The magical run of the Cal baseball team is in full-swing. Thanks to their solid hitting and pitching, the Golden Bears are only one win away from the Promised Land of college baseball: Omaha.
Two three run home runs and an impressive six inning pitching performance by Justin Jones set the pace for the Bears in a 7-0 victory over Dallas Baptist. After allowing a hit in the first inning, Jones settled down and retired FIFTEEN straight batters. Jones gave up the lone hit, a walk in the sixth, and struck out three on his way to earning the win. He left the seventh inning with an apparent arm injury, but luckily for the Bears it looks like it's only a bicep issue and doesn't involve the elbow.
Cal's offense provided him with plenty of support. Devin Rodriguez (the hero of Cal's epic comeback against Baylor) singled in the second inning to get the bats going. Mitch Delfino added another single down the right field line to advance Rodriguez to third, and Chad Bunting cleared the bases with a three run homer to left field to give Cal the early 3-0 advantage.
Marcus Semien added a triple in the sixth inning with one out, and Rodriguez's sacrifice fly brought him home to make it 4-0 Bears. A wild pitch by Dallas Baptist pitcher Brandon Williamson cost him an out, as Tony Renda reached first on the strike. Chadd Krist was walked on the net at-bat, and Semien's three run home run broke the game open. Semien also made some crucial defensive plays, including one double play to end any hopes of a DBU rally.
Cal must beat Dallas Baptist one more time to advance to the College World Series. They'll get their shot Sunday night in Santa Clara. The game will be shown at 7 PM PT/10 PM ET on ESPNU and streamed online on ESPN3.
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