California Sports Journal

Gold pitched seven solid innings Friday, allowing three hits, while striking out five and walking two. He threw a season-high 115 pitches, 69 for strikes, and the Bears backed him with 18 hits, their best offensive effort of the year, also a season-high.

But Gold (2-2, 6.19) said the win was just a learning experience.

“In the future I’ll look back on this game and how it felt and build on it.” He attributed his success on the mound to his ability to keep the ball low, and use a mix of sliders in the high 80s and change-ups.

Whether it was the lingering satisfaction of knocking off Stanford last weekend, or the thrill of trouncing the Rebels in the bright sun and mid-80s heat, the Bears were on fire on Friday.

Freshman second baseman Josh Satin was 4-4 and with three RBI, sophomore center fielder Brennan Boesch had four hits, and senior third baseman Matt Einspahr smacked a two-run homer for the Bears, who improved to 12-6. Mike Van Winden, Jeremy Burchett, and Garrett Bussiere chipped in two hits apiece as well for Cal.

Gold got off to a bit of a wild start in the first inning, and threw 29 pitches, allowing the Rebels to take an early 1-0 lead. But Cal evened the score in the bottom half, and by the second inning, Gold had settled in. The Bears surged ahead 3-1 in the second and continued to build on their lead, as UNLV (3-14) appeared helpless for much of the game.

Last season at this time Cal was 8-10, and finished at the bottom of the Pac-10 conference. So what's different about this year's team?

According to Gold and center fielder Brennan Boesch, the key has been confidence and camaraderie. Both said their team has greatly enhanced its game by startng the season 12-6.

“We have a lot of confidence right now, so we need to keep it rolling and build off that confidence,” Gold said.

In addition, Boesch said the team has become closer than they have been in previous years.

“We have a lot of guys that hang out together on and off the field and we all want to win,” he said.

Whether it’s the fraternity-like closeness or the satisfaction of their winning record, something is working for the Cal team. Like Gold and Boesch, Coach David Esquer also attributes the team’s accomplishments thus far to the cohesiveness of the players.

“It’s important. There’s only a certain level your team can be if they do not care for each other,” he said. “The team chemistry can be the difference between a good team and a great team.”

The Bears continue with the three-game series vs. UNLV again Saturday and Sunday, and then head to Stockton to play Pacific on Tuesday. Esquer said if the team continues to play this well, the Bears could rival Stanford for the conference title.

“I think we’re on our way to doing that,” he said. “We’ll go as far as our pitchers will take us. If our pitchers take us to that level, then we will play that level.”