Cal Clinches

STANFORD, Calif. –  Stanford brought the tying run to the on-deck circle in the ninth inning, but California hung on for a 9-5 series-clinching win at Klein Field at Sunken Diamond Monday night. The Cardinal went through six pitchers, as Cal beat Stanford for the second time in the two teams' last 10 games. 

“We didn’t play well today,” said Mark Marquess, the Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball. “We are usually in the game, but today we gave them too much and they got a lot of clutch hits. We walked six guys, hit a couple guys, and it was just too much to come back from.”

The Cardinal held a 2-1 lead after two innings, but three Cal runs in the third was enough to pull the Bears ahead for good.

Starting pitcher Brett Hanewich (1-4) allowed the first four runs over 2.2 innings pitched. He allowed four hits, walked one and struck out another, while the defense was uncharacteristically shaky. Hanewich missed first base after catching a feed from first baseman Danny Diekroeger on a would-be force out to let the first run score. A throwing error by shortstop Drew Jackson tallied a second unearned run for the Bears.   

Despite the early miscues, Stanford pulled within 4-3 in the fourth. After Alex Dunlap delivered a two-out, two-RBI single in the second, Austin Slater grounded home Diekroeger to pull the Cardinal within one two innings later. The Cardinal capitalized on a wild pickoff throw from Cal starter Ryan Mason to move Diekroeger to second, before he went to third on a deep fly out by Alex Blandino.

Mason (4-0) was masterful after the error, putting zeros on the scoreboard for the next four innings. He worked into the ninth before being pulled after eight-plus innings and allowing five runs, four earned, on six hits. While he was shutting down Stanford’s bats, the Bears scored five times between the fifth and seventh. 

Mason walked Diekroeger and Blandino on eight straight pitches to get the hook before getting an out in the ninth.

Slater tripled to the right field corner and Brant Whiting walked off of reliever Dylan Nelson to suddenly give Stanford life in the final frame. The momentum was short-lived, as Cal closer Trevor Hildenberger came in to get his eighth save by getting two strikeouts and a groundout.

Slater had his team-best 14th multi-hit game and eighth multi-RBI effort.

Diekroeger moved his hitting streak to nine games, while Tommy Edman’s leadoff single in the first pushed his hitting streak to eight.

The Bears were led by four players with two hits, including Devon Rodriguez who drove in two. Cal had only five RBI in the contest as wild pitches and errors accounted for the other four runs.

Marcus Brakeman allowed four runs in three innings of relief and Chris Viall allowed one run in one innings. Griffin Weir and Sam Lindquist closed out the game with two clean innings for the Cardinal. 

Stanford travels to Pacific tomorrow for a 6 p.m. tilt in Stockton, Calif. The Cardinal is back on the road for three games at UCLA Friday-Sunday. 

Alex Dunlap's two-out, two-RBI single