At Excite Ballpark in San Jose on March 10, Cal (13-4) fell in a surprise late-inning comeback to the San Jose State Spartans (5-11), snapping their 11-game winning streak to the tune of a 2-3 defeat in walk-off fashion.
The game started off with a bang for the Spartans. Right fielder Alex Fernandes went yard off Cal freshman pitcher Trent Roach for a home run to hit off the battle. Roach bounced back with three back-to-back outs and didn’t let another SJSU hitter cross home plate for the remainder of his four-inning appearance.
The second and third innings moved quickly, with three total hits between the teams. When the top of the fourth inning rolled around, junior designated hitter Hideki Prather singled up the middle with two outs to score freshman catcher Lawson Olmstead, bringing the game level.
The scorekeeper must’ve been counting the stars in the sky until the top of the seventh frame, when Bears freshman shortstop Jett Kenady hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring redshirt sophomore left fielder Carl Schmidt to retake the lead for a red-hot Cal team in search of their 12th straight win.
Uncomfortably for the Bears, the Spartans weren’t done yet. With two outs and a runner on second, third baseman Alan Ramirez doubled down the left field line to score second baseman Peyton Rowles to tie the game and head into the ninth.
The Cal offense could not get going in the top half of the final frame, only mustering up a two-out single. An opportunity had been presented for the Spartans to walk it off for the first time this season.
Cal freshman pitcher Take Kreis took the mound looking to send the duel to extra innings. The Spartans put two runners on via a walk and hit batter before the Bears could add two to the out column. Cal made the decision to intentionally walk Fernandes — the man who started off the scoring with the home run in the first — to load the bases. This meant Cal had to close the regular innings out against Rowles, who was 2-for-4 from the plate with a run.
As if straight from Sparta himself — or more accurately Benicia, CA — Rowles sent a bloop single over the head of junior second baseman Jacob French into right, sending the Spartans charging onto the field in jubilation.
This loss for the Bears snapped their 11-game winning streak — tied for the longest in program history and longest since 1989. It also ended a five-game losing streak for the Spartans.
The game saw the Bears outhit San Jose 10-6 and leave 13 runners on, compared to the Spartans’ five. However, more impactful was the fact that the Cal offense was only able to capitalize on two of their 15 opportunities with runners in scoring position, failed to convert their one opportunity with the bases loaded and went 1-for-4 with runners on third and less than two outs. Nevertheless, it was a disappointment to the Bear hopefuls.
“We just didn’t take advantage of some opportunities that were there. That’s something we just got to learn from and take into the weekend and the rest of the season,” said Cal head coach Mike Neu. “When we get those opportunities again, prepare for those, and those will go our way more often if we can put ourselves in that position more often.”
On the defensive side of the ball, it was very comparable, with both teams surrendering one error apiece and almost mirroring each other for strike percentage and fielding percentage.
At the end of the day, the win will be gas in the tank for the Spartans heading into Mountain West play and fuel for the fire for a hungry Bears team heading into weekend play against North Carolina.
When preparing for the beginning of conference play for Cal, the approach does not change.
“We’re preparing to do well every pitch, every game, every opportunity, and that’s not going to change,” Neu said. “We’re going to prepare the same way, compete the same way, do things the same way we did. No matter who we play.”
Cal will need to bounce back quickly, as it welcomes the No. 15 UNC Tar Heels for a three-game set starting Friday. Both teams will be craving victory, with the Bears looking to start off their improbable championship push in the win column and UNC looking to get back into the win column itself.
“It’s going to be an exciting series,” Neu said. “There’s going to be two very good teams going up against each other. It’s an exciting group of guys that play together, and they’re working hard. I think it’s going to be a fun team to watch moving forward.”