5:33: I just broke the first rule of being a sports journalist: I cheered in the press box.  Josh Satin, a fellow Southern-Californian and Dodger fan, a senior, just hit a walk-off home run to left-center field to win his last home game ever at Evans Diamond.  The Bears win 7-6 in 10 innings, out-hitting UCLA 16-13, but all that counted was one.  Satin was mobbed at the plate, and lifted up on his team’s shoulders, as he should be.  All four of his grandparents are here, and they all saw his 18th home run to win the game.  Boy, oh, boy, what a game this is, this game of baseball.  (Click here to read more…)

The Cal baseball team has ascended to No. 10 in the latest Rivals.com rankings, with Stanford sinking to No. 15.  Surprisingly, the Bears only moved up three spots to No. 13 with the Cardinal dropping to No. 14 in the Baseball America rankings.  I can’t say how shocked I am.  For once, I trust the Rivals rankings way more.  Baseball America must be joking.  The statement that Cal made this weekend was enormous, and the Bears took the wood to what was a top-10 team on the road.  Why they’ve only moved up three spots is beyond me. >

UPDATE 9:33: Cal staged a last-minute mini-rally, but it fell woefully short. Jackson fouled out to Braunecker to lead off the inning, but Dylan Tonneson cracked a solid single into left center field to give the Bears some hope. Canha came up and dunked a dying quail down into right field to advance Tonneson to third, and B.J. Guinn, in his first at-bat of the game, flied out to center to score Tonneson on the sacrifice. But that was all she wrote, as designated hitter Michael Capbarat grounded into a fielder’s choice to the shortstop to end the game.

Cal scored one run on six hits, with five errors, while San Francisco scored five runs on eight hits and committed no errors. (Click here to read more…)

I may not be able to be in Berkeley to see the showdown between the No. 11 Cal baseball team and the No. 5 Dirtbags of Long Beach State, but at least I have Gametracker. (Click here to read more…)

The No. 11 Cal baseball team (15-5-1, 2-1 in the Pac-10) again hit a stumbling block in its midweek game, this time losing its second straight extra-inning affair at Santa Clara, 7-5. The Broncos got to Bears closer Matt Gorgen in the bottom of the 10th, when Matt Long went long against the junior fireballer, tagging Gorgen for a two-run walk-off home run.

On a lighter note, senior second baseman Josh Satin just keeps on chugging. (Click here to read more…)

The No. 12 Cal baseball team looks to be back in proper form after a mid-week hiccup against 5-11 Sacramento State. Through three innings against No. 25 Washington State (13-5), the Bears are chipping away as usual, scoring a run in the second and a pair in the third. Senior Josh Satin is 1-for-2 so far, extending his season hit streak to 17 games. As a side note, the record-keepers in the media relations department have informed us that not only has Satin hit in 17 consecutive games this season, but he also hit in the last five games of the 2007 season, making his real streak 22 games.

This being Purim, let’s have a little fun with that. The record holder, Brian Horwitz (who hit in 23 straight from Feb. 9-Mar. 25, 2001), is, like Satin and myself, a Member of the Tribe (Jewish). Way to keep the record in the family, Josh. One more single tomorrow, and we can all wish Satin a hearty ‘Mazel Tov!’

More updates as the game progresses. (Click here to read more…)

The Cal baseball team got slapped hard by Sacramento State today at Evans Diamond. 12-6. Damn. I can easily say that this was the worst I’ve ever seen the Bears play in my three years covering them. Five errors by Cal and only four earned runs out of 12 for the Hornets. See tomorrow’s article in the Daily Cal for the down and dirty.

But for now, here are a few notes. (Click here to read more…)

Look for next week’s new Baseball America Top 25 sometime on Monday, because after downing three ranked teams this weekend and coming within a sneeze of beating No. 5 Missouri, there’s a good chance the Cal baseball team will be up in the low 20’s.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” junior pitcher Craig Bennigson said. “But, we’ll see how it goes.” (Click here to read more…)

Two main news items out of Cal baseball following the team’s 2-0-1 opening weekend. First, starting catcher Charlie Cutler will miss 8-10 games because of a broken pinky finger on his left (catching) hand.  Cutler is optimistic and has all the confidence in the world in backup Dylan Tonneson, who went 1-for-4 on the weekend with a run scored.

Second, junior ace Tyson Ross received Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week honors from the conference for his opening day start against Kansas State. Despite intermittent rain, Ross went five one-hit innings against the Wildcats, walking one and striking out seven.  The only hit Ross allowed was a leadoff home run to Kansas State rightfielder Jordan Cruz. Transfer Daniel Wolford finished the game for Ross, throwing four no-hit innings in his first appearance for the Bears since he transferred from Long Beach State.  Wolford struck out five and walked three to earn his first save.