On a day when the cloudless sky and the simmering heat embodied the perfect ballgame scene, Cal’s hitting with runners in scoring position was anything but.
Until the bottom of the ninth inning, that is, when an explosion of clutch-hitting, capped by a line-drive RBI single from shortstop Mike Reuvekamp, rendered the Bears walk-off winners, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon at Evans Diamond, giving the Bears the series victory.
“It’s a Sunday game — I think both sides came out a little punch-drunk,” said Bears coach David Esquer. “It took the adrenaline of the ninth inning to jump-start us.”
Washington State starter Scott Simon mixed a hard fastball with a devastating slider to shut the Bears down for seven innings. Reliever Kellen Camus held Cal (18-21, 7-11 in the Pac-12) scoreless in the eighth. An RBI single by Washington State first baseman Jason Monda to give the Cougs a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning looked like it would make the difference.
It was a scoreless pitchers’ duel highlighted by sparkling defensive plays and a litany of strikeouts. Simon was matched by a stellar combined effort from starter Dylan Nelson and relievers Keaton Siomkin and Logan Scott.
“I thought (Nelson) spotted his fastball really well today,” Esquer said. “Quite frankly, the umpire was working well with him on both corners.”
Camus looked shaky in the eighth inning, struggling with command and allowing a couple of baserunners to reach. But Washington State coach Donnie Marbut stuck with him in the bottom of the ninth to face the bottom of the Bears’ order.
Camus’ command issues persisted facing leadoff hitter Nick Halamandaris. The sophomore right-hander from Olympia, Wash., walked the first baseman on four pitches; all four offerings sailed far away from the strike zone. Sean Peters went to first base to pinch-run for Halamandaris.
After throwing a first-pitch ball to pinch-hitter John Soteropulos, Cougars pitching coach Gregg Swenson strolled out to the mound to counsel Camus. Soteropulos squared up a bunt on the next pitch, moving Peters to second base.
“(We bunted out of) desperation,” Esquer said. “You’re not counting on three hits there. We hadn’t got that all day long. I figured you get the game to extras, and you may just outlast them.”
The light-hitting speedster Brian Celsi came to the plate 1-for-3 on the day. Camus labored, taking eons between pitches and struggling to locate the strike zone. On a 3-1 count, Celsi slapped a soft grounder to Trace Tam Sing at shortstop. Tam Sing fielded it cleanly, but Celsi’s speed forced Tam Sing to throw to second, attempting to catch Peters off guard; the attempt failed.
The brewing excitement was palpable in the Evans Diamond stands. Mitchell Kranson wasted no time channeling the momentum, swinging at the first pitch and pushing a single through the right side. Peters scored easily from second base. The Bears had runners on the corners with one out.
Reuvekamp finished the job, whacking a line-drive to center field and knocking in Celsi for the game-winning RBI.
“It was going to be one of those weekends where you read about Monda being the hero of the weekend,” Esquer said. “We were lucky to come up with our own heroes at the end.”
Contact Michael Rosen at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @michaelrosen3.