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…)

Taking the week off for finals didn’t hurt the Cal baseball team (32-17-2, 11-10 in the Pac-10) too much, as the Bears dropped two spots to No. 15 in the weekly poll after coming in at No. 13 last week.  Stanford (31-19-2, 12-8), which had three games last week, also dropped two spots after going 2-1.  This weekend will be huge for Cal, even though UCLA (29-23, 11-10) has fallen far from its lofty preseason No. 1 perch.  The Bruins find themselves in much the same situation as Bears teams of recent years, going into the final weekend desperately trying to cash in enough wins to make the NCAA tournament. (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. >

A horrid weekend by the Cal baseball team’s pitching staff busted the team that was once at No. 5 in the country, according to Baseball America, down to No. 16.  The Bears (27-13-2, 7-8 in the Pac-10) have now dropped two conference road series in a row, and in both the Friday losses, starter Tyson Ross was wild, ineffective and downright terrible.  (Click here to read more…)

Tyson Ross didn’t seem like he was at his best today against Oregon State. That’s all right, though. Ross on a decent day is still better than about 90 percent of college pitchers on the best day of their careers.

The No. 7 Cal baseball team’s ace had some uncharacteristic trouble locating his fastball in the middle innings, gave up seven hits and walked three Beavers hitters in seven innings. But he allowed just two runs, stranded 10 runners and pitched himself out of a couple of jams in the early innings to lead the Bears to a 5-2 win over the two-time defending national champions and improve his own record to 5-0.
(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 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…)

After a three-win weekend, the No. 18 Cal baseball team should inch higher in the rankings coming out tomorrow from Baseball America. The 9-1-1 Bears have been rolling even without junior ace Tyson Ross, who did not start for the second consecutive weekend. Without Ross, sophomore lefty Craig Bennigson has stepped up big time, winning two big starts over the past two weekends, including a 10-strikeout effort on Saturday in a 4-1 win over Minnesota. (Click here to read more…)

The Cal baseball team felled yet another ranked team tonight in the San Diego Invitational, defeating No. 22 San Diego State 5-3. That makes two wins over ranked teams this weekend, and one heartbreaker two-run loss to No. 5 Missouri.

Overall, this has been a huge weekend so far for the Bears. They definitely have made some noise during the first tournament weekend of the collegiate baseball season. It wouldn’t be surprising in the least if Cal (5-1-1) is ranked in next week’s Baseball America Top 25. (Click here to read more…)