Max Flower

Despite a valiant SJSU effort to stage a comeback win reminiscent of Cal’s most recent loss to USF, the Bears were able to narrowly escape with a victory after a clutch 6th inning performance.

A crushing extra-inning comeback from the Dons late in the rubber match barred the Bears from winning their first series of the season Sunday afternoon.

The Bears like their chances to surpass the Sun Devils if they produce a series win or sweep against the Huskies this weekend, since ASU will face No. 3 Stanford in a three-game set this weekend.

Despite a couple hiccups along the way, Cal handled its business and completed a three-game sweep of Utah, moving up to fourth place in the Pac-12.

In their second matchup, Cal put any concerns of another offensively deprived game to rest from the jump, batting around the order en route to six runs on six hits in the first inning alone.

Concretely, the Bears’ consistency can be improved by creating more offensive combinations that lead to RBIs, avoiding errors and keeping the opponent’s on-base percentage low.

Cal baseball’s weekend date against No. 7 Oregon State left both the team and the fans with mixed emotions. Despite grinding out a 3-2 victory in the opening game, the Bears could not hold off a Beaver comeback in game two, falling 2-3, and dropped the rubber match 5-10.

While Cal has struggled to find its rhythm this year, Oregon State has been firing on all cylinders and is putting together another run at the College World Series.

Grit is what Cal baseball exhibited this weekend as it swept Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. This series was essential to not only pushing the Bears’ record above .500 but also showing they can play well when confronted by a variety of situations.

In the final home series of the season, Cal baseball (29-19, 14-13) emerged victorious in all three games against Arizona (29-20, 10-14) on the back of a red-hot offense. The Bears’ first sweep against a conference opponent this year provided a much-needed jolt for their postseason push.