Bears Take Two of Three Against OSU

Alex Rollin pitched the game of his career against Oregon State in 2007, shutting down the then-No. 8 Beavers in a 4-0 upset win for the Cal baseball team.

Yesterday, with the No. 7 Bears going for a sweep of the two-time defending national champions at Evans Diamond, OSU turned the tables in a big way.

Rollin couldn't get out of the third inning after the Beavers tagged him for four runs, Jorge Reyes stymied Cal's hitters for 6 2/3 innings and OSU salvaged its series with a 9-2 victory on Sunday.

"You get a little greedy," coach David Esquer said. "You'll take two out of three any weekend, but after you've won the first two, it doesn't always feel as good to win two out of three."

Tyson Ross had a solid start on Friday and Kevin Miller was brilliant in relief Saturday to help the Bears (21-7-1, 4-2 in the Pac-10) take an early 2-0 series lead.

But Rollin was unable to match Ross' effectiveness and the bullpen wasn't nearly as stingy in game three, as the Beavers (15-10, 3-3) put up two or more runs in four different innings on Sunday.

"Give them credit," Esquer said. "No one likes to get swept. Your back's up against the wall and you come out fighting, and that's what they did.

"We could've helped ourselves out with a little execution and some production."

Reyes entered the game with an 8.88 ERA, but several Cal hitters stressed before the series began that OSU's pitching numbers were not an accurate reflection of the staff's ability. The sophomore righty backed that up with a commanding performance, allowing just five hits and two runs, both driven in by Bears first baseman David Cooper.

Cooper hit his conference-leading 13th home run of the season to left field in the bottom of the sixth inning off of a Reyes changeup. He also had a sacrifice fly when Cal threatened with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the third, but second baseman Josh Satin struck out swinging to end the inning without further damage.

"(Reyes) had pretty good stuff," Cooper said. "He had a lot of run on his ball, wasn't afraid to attack his fastball.

"It's disappointing because we didn't play our best (Sunday), but we still won the series."

Ross struggled with his control in the middle innings on Friday, but still allowed just two runs on seven hits and settled down enough to record four of his last six outs on strikeouts in a 5-2 win. The Bears' ace fanned a season-high nine batters and improved his record to 5-0.

On Saturday, the Beavers jumped on Cal starter Craig Bennigson for three runs in 2 1/3, and had the bases loaded with one out in the third when Bennigson was lifted in favor of Miller. But the freshman struck out rightfielder Daniel Robertson on a fastball and pinch hitter John Wallace on a sharp curve to escape the jam and preserve the 3-3 tie.

"A little bit," Miller said when asked if he felt any pressure entering in that situation. "But I feel like pressure is what makes baseball what's baseball. It's fun. With the pressure, I feel like I thrive."

Miller gave his longest outing of the season, giving up only one hit-a harmless single by OSU designated hitter Jason Ogata in the fifth-and striking out seven in 6 2/3 scoreless innings to earn his fifth win in the 9-3 victory.

Michael Brady got the Bears on the board in the bottom of the second with a three-run triple to right-center, and Cooper hit a monster two-run shot into Edwards Stadium to spark a four-run third inning that put Cal up for good.

The Bears will have a chance to rebound this afternoon with a 2:30 p.m. game against Stanford (15-9, 4-2), which may move up from its No. 13 ranking today after taking two of three from top-ranked Arizona State over the weekend.

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