Oregon State Beavers take 2 out of 3 from Bears

All in all, the series will be looked back as a semi-success. The Bears did what they needed to do; they got at least one of out of the series against the #3 team of the country. But looking back, you have to think of what could have been.

After Friday’s game was rained out, the Cal played two on Saturday. Despite Bear ace Erik Johnson two-hitting the Beavers, the Bears fell 3-0. Key mistakes cost Johnson; he walked 6, suffered from an error, and beaned a Beaver. That’s 8 free base runners, and that cost him despite his 9 K strong performance. Cal’s offense reached base via a hit 9 times, but only two walks and the hits being spread out led to the shutout.

In the second game of the day, the Bears took it to the Beavers. Justin Jones delivered a fine performance, throwing a complete game with 8 strikeouts and just allowing two runs. A three run fifth gave Jones all the run support he needed, as a Tony Renda two run home run and Austin Booker’s RBI single provided the blows. A 6-2 victory was the end result as the Bears picked up a crucial road win.

Renda capitalized on the momentum from Saturday, as he led off the Sunday game with a solo shot to give Cal an early 1-0 lead. He proved to be all of Cal’s offense, as he doubled in the other run. Unfortunately, that would be not enough, as surprise starter Kevin Miller only got through 2 innings, giving up 3 runs. The superior effort from Oregon State earned them a 4-2 win and gave them the series victory.

The Bears are now off until next Tuesday, as they’ll get an off week to prepare for the stretch run. It should be useful to rest some tired arms and get a gameplan together to battle powerhouses such as UCLA and Stanford. Go Bears!