California Sports Journal

The game started as expected, with the Bears scoring five runs by the fourth inning and keeping the Hornets (8-17) from even reaching second base. But in the seventh inning Cal's sophomore pitcher Michael Cooper was replaced by Brandon Morrow, which nearly became the kiss of death when Morrow gave up five quick runs in the eighth. For high-flying Cal, which is bearing down on its first regional tournament appearance since 2001, the sudden meltdown was a shock.

Two of the Hornet runs were walked in compliments of a shaky Morrow, and then with a spurt of extra offense, what had been a 7-0 game became a 7-5 nail-biter. But with the help of senior pitcher Matt Swanson, who replaced Morrow after an inning and a half, the score remained in the Bears favor.

Bears Coach David Esquer said the poor pitching was not characteristic of Morrow, who was 1-3 with a 6.07 ERA in 2004. “It was a fluke,” Esquer said. “[Morrow] has been good for us and usually doesn’t do that.”

The talented Bears were able to compensate for the disastrous eighth inning thanks largely to sophomore team captain Chris Errecart’s hitting and the solid pitching of Cooper and Swanson. The victory was Cal’s eighth in their last nine games.

The Bears’ offense started in the third inning, with an RBI single by freshman short stop Kyle Spraker and an RBI ground out by sophomore center fielder Brennan Boesch. The Bears stayed in control of the game in the fourth with RBI singles from senior third baseman Matt Einspahr, Spraker and Errecart. The remainder of the Bears’ scoring came in the seventh with an RBI single by freshman second baseman Josh Satin, and then Errecart’s fifth homerun of the season.

Errecart said even though the game got ugly at the end, a win is a win. Errecart, who was 3 for 4 for the day, fully deserved the celebratory hug he received from his mom after the game. “I’m finally coming around,” he said. “It’s been a while since I’ve done well.”

Cooper (3-0, 4.30 ERA) was amazing in his second start of the season. During his six innings pitched he gave up three hits, no runs, no walks and had five strikeouts. The win improved his record to 3-0.

The Bears will now travel to Oregon State on April 1. Though the Beavers are a top 25 team, Bears’ second baseman Josh Satin said if his team plays as well as it did today, it shouldn't have any problems earning another win.

“We came out intense and we came out swinging. I’m just looking to show that we can handle anyone. I feel that confident,” Satin said.