Baseball: Cal Golden Bears Split Twinbill With Texas

The Cal Golden Bears split a doubleheader Saturday with the Texas Longhorns at Evans Diamond, taking the opener 2-1 before Texas bounced back for a 6-2 win in the nightcap.

Cal is now 2-1 and Texas 1-2 on the young season.

In opener, Cal’s Kyle Porter and Texas’ Dillon Peters locked horns in a solid pitcher’s battle.

The Longhorns took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second on an RBI single by Ben Johnson. The Bears knotted the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the third when Robbie Tenerowicz, who had singled, came around to score on an error by Texas second baseman Brooks Marlow.

It remained that way until the eighth. Derek Campbell led off the inning with a double and scored on an RBI single by Devin Pearson.

Porter wasn’t involved in the decision after working five innings and allowing one run on seven hits while striking out four. Reliever Ryan Mason (1-0) picked up the victory, working the final three innings, allowing two hits and fanning three.

Peters (0-1) took the loss, going 7.1 innings and allowing two runs, one earned, on seven hits, with two walks and a strikeout.

Pearson and Vince Bruno each had two hits in the game for the Golden Bears. Kacy Clemens went 3-for-4 for the Longhorns and Mark Payton had a pair of safeties, including a double.

Cal took a 1-0 lead in the third inning of the nightcap. Tenerowicz led off the frame with a single and later scored on a throwing error by Texas third baseman Andy McGuire.

The Longhorns came back to put up runs in the third and fourth inning and adding a pair in the fifth to take a 4-1 lead off Alex Schick (0-1), the freshman making his first start. He went 4.2 innings and allowed four runs, three earned, on three hits while walking four and striking out one. Texas added two more in the ninth inning on a two-run homer by Payton off reliever Collin Monsour, who allowed two runs on two hits and a walk in three innings, with a strikeout. Alex Martinez allowed a hit and a walk in 1.1 scoreless innings.

Cal’s other run was scored in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI single by Nick Halamandaris.

Lukas Schiraldi (1-0) got the win for Texas, allowing a run on five hits in seven innings, walking two and striking out two. Ty Culbreth allowed a run on a hit and two walks and struck out two working the eighth and Morgan Cooper got the final three outs, walking one and fanning two.

Halamandaris and Jacob Wark had two hits each for the Golden Bears. Payton had two hits, including a homer, for the Longhorns and McGuire drove in a pair of runs.

The series concludes Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. Pacific.