BERKELEY, Calif. – San Jose State baseball gave Pac-12 foe Cal all they could handle but faltered late as they dropped a Tuesday midweek nonconference contest 9-8 at Evans Diamond.
Ruben Ibarra opened the game with a bang for the Spartans, belting a solo home run in the top of the first to give SJSU the early lead. The long ball was Ibarra's third of the season. Cal answered with a homer of their own in the bottom of the inning, a 2-run shot, to take the lead, but Ruben Mercado got retied the score at 2-2 with a sacrifice fly in the second.
After Cal put up a run in both the fourth and fifth innings, the Spartans responded with a big sixth, plating five runs to take a 7-4 lead. Drew Williams and Johnny Mendoza each laced 2-RBI singles and a bases-loaded wild pitch led to the other run.
Cal (5-11) answered right back with four runs of their own in the home half of the sixth and tacked on one more in the seventh on a bases-loaded hit by pitch to regain a 9-7 lead. SJSU got it back to within one with a sacrifice bunt by Mendoza, who finished with three RBI on the night, in the eighth, but they were unable to bring across the tying run.
Spartan starter Jake Hernandez did well in his first career start, working 4.0 innings with six strikeouts while scattering five hits. Josh Caldwell (0-1) relieved him in the fifth and was ultimately charged the loss after giving up five runs. Dom Eberle and Ben Polack also pitched in relief.
The Spartan offense tallied nine hits and left just five runners aboard, an improvement from the previous three games in which they left at least 10 aboard per contest. Jack Colette and Williams each finished with two hits and two runs scored.
The Golden Bears were led at the plate by Max Flower, who was 3-for-3 with two runs scored. Reliever Vaughn Mauterer (1-1) picked up the win late in the game while Joseph King closed out the final two innings to pick up the save.
The Spartans (5-12) will look to put an end to their six-game skid this weekend as they host Northern Colorado for a three-game series at Excite Ballpark.