4, 3 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, BB) and Cade Campbell (2-4, 3 R, BB, SB) each had multiple-hit games. Four others – Jacob French (1-2, R, RBI, BB, 2 HBP), Ethan Kodama (1-3, R, RBI, BB, HBP), Carl Schmidt (1-4, 2 RBI, BB) and Jarren Advincula (1-6, R, RBI, 2 SB) – had one hit each as eight of Cal's nine starters picked up at least one of team's 13 knocks. Seven different Cal players drew a single walk while the Hurricanes' seven pitchers also issued four hit by pitches.

Birge's second-inning homer that checked in at a whopping 435 feet gave the Bears a 2-0 advantage and followed Campbell's two-out single.

The Bears blew the game wide open with seven runs in the top of the fourth inning that was Cal's second most in an inning this season to extend their lead to 9-0. Cal sent 11 hitters to the plate in the frame against four different Miami pitchers including starter and loser Griffin Hugus (3.0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO, 1 HBP). Hugus, who dropped to 5-7 with the loss, walked Max Handron and Campbell to start the inning before being removed for Carson Fischer – the first of three Hurricane relievers in the fourth including two who combined to face five batters without recording an out. Birge drew a walk before Kodama bounced a single through the left side of the infield to bring home Handron for Cal's first run of the inning. Campbell scored Cal's second run on an RBI groundout by Advincula, but everybody was safe when Miami shortstop Jake Ogden could not field the ball cleanly for the first of two Miami errors in the inning. Moutzouridis then greeted Tanner Smith with a two-run double down the left field line to score Kodama and Birge. French was hit by a pitch to force in Advincula with another run before Schmidt finished the scoring with a two-run single to plate Smaldino and Moutzouridis.

While Cal's offense was putting up a crooked number on the top of the scoreboard, De la Torre was in the process of posting six consecutive zeros on the bottom on his way to a victory that improved his record to 3-4 on the season. De la Torre retired the side in order in four of his six innings and retired each of the last seven batters he faced. He had at least one strikeout in five of the six frames he worked while allowing only a second-inning infield single to Bobby Marsh and fourth-inning double to Daniel Cuvet.

Cal put the game into run-rule territory in the top of the seventh when Moutzouridis singled with two outs, stole second base and scored on Smaldino's RBI single To put Cal ahead, 10-0

Ethan Foley came on in relief of de la Torre in the bottom of the seventh and was touched for a two-run homer by Tanner Smith to extend the game beyond seven innings. But Birge brought the run-rule decision back into play with his second two-run homer in the top of the eighth after Campbell had once again singled in front of him, and this time Foley secured the run-rule outcome with a scoreless bottom of the eighth.

De la Torre and Foley scattered five hits and combined for 11 strikeouts without any walks or hit batters.

Cuvet (2-3, R, 2B) was the only Miami player with more than one hit.

Cal (23-30) is the No. 16 seed in the tournament and will take on No. 8 Wake Forest (36-19) in the second round Wednesday in a game to be televised by the ACC Network. First pitch is slated for 6 a.m. PT. The Demon Deacons received a bye in the opening round.