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. (Click here to read more…)

I sat down with coach David Esquer the other day to discuss the early developments of the Cal baseball team. Here are some of the highlights of the interview:

On adjustments to the pitching and defensive lineups:

“We’ve probably got to try to establish the pitching roles. We’ve got guys who’ve put themselves in position through the fall, but nothing’s in stone. (There will probably be) a couple infield adjustments. Try to put people in the right spots, but we’re gonna have a few kids who’ll play multiple positions. No lineup will be set until 20 games into the season, I would imagine. It’s not gonna happen quick. We’re not gonna come out of the chute and play the same lineup every day.” (Click here to read more…)

As the collegiate baseball season steadily creeps up upon us, the preseason watch lists have also emerged. The Cal baseball team-coming off its first postseason appearance since 2001-has a handful of players making noise on the national stage.

Sophomore right-hander Kevin Miller (you know, the fresh-faced freshman pitcher who didn’t give up an earned run in his first 44 innings) has been tabbed as a Wallace Awardwatch list-er. The Wallace Award is given to the best collegiate baseball player in the country and has been bestowed upon such players as A’s catcher Kurt Suzuki and Alex Gordon, third baseman of the Royals. In his first year with the team, Miller boasted an ERA of 2.90 with opponents batting just .196 against him, both good for second in the Pac-10.

Junior Brett Jackson, the Bears’ starting center fielder, has been named the No. 13 player in the country by the College Baseball Blog. Last year, the speedy outfielder hit .307 with 40 RBI and started all 56 games for Cal. He also led the Bears with 12 stolen bases.

Last but not least, Cal’s resident renaissance man-pitcher/outfielder Blake Smith-also picked up no less than three preseason nods. The junior has been deemed the No. 16 player in the country by the Blog, a second-team All-American preseason selection by Louisville Slugger and is also on the watch list for the Wallace Award. Smith, who will likely provide the offensive firepower for the Bears this season, was third on the squad last year in RBI (43) and was 3-0 as a hard-throwing relief pitcher.

During the summer, Smith was busy burning up the international circuit as a utility player on the USA Baseball National Collegiate Team. En route to a gold-medal, 24-0 season, Smith led the team in batting average (.327), and notched 13 RBI in just 20 games. On the mound, Smith maintained an ERA of 0.00 with 11 K’s in nine innings of relief work.

The Bears begin the 2009 campaign at home against UC Riverside on February 20 at 1:30 p.m.

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. >

Every Sunday, the Cal baseball team nominates a pitcher and player of the week based on performances in the previous week’s games. If Kevin Miller isn’t the Bears’ pitcher of the week tomorrow, somebody’s taken a few too many Blake Smith fastballs to the head.

Miller pitched two scoreless innings to get the win against Fresno State on Wednesday, then replaced Craig Bennigson in the top of the third today and proceeded to throw a career-high 6 2/3 innings of shutout baseball to lead Cal to a 9-3 victory and improve his own record to 5-0.

This was just the latest installment in what has been a phenomenal season for the right-hander from San Jose. As a true freshman, Miller has pitched 38.2 innings, struck out 38 batters and has yet to allow an earned run.
(Click here to read more…)