Streaking Bears Make Clean Sweep of Dirtbags

In a season already full of statements from the No. 11 Cal baseball team, this one may have been the biggest.

The Bears defeated Long Beach State 4-3 on Sunday, completing a weekend sweep in which they simply outplayed the No. 5 team in the country for three straight days.

"It's huge," sophomore center fielder Brett Jackson said. "Huge. We're pumped. We've been coming out and putting in hard work and it's paying off."

Jackson came up with the main offensive blow for Cal on Sunday at Evans Diamond with one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning. With the Bears (18-5-1) clinging to a 2-1 lead, Jackson laced a fastball from Dirtbags reliever Nick Vincent off the glove of left fielder T.J. Mittelstaedt, scoring Charlie Cutler from third base and David Cooper from second.

"(I was) just looking for a ball that I could put some solid contact on," Jackson said. "He left it out over the plate, I put my best swing on it, and I've been struggling at the dish a little bit so it felt good to put some good metal on it and get some runs for the team."

It proved to be huge as LBSU (17-7) pushed across two runs in the top of the eighth on a bases-loaded single by Brandon Godfrey, who speared an outside fastball from Cal closer Matt Gorgen into left to bring the Dirtbags to within one.

But after re-loading the bases with a walk to Devin Lohman, Gorgen got pinch hitter Ted Lemasters to fly out to Jackson, ending the inning and the threat. Gorgen then retired the top of the LBSU lineup in order in the ninth, earning his fourth save of the year.

"Our strength is Matt Gorgen and Matt Gorgen's strength is to be aggressive and throw his pitches," coach David Esquer said. "With Matt Gorgen, if it's on the line, he's the guy we want."

Gorgen set Dirtbags right fielder and Bears transfer Jason Corder down on three straight fastballs to end the ninth.

"It was kind of bittersweet," Gorgen said. "You don't want to see a friend do bad, but at the same time for us to sweep the series ... It was pretty sweet."

Cal's grind-it-out win on Sunday was in stark contrast to its 10-6 slugfest victory the day before, and the 6-1 win engineered by Tyson Ross on Friday.

"We beat them in all different kinds of ways," senior Josh Satin said. "We outslugged them one game. The first day we outpitched them ... It just shows how many different ways we can play."

Ross didn't allow a run in eight strong innings Friday, dominating LBSU with a fastball clocked between 90-94 miles per hour and a biting slider. The Bears' ace struck out six and allowed just five hits, improving his record to 4-0 and lowering his ERA to a stingy 1.80.

"As long as I can get out there and pitch my game, I don't think it really matters who we're playing," Ross said.

Cal got another stellar pitching performance in relief Saturday, as Kevin Miller threw 2 2/3 hitless innings to stop the bleeding after starter Craig Bennigson allowed six runs through 4 1/3. Hard-throwing Dirtbags starter Vance Worley gave up 12 hits and nine runs-four of them unearned-in six innings as six Bears hitters had at least two hits.

Cooper led the offensive charge with two solo home runs, increasing his team-high total to 11.

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