10:34 — Just got back from my quick visit to the dugout and field (had to do it — I had the creds, and I used ‘em!) and it was supremely cool. Guys looked upbeat, happy, talkative (their quotes are essentially unusuable banter however … Thanks Mike, Daniel and Todd … for nothing)

Thanks for all of you who tuned in to the live blog this evening. Hope you got something out of it and had a little fun. Matt and I definitely did. Keep checking back at dailycal.org for more Cal baseball coverage, as always, and have a great night!

10:17 — And it’s over, blessedly for the Bears. Braunecker with the comebacker to Smith who throws to first for the final of the game. Cal will leave this place winners tonight, as the most perfect song imaginable comes on — Lights by Journey.

10:16 — The plot thickens. Johnson doubles to right, but it’s not deep enough to drive in Poppert who has to hold up at third. Runners on second and third, two out.

10:14 — Bernatz grounded out to second, Lipkin struck out. That leaves Poppert as the last hope. And he delivers with a ringing single over Kobernus at second to drive in Zach Kim. Two out, the tying run at first base. Johnson’s at the plate. 4-3 Cal.

10:10 — Well, that went poorly. Smith with the wild pitch. Tonneson managed to grab it, Blake was at home to cover, but then the ball just fell out of Tonneson’s hand as he was about to throw. Weird. Cold throwing hand, maybe? Anyhow, that’ll bring in Ethel to make it 4-2.

10:06 — Smith walks Bobby Ethel, a pinch-hitter, and gets behind 3-1 on Kim. Kim bounces one off the glove of a leaping Guinn at short, and that’ll put runners at the corners with no outs.

Like Matt was commenting, maybe not the best idea to put Blake Smith in here. In the top of the eighth, Blake got into it with the home plate umpire after striking out, and home plate was none too happy about that. Probably not the most willing person in the stadium to call a close pitch a strike for Smith.

10:01 — Danny Oh got on with the HBP, but that’s all for the Bears in the top of the ninth.

Blake “Try and Hit This Heat” Smith comes in from right field to (hopefully — I have a BART train to catch) close things out for Cal.

9:56 — Yet another pitching change for the Dons after Anderson hits Danny Oh with an errant pitch. Kyle Lawton comes in with his 6.75 ERA (three runs in four innings of work). Danny Oh’s at first, with nobody out.

I would say on a scale of 1-10 (one being Chuck Norris-fearless, 10 being me at the sight of a shark), the Cal baseball team is about a five afraid of the seagulls. Some are in the dugout, all have hats and hoods on. Jeff Kobernus put his hands on his head … confusing because if you’re worried about a bird crapping on you, you’d think that your hat would be the preferable thing to be sullied, not your hands. But it’s all you, Jeff Kobernus. You do what feels right.

9:53 — Solid bottom of the eighth for Bugary. He K’s Braunecker and Chavez (pinch-hitter) and gets Yarrow to fly out on the first pitch. Bugary’s stuff is just nasty, as the Spanish would have it: Sucio.

9:46 — Guinn manages to steal second and third (third on a ball that the catcher was trying to frame for strike three), but Kobernus grounds out to short (Poppert, who makes a nice, quick throw to first to get Kobernus) to end the threat. But the Bears add one more valuable run in the top of the eighth, to make it 4-1 Cal.

Bugary out to pitch the bottom of the eighth, and Blake Smith was warming up in the pen earlier, so expect to see him in the bottom of the  ninth.

9:37 — As Hell’s Bells plays ominously and spectacularly for USF reliever Joe Anderson’s warm-up tosses, I’ll cue you in to what’s happened to this point. Jackson got on with a double and was scored by an RBI single by Guinn. Puts the score at 4-1 Bears, and Anderson on the mound. His ERA is 0.00, but he has one one-inning appearance. Play resumes with Guinn at first, no outs and Blake Smith at the plate.

9:29 — Things are getting intense up in the house. The game nearly got away from the Bears there, but Bugary hung tough. After the error, Bugary struck out Lipkin for the second out. Then, he walked Poppert to put two on. Luckily, Drew Johnson (who is having a game to forget — three strikeouts) bounced into a force at second to end the inning and keep things at 3-1 Cal.

But the true intensity is coming from up in the stands where the seagulls have created a drama far more compelling than Mad Men, Law & Order and the Sopranos — combined!! There are at least 100 seagulls (polling numbers brought to you by Matt Kawahara) and they are sitting in chairs, eating crap off the ground, flying about willy-nilly and generally creating massive havoc everywhere. I really can’t overemphasize this, folks. Matt and I are laughing, but only because we are safe from the horrors unfolding in front of us.

9:20 — Brian Guinn with a really nice play just then. Took a sinking liner by Zach Kim right off the dirt of the infield for the lineout. Bugary points to him like, “Yeah. That was you.” That’s the first out of the inning.

The next batter — Bernatz – reaches on a supposed E3, but I do not accept that scoring at all. Bernatz struck out swinging, Tonneson had to throw down to first and he just threw short. Canha had to stretch, and he still couldn’t get it, but it wasn’t from lack of effort. Anyhow, Bernatz is on first with one out in the bottom of the seventh.

9:10 — THEY HAVE DESCENDED. The seagulls are here, and in droves. I am so thankful to be in the press box right now, and not at the mercy of the bowel movements of about two dozen, popcorn and hot dog-eating avians.

In Cal baseball news, Bugary struck out Abel to end the sixth and strand a runner on second. Onto the seventh!

9:05 — Miller gives up an infield single to Johnson, then an RBI double to Yarrow with two outs in the sixth inning. His control is definitely waning, which warrants a pitching change — Michael Bugary. He comes striding out onto the mound with the air of a gunslinger going into a shootout. Seriously, no one is more badass than Michael Bugary.

Bugary inherits a runner, but you gotta stop and give Kevin Miller a ton of credit here. He’s done his job tonight, and beautifully. Ate up 5 2/3 innings, gave up just one run, saved the Cal bullpen from taxing midweek use. Big props to Miller, as I’m sure Esquer will express after the game. 3-1 Cal at the pitching change.

8:56 — Jeff Kobernus with the award for Longest Flyout of the Season. His Evans Diamond home run dies right in front of the 404 mark in center field. No shame in that out, because it ain’t an out in almost any college park. Cal fails to score in the top of the sixth, and it’s onto the bottom of the frame with Kevin Miller coming out for another inning (hopefully).

8:49 — Another pitching change for the Diamond Dons. Alex Kalogrides. He comes in with an ERA of 7.12 in 10 appearances. One out, no runners on for Cal and Canha at the plate.

8:34 — Impossible, improbable, intensely awesome. Pick your favorite superlative, because that play right there just warranted it. Brett Jackson struck out swinging, the ball got away from the catcher and he absolutely air-mailed the throw down the first base line. Zuber (the third base coach) did his best windmill impersonation, and Jackson did his best Jose Reyes impersonation, and he trucked all the way home. It’s a strikeout swinging and an error, as Jackson scores the Bears’ third run of the game in a most unbelievable fashion.

You could probably see Jackson’s smile from outer space when he got back to the dugout as he was greeted with many a congratulatory hug/high-five. He’s been struggling lately, so to see him come out strong — especially at a venue like this — is really encouraging for both Brett and the team.

In an effort to supply you with an equivalent Youtube video, Matt and I stumbled across this gem, which while not exactly what just happened with Brett, is completely awesome. Enjoy.

8:30 — Poor Tonneson. He picked the wrong day to start feelin’ the long ball. He’s had two Evans Diamond home runs tonight, one just a minute ago, that were easy fly balls in the expansive greens that are AT&T. Robbed by fate, I say. Let’s give him two courtesy homers for the effort.

8:27 — Miller with a 1-2-3 inning. In the words of Matt, “That’s a good thing.” Absolutely. The longer Miller’s out there, the better.

In the AT&T press box, you can see the TVs rigged up outside (which would normally be showing the Giants game). But they’re showing what appears to be NCIS (?) on one screen and a commercial with a lot of chickens on the other.

8:23 — The Bears tack on one more with a Jeff Kobernus single that drives in Mark Canha (he got on with a single). Scoring runs just looks so much cooler in at AT&T. Definition of legit: Crossing home plate at a major league park. 2-0 Cal going into the bottom of the fourth.

8:14 — WOW. Blake Smith with a major-league home run to left field that hung up there for a good while, considering whether it would go out or not. It did. 1-0 Cal.

Just FYI, the scouting report on Blake Smith is that he swings for the fences with pretty much every swing of his epic bat. Good news: Blake Smith is ridiculously strong and can crush pitches like that one.

8:10 — Kevin Miller walks Bernatz, but induces two fly-outs and a strike out to get out of trouble. He’s looked solid, so far, especially considering starting is where he’s had trouble this season. We’re through three, so seeing Miller last a few more innings would be fantastic for Cal, considering the Bears have a game tomorrow at home (2:30 against Long Beach State) and a three-game series against Oregon State over the weekend. They really need some fresh arms for the long week.

8:05 — Cal negates its best scoring chance of the day with Jackson on second and one out, as Jackson breaks for third on a pitch low and is tagged out. This kind of baserunning isn’t uncommon for the Bears, but it continues to be utterly baffling. Why would you green-light a guy on second with one out?

Guinn flies out to right to end the Cal half of the frame, and I SEE TWO SEAGULLS!! Advance scouts, no doubt. Unfortunately for me, it’s far closer to 8:09 than 7:50, so I will submit to Matt Kawahara’s superior knowledge of seagull feeding patterns. A valuable life skill, indeed.

7:57 — Pitching change for the Diamond Dons … Sure? Cameron Love (who won my award for most romantic name of the game) got pulled after giving up a double off the Levi’s Landing sign in right field to Brett Jackson. New pitcher is Garrett Luippold who has a record of 0-2 and an ERA of 12.41. Guess they just didn’t want Love to throw too many pitches tonight.

7:50 — Things got a little touch-and-go for Miller there, giving up back-to-back singles to Yarrow and Abel, before locking down to strike out Kim to end the inning. The fact that Miller’s struck out three already is very encouraging–shows he’s locating his pitches, which is key for a finesse guy like Miller.

I’ve noticed something cruelly unfair. The PA system plays entrance music for the USF batters but not for Cal. Excuuuuse me. I’ll have to generate entrance songs in my head. If you think of any suggestions, feel free to holla at me. I’m thinking Shipping Up to Boston for Mark Canha. His stunningly red hair makes me think of Ireland, obviously. If Michael Bugary comes out of the pen, I might demand Damn It Feels Good to be a Gangsta. All other players are open to suggestions.

7:45 — Cal was looking impatient at the plate again, not getting good swings or taking many pitches as Kobernus and Oh both went down quickly. But then Brady worked a full count walk, and Tonneson had a quality AB before a loooong fly out to left. Right on the warning track. It towered up there for a while, and looked like it might have a shot to go out (which would have been incredible). But unfortunately, it’s a long flyout and it’s back to Miller Time.

The closest I’ve seen to a seagull has been an airplane, so I’m not feeling good about the 7:50 prediction. I’ve made a huge mistake … that one’s for you, Powers.

7:32 — Miller had two on with two out. Connor Bernatz worked a full count, then singled up the middle, and Miller let a pitch get away from him and hit Derek Poppert. But Miller came back to strike out Drew Johnson (his second K of the inning) to end the early San Francisco threat.

7:21 — Brian Guinn doubles to center (it’s so funny to watch the outfielders run in panicked circles out there, so clearly unused to the huge expanse that they’re working with), Blake Smith tries for a splash hit, and we’re guessing that’ll be his goal the whole night, but he flies out to right. Then, Canha grounds out to second. One hit, one left on for Cal in the top of the first.

Miller on the mound for the Bears…which is ironic since coach David Esquer told me just a week ago that he wanted to use Miller out of the bullpen so they could utilize one of their “best weapons” several times a week. I feel deceived.

7:15 — First pitch by Diamond Dons starter Cameron Love is swung on by center fielder Brett Jackson, grounded to third and he’s thrown out at first. An inauspicious start for the Bears, to be sure.

My beat partner Matt Kawahara and I have just placed bets on when the seagulls will descend upon the crowds Alfred Hitchcock-style. He’s going 8:09, I say 7:50. It’s down in writing, so it’s official. Expect an update.

7:05 — I hate to start anything with an apology, but my sincerest apologies for starting this live-blog late. We had a bit of technical difficulties with the website, but hopefully those are straightened out now. Luckily you haven’t missed anything other than more of my mindless rambling, as the high school game before ours ran a little late.

Anyhow, onto the fun stuff. I’ve got to say, this is probably the coolest road trip that just about any Cal team takes all year. Can’t find anything bad to say about an excursion to AT&T Park, and the guys sure look excited to be here.

Kevin Miller’s warming up for the Bears right now, while the most excellent field maintainence crews here finish making the field look perfect.

It’s almost go-time, so expect another update in just a minute.