Veteran Cast Leads Cal Renaissance

In 2005, the Cal baseball team was the first Pac-10 team to finish over .500 in conference play, and yet not get an invitation to the NCAA tournament. In 2007, the Bears were the first fourth-place team in the Pac-10 to not get a bid.

This season, things are different.

Cal started the year young, unproven and unranked. But they had a few trump cards.

On the mound, third-year starter Tyson Ross brings first-round draft talent to Evans Diamond.

At first base, one of the best hitters in the country: David Cooper.

And at second, fifth-year senior Josh Satin, who has struggled after an All-American season his freshman year, but found his stroke in an unexpected final season after going undrafted in 2007. To go along with a school-record 27-game hit streak, Satin has posted a team-high .444 team average, best in the uber-competitive Pac-10.

Together with their supporting cast of other draft-eligible juniors and some fresh faces, the Bears have put together a season unlike any in recent memory, compiling a 22-7-2 record that has them slotted as the No. 5 team in the country.

"We're in a pretty unbelievable season right now. It could be one of those that you remember the rest of your life," Satin said. "It's funny how we haven't gotten more than seven student fans in the past three years, and now we get some people to come watch the games ... It's just one of those times when everything's going well, it's just something that you'll remember forever."

It's been more than six years since Cal was last in the tournament, and 50 since the Bears last won the national title. But this year is special.

Satin and Cooper lead the Pac-10 with 14 and 10 home runs, respectively. Ross is 5-0 with a 1.97 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 32 innings. Closer Matt Gorgen has six saves to go along with a 2.14 ERA.

The offense has scored 228 runs in 31 games. This is a team that, as some players have said, can really do some damage in the tournament.

"There are just games that we know, even if we're playing good teams, it's like a consensus knowledge that we're going to win the game," Satin said.

While other Cal sports teams have witnessed a renaissance or have a history of dominance, the Bears have traditionally struggled on the diamond despite a healthy pedigree of major league talent: American League MVP Jackie Jensen, National League MVP Jeff Kent, Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Connor Jackson and fifth-overall pick in 2006, Brandon Morrow of the Seattle Mariners.

This season, other than Satin, Cooper, Ross and Gorgen, Cal has three other potential pro prospects, including catcher Charlie Cutler, powerful designated hitter Jordan Karnofsky and senior righty Alex Rollin.

"We have such a good blend of the kind of hitters that you need. Cooper is the guy that, he can do anything. He's the best all-around hitter in college baseball," Satin said. "Then we have Charlie, who's one of the best, he's a perfect two-hitter. He's exactly what you want in that guy. He walks a lot, takes a lot of pitches, can move guys over, can get hits with guys on – he's just the perfect guy."

With top-25 wins over San Diego, San Diego State, Long Beach State, Stanford and Fresno State, this team is going places, with Omaha, Neb., as its final destination.

"This team is not set on making a regional," Satin said. "We want to make the World Series, and win it."

When Satin came in as a freshman, his goal, along with high school teammate Brennan Boesch, was to take the Bears to a regional in their first year, to Omaha their second and to a College World Series victory their third. Their timetable might have been off, but it looks as if Cal may accomplish all three, or at least has a chance to, in 2008. And with a stout sophomore class, the future looks bright indeed for the resurgent Bears Nine.

"The team that we used to have, the one with Brennan and those guys, we had about five middle-of-the-order type guys," Satin said. "This year we have two middle-of-the-order type guys and a lot of guys who can hit anywhere and get on base. We have so many guys that can create stuff in different ways. Yeah, we hit home runs, but that's not all that we are.

"Right now, I'm excited to see where this season goes. I'm nervous, because I don't want it to just end."

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