DURHAM, N.C. - The No. 12 California Golden Bears (1-1) fell in heartbreaking fashion against the Duke Blue Devils (1-1) on a walkoff single by sophomore centerfielder Evan Dougherty in the bottom of the 10th inning on Saturday afternoon at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, North Carolina. Cal jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after two, but surrendered that in the third, falling behind 5-3 after a five-run rally by the Blue Devils. The Bears bounced back to tie the game at 5-5 in the fifth, thanks largely in part to senior outfielder Nick Halamandaris' 2-for-5 day with 3 RBI, but eventually fell in extras.
"This was a tough ballgame to lose," head coach David Esquer said on Saturday from Durham. "We did some things well, especially against their starter in scoring early. Nick (Halamandaris) was very productive today for us. Ryan (Mason) was the victim of one bad inning, but pitched gutsy once again. We still haven't quite found our defensive rhythm, as we made a couple of mistakes that cost us runs, but we eventually will be solid defensively. I also thought that Tanner (Dodson) was impressive in his debut."
Cal jumped on Duke senior left-handed starter, Trent Swart early, tallying two runs in the top of the first, courtesy of a Halamandaris two-run, two out single. It could have been worse for the Blue Devils, as Cal leadoff hitter, junior centerfielder Aaron Knapp ripped a leadoff double to right, but was cut down trying to stretch it into a triple. The Bears did their damage in the opening frame with two outs, as senior third baseman Mitchell Kranson reached on an error, then senior first baseman Brenden Farney was hit by a pitch, and sophomore catcher Brett Cumberland worked a full count walk to load the bases. Halamandaris then laced the first pitch he saw into center, to plate a pair and open the scoring and provide the Bears with a 2-0 lead in the early going.
The Bears tacked on another run in the top of the second, as junior second baseman Robbie Tenerowicz ripped a leadoff double off of the Blue Monster in left field to open the inning. Knapp then smoked an RBI single into center on a line to knock in his first run of the season, and record his second hit of the day, stretching the lead to 3-0.
Duke fought back to take the lead in the bottom half of the third inning, plating five runs to grab a 5-3 advantage. With one away, freshman catcher Chris Proctor hit a cue-shot double down the left field line past a diving Kranson. Sophomore third baseman Max Miller then picked up his second hit of the day, doubling off of the Blue Monster in left to score Proctor. Miller came around to score on a Ryan Day RBI single on a line to left-center to make it 3-2. A pair of walks then loaded the bases for freshman shortstop Zack Kone, who singled in to left-center to plate two more on his first career hit. An infield single on a high chopper by freshman outfielder Jimmy Herron, and subsequent throwing error by Cal sophomore shortstop Preston Grand Pre allowed a fifth run to score in a big frame for the Blue Devils.
After a shutdown inning by Mason, where he retired the Blue Devils in order on three ground balls, using just seven pitches to do so, the Bears rallied back to tie the game at 5-5 in the top of the fifth. Senior first baseman Brenden Farney led off the inning with a four-pitch walk, and with one out, the hot-hitting Halamandaris smashed a one-out RBI triple to the right field corner to cut the lead to 5-4. Grand Pre then came up with a good bit of situational hitting, driving home Halamandaris on an RBI groundout to tie the game for the Bears.
Both teams had their share of chances in the following innings, and Cal freshman reliever Tanner Dodson (0-1) worked some magic to escape danger in the seventh inning in his first collegiate appearance. After Mason's exit was preceded by a leadoff double down the line in left by sophomore infielder Ryan Day, Dodson retired one hitter on a sacrifice bunt, and then after walking Jake Lobosky, Dodson induced a 6-3 inning-ending double play to get out of the jam.
Cal nearly took the lead in the top half of the ninth after putting two runners on to start the inning. Kranson singled on a liner to right, which was followed by a bunt single by Farney to the first base side of the mound. Cal was unable to cash in, however, as senior lefty reliever Nick Hendrix (1-0) retired the next three Bears in order with a strikeout and two successive pop outs to end the inning.
That set the stage for the theatrics in the bottom of the 10th, as with two outs, Kone reached on an infield single deep in the hole at short. A double down the right field line by Herron looked like it might win the game at the moment, but Duke's third base coach held Kone up at third. Dougherty then sent the first pitch he saw on a rope into shallow center field to plate Kone for the walkoff win. Dodson finished the day taking the hard-luck loss, but the freshman impressed in relief, logging 3.2 innings, allowing just the one run on four hits and fanning one.
The Bears are back in action early tomorrow morning for the rubber game of the three-game set at 8 a.m. PT from Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Sophomore lefty Matt Ladrech (7-4, 2.72 ERA in 2015) is slated to oppose Duke senior right-hander Brian McAfee (5-2, 1.77 ERA in 2015 at Cornell). Fans are encouraged to follow along with Baseball on social media throughout the season. Get live updates during games on Twitter @Cal_Baseball, or look for updates and photos on Facebook at Facebook.com/CalBaseball and @CalBaseball on Instagram. Fans can also log on to CalBears.com for full game recaps and the latest news.
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
R |
H |
E |
No. 12 Cal |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
9 |
1 |
Duke |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
13 |
1 |