Second meeting
Junior shortstop Marcus Semien and the Bears face Virginia for the second time in the CWS Thursday.
Thur., June 23 vs. Virginia TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, Omaha, Neb. 6 p.m. CT
TELEVISION/RADIO:
The Virginia-Cal game will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN3 (Orel Hershiser, analyst; Mike Patrick, play-by-play; Kyle Peterson, reporter), Radio broadcasts include KFRC 1550 AM and KALX 90.7 FM
BEAR NOTES:
Continuing one of college baseball's most compelling stories this season, California (38-22, No. 8 Collegiate Baseball) plays Virginia (55-11, No. 2 in Collegiate Baseball) for the second time in the College World Series Thursday, June 23 at 6 p.m. CT (4 a.m. PT) at TD Ameritrade Park. Both teams are 1-1 in the CWS with Virginia defeating Cal, 4-1, Sunday before falling to defending champion South Carolina, 7-1, Tuesday. The Golden Bears rebounded from their loss to the Cavaliers with a 7-3 win over No. 6 Texas A&M on Tuesday. The Cal program, under the direction of 2011 NCBWA National Coach of the Year David Esquer , was slated to be discontinued after this season due to budget cuts, but was saved through fundraising efforts and has qualified for the College World Series for the first time since 1992 after sweeping Dallas Baptist (7-0, 6-2) in the Santa Clara Super Regional. Cal, featuring 2011 Pac-10 Player of the Year Tony Renda and the Most Outstanding Player of the Houston Regional Devon Rodriguez , had to go through the losers' bracket and win four straight games the week before at the Houston Regional to advance. Besides first baseman Rodriguez, whose two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the ninth led Cal's dramatic come-from-behind 9-8 victory over Baylor, five other Bears were named to the Houston Regional All-Tournament Team - sophomore second baseman Renda, junior catcher Chadd Krist , junior shortstop Marcus Semien , junior right-fielder Chad Bunting and freshman left-hander Kyle Porter . Rodriguez went 8-18 during the Houston Regional, including 3-for-4 with a two-run homer in the eighth inning in the final win over Baylor, and now has eight RBI in the postseason. Renda (14-for-40, .350, 2B, 5 RBI), Krist (11-for-37, .297, 4-2B, 3B, HR, 8 RBI), Semien (13-for-34, .382, 2-2B, 2-3B, HR, 6 RBI) and Bunting (10-for-34, .294, 2-2B, 3-HR, 12 RBI) have all been outstanding in postseason play as well. Porter, a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American, threw 6.2 innings with three hits, no runs, two walks and a career-high nine strikeouts in the 8-0 shutout of Baylor June 5, and improved his record to 6-0 with 6.0 innings (seven hits, three runs, one walk, four strikeouts) Tuesday versus Texas A&M.
Esquer, 46, is in his 12th season with a career record of 354-312-2 (.531). He was the 2001 Pac-10 Coach of the Year after the Bears went 34-25 and played in the Baton Rouge Regional (1-2). In 2008, Cal was 33-21-2 and competed in the Long Beach Regional, and last year the Bears were 29-25 and played in the Norman, Okla. Regional (0-2). Fifty seven Bears have signed pro contracts under Esquer, including first round picks Brett Jackson (CF, Chicago Cubs, 31st overall) in 2009, David Cooper (1B, Toronto, 17th overall) in 2008, Brandon Morrow (RHP, Seattle, fifth overall) in 2006 and Conor Jackson (INF., Arizona, 19th overall) in 2003. Esquer came to Cal after serving as top assistant at Pepperdine (1996-99), and No. 2 assistant at Stanford (1991-96). A shortstop at Stanford (1984-87), he started on the 1987 College World Series championship team, earning All-Tournament honors. Esquer played professionally for four seasons with Baltimore, California and Milwaukee.
NOTING VIRGINIA/CWS BRACKET TWO:
The Virginia Cavaliers (No. 2 Collegiate Baseball), coached by Brian O'Connor (eighth year at Virginia, 371-129-1, .741), are 55-11 overall and went 4-0 in the ACC Tournament, 3-0 in the NCAA Charlottesville (Va.) Regional and 2-1 in the NCAA Charlottesville (Va.) Super Regional versus UC Irvine (W 6-0, L 6-4, W 3-2). Top hitters for the Cavaliers are senior right fielder David Coleman (.367, 2 HR, 39 RBI), junior catcher John Hicks (.337, 8 HR, 59 RBI) and junior third baseman Steven Proscia (.326, 8 HR, 59 RBI). Virginia's tentative starter versus Cal is senior right-hander Tyler Wilson (9-0, 2.33 ERA). In 2010, the Cavaliers finished 51-14 overall, 23-7 in the ACC (1st), won the Charlottesville Regional and lost to Oklahoma in the Charlottesville Super Regional. The other half of the Virginia and Cal bracket includes defending 2010 national champion South Carolina (53-14). If the Bears win their contest against the Cavaliers, they would play the Gamecocks on Friday, June 24 at 6 p.m. CT (4 p.m. PT).
ESQUER NCBWA COACH OF THE YEAR:
After his team was scheduled to be discontinued following the 2011 season, coach David Esquer has led the Bears to the program's first appearance at the CWS since 1992, and on the eve of Cal's 7-3 victory over Texas A&M Tuesday, was named the National Coach of the Year by the National College Baseball Writers Association. Esquer's award, which was voted on by the NCBWA Board of Directors, was selected from a list that included all Division I Conference Coaches of the Year and the coaches of the 16 NCAA Super Regional teams. The Bears' program was reinstated through fund-raising efforts and has now made its sixth appearance in the CWS. Esquer led Cal out of the loser's bracket in the Houston Regional and defeated Dallas Baptist in the Super Regional to advance to Omaha. Cal entered the 2011 NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid out of the Pac-10 and was sent to the Houston Regional. After a 6-4 loss to Baylor in the opening game, Esquer's team got past Alcorn State, 10-6, and No. 13 Rice, 6-3, to face Baylor for the regional championship. Cal forced the if-necessary game with an 8-0 shutout behind the strong pitching performance of freshman left-hander Kyle Porter (three hits, no runs, no walks and a career-high nine strikeouts). First baseman Devon Rodriguez earned Most Outstanding Player of the Houston Regional honors with a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the ninth to lead Cal's dramatic come-from-behind 9-8 victory over Baylor to advance to the Super Regional against Dallas Baptist. The Bears, led by Pac-10 Player of the Year Tony Renda , swept Dallas Baptist, 7-0 and 6-2, in Santa Clara to advance. It is the fourth appearance by Cal in the NCAA Tournament in Esquer's tenure.
CAL IN THE WORLD SERIES:
With the 7-3 victory over Texas A&M on Tuesday, the Bears won their first College World Series game since defeating Miami, 4-3, on June 12, 1980. When Cal played Virginia in front of a crowd of 21,275 on June 19 at TD Ameritrade Park, it was the largest crowd to ever watch the Golden Bears play baseball. Cal won the inaugural College World Series title in 1947 under head coach Clint Evans , defeating former President George Bush's Yale team, 8-7, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Evans was instrumental in establishing the CWS. The Bears won the national title again in 1957 under head coach George Wolfman with a 1-0 victory over Penn State. Cal also placed third in the 1980 World Series under head coach Bob Milano , and was seventh in the CWS in 1988 and 1992 under Milano. Senior left fielder Austin Booker's father, Rod, was the starting shortstop on the Bears' 1980 squad, while Major League star Jeff Kent was a member of Cal's 1988 College World Series team. Similar to this season in which they faced the tournament's No. 1 seed (Virginia), the Bears faced the top seed in 1992, Miami, losing to the Hurricanes, 4-3, in 13 innings.
BEAR POSTSEASON NOTES:
Cal is now 43-24 (.641) in NCAA postseason games all-time, including 7-2 in 2011 (1-1 in the CWS, 2-0 in first-ever NCAA Super Regional and 4-1 in the NCAA Houston Regional). Head coach David Esquer has eight postseason wins, passing George Wolfman for second on the school's all-time list behind Bob Milano's 20 postseason wins. The last time the Bears won six postseason games in a row was 1957, and the seven postseason wins is the most for a Cal squad since 1980 team had eight. Cal's 38 victories in 2011 are the most wins since the Bears' 1988 CWS squad won 40 games. Junior right fielder Chad Bunting has had five extra-base hits in the postseason (two doubles and three home runs) for a .618 slugging percentage. Besides Bunting's three home runs, three other players have hit roundtrippers in the postseason - junior shortstop Marcus Semien , junior catcher Chadd Krist and sophomore first baseman Devon Rodriguez . The Bears have amassed double-digit hits in six of their nine postseason games and senior left fielder Austin Booker has had four multi-hit games in NCAA tournament action, while sophomore second baseman Tony Renda has gotten at least one hit in 13 of his last 15 games.
ANDERSON'S ACCOLADES:
Dixon Anderson , a 6-6 right-hander (Piedmont, Calif.) slated to start on the mound for the Bears in the June 23 CWS contest versus Virginia, was Cal's highest draft pick last season when he was selected in the sixth round of the June, 2010 Major League Amateur Draft by the Baltimore Orioles. This season, Anderson was a ninth round pick of the Washington Nationals. He is 4-3 on the year with a 3.90 ERA and has 41 strikeouts in 67.0 innings. An outstanding student, Anderson has a 3.61 GPA in society and environment and was the recipient of the Elite 88 Award presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average of teams participating at the finals site (Omaha for college baseball) for each of the NCAA's 88 championships. He was recently selected first-team CoSIDA District 8 All-Academic for the second year in a row and was first-team Pac-10 All-Academic in 2010 and 2011. Anderson's last outing was June 5 versus Rice in the Houston Regional, getting a no decision throwing 4.2 innings with two hits, three runs, one earned run, three walks and four strikeouts. His top game this season was a complete-game effort versus Ohio State March 20 (three hits, one unearned run, two walks, six strikeouts).
BEARS IN THE DRAFT:
While preparing to play in its first-ever NCAA Super Regional against Dallas Baptist at Santa Clara's Stephen Schott Stadium, the 2011 Cal program had seven players drafted in the June 6-7 Major League Amateur Draft. Junior right-hander Erik Johnson (Los Altos) was selected in the second round and was the 80th pick overall by the Chicago White Sox. Johnson was recently selected first-team All-Pac-10, as well as Pac-10 All-Academic. Marcus Semien (El Cerrito), Cal's starting shortstop the past two seasons, was drafted in the sixth round by the Chicago White Sox. Semien, whose father, Damien, was a wide receiver for the Bears in the early 90s, was a member of the NCAA Houston Regional All-Tournament team. Junior Dixon Anderson (Piedmont), a 6-6 right-hander, was a ninth round pick of the Washington Nationals. Junior catcher Chadd Krist (Petaluma) was selected in the 13th round by the Chicago White Sox. Krist was a member of the Houston Regional All-Tournament team - where he had three doubles, a triple and five RBI - as well as a first-team All-Pac-10 selection. Senior right-hander Kevin Miller (San Jose) was an 18th round pick of the Houston Astros. Miller is 6-4 with a 2.78 ERA and a save, and is second in the Pac-10 with 44 batters struck out looking. He has picked up 17 wins and four saves in his Cal career, and his 232 career strikeouts ranks sixth on the school's all-time career strikeout list. Junior right-hander Matt Flemer (El Cerrito), the Bears' closer, was selected in the 19th round by the Kansas City Royals. Flemer, a 2011 Pac-10 honorable mention selection, is 4-2 with a 2.02 ERA and is eighth in the Pac-10 with five saves. He has recorded 36 strikeouts with only eight walks in 35.2 innings this year, and won two games in relief at the Houston Regional. Outfielder Austin Booker (Fairfax, Va.) was the 33rd pick of the Oakland A's after a fine senior season in which he is batting .316 with nine doubles, two triples, a home run and 24 RBI. Booker, the son of former Cal All-American and Philadelphia Phillies Rod Booker , is 10-for-33 (.303) with two doubles and two RBI in the postseason.
RENDA NAMED PAC-10'S TOP PLAYER:
In a vote by the conference coaches, Cal sophomore second baseman/designated hitter Tony Renda was selected as the 2011 Pac-10 Player of the Year. Renda, who has helped the Bears to a regional berth in each of his first two years with the program, is currently hitting .335 and is in the Top 10 in the Pac-10 in three different offensive categories. He became only the fourth Bear in school history to garner Pac-10 Player of the Year honors, joining Jon Zuber and Troy Penix, who were the Co-Pac-10 Southern Division Players of the Year in 1992, and Rod Booker , who was Co-Pac-10 Southern Division Player of the Year in 1980. Besides hitting .335, which is ninth in the league, Renda is second in the conference with 85 hits and fourth with 112 total bases. He was also named first-team All-Pac-10 for the second year in a row. After earning all-conference honors last season as a freshman, Renda went on to bat .373 and was named to the NCAA Norman (Okla.) Regional All-Tournament team and was a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American. Besides Renda's Player of the Year honor, the Bears had five other players honored by the Pac-10. Junior right-hander Erik Johnson and junior catcher Chadd Krist were selected first-team All-Pac-10, while junior right-hander Matt Flemer , sophomore outfielder Vince Bruno and sophomore left-hander Justin Jones were tabbed Pac-10 honorable mention. Jones was a freshman All-American with Renda last season. Bruno, a transfer from Los Medanos College, is batting .301 for the Bears.
QUICK HIGHLIGHT NOTES ON CAL BASEBALL:
Besides winning the Santa Clara Super Regional and the come-from-behind victory over Baylor in the title game of the Houston Regional (Cal had trailed 7-1 at one point and scored six runs in the last two innings), highlights for Cal in 2011 include a ninth inning comeback to sweep Utah in a season-opening doubleheader Feb. 20, a dominating performance at the Caravelle Tournament in South Carolina Feb. 25-27, an undefeated (3-0) record at the Cal Baseball Classic at AT&T Park March 11-13, Pac-10 sweeps over Washington State and Washington, a 6-2 victory at then No. 3-ranked Oregon State May 7 and a 4-0 shutout at Pac-10 champion UCLA May 20. Cal has had six walk-off wins this season (Feb. 20 vs. Utah, March 20 vs. Rice, March 27 vs. WSU, April 29 and May 1 vs. Oregon, June 6 vs. Baylor).
BEAR NUMBERS:
The Bears finished sixth in the Pac-10 standings (13-13), but are second in the conference with a 2.86 team ERA, second with a .975 team fielding percentage and fourth with a .286 team batting average. Cal's pitchers have given up just 174 walks this season and have recorded 466 strikeouts, including 173 strikeouts looking (first in the Pac-10). The Bears are averaging just 3.19 walks per nine innings. Kevin Miller leads the starters with 1.60 walks per nine innings, followed by Justin Jones (2.60), Dixon Anderson (3.28) and Erik Johnson (5.62). Freshman left-hander Kyle Porter , who has four starts this season, including his big win over Baylor June 5 and Tuesday's start versus Texas A&M, has 2.63 walks per nine innings. Junior closer Matt Flemer has 2.09 walks per nine innings with only eight walks in 38.2 innings. Flemer also has strikeout-to-walk ratio of 5.12. Cal's pitchers have gotten 173 punch outs this season on a called third strike, first in the Pac-10. Senior right hander Miller has struck out 44 batters this season on a called third strike, second-best in the conference. The Bears committed only 13 errors in their 26 Pac-10 games, giving them a .987 fielding percentage in conference-play, best in the league. Overall this season, the Bears have committed 60 errors for a .975 fielding percentage, which is second in the Pac-10 lead.
MAKING THE MOST OF OPPORTUNITIES:
Cal batters are hitting .316 with runners in scoring position (206-for-652) this season and .300 (18-for-60) with the bases loaded. Junior shortstop Marcus Semien and Austin Booker each have three hits with the bases loaded this season. Booker is batting .392 (20-for-51) with runners in scoring position, Chadd Krist has driven in 18 runs this season when batting with two outs and is hitting .403 (31-for-77) with runners in scoring position.
RANKINGS:
The Bears have been ranked in either Baseball America or Collegiate Baseball every week of the 2011 season. Currently, Cal is ranked No. 8 in this week's Collegiate Baseball Top-30 poll. The Bears spent two weeks ranked at a season-high No. 13 (March March 28 and March 4) in Baseball America's Top-25.
HITTING STREAKS:
The longest hitting streak for the Bears belongs to sophomore outfielder Vince Bruno , a transfer from Los Medanos College, who started his Cal career with a 14-game hitting streak from Feb. 25-March 26 (21-for-50, .420, 7-2B, five RBI). Senior outfielder Austin Booker had a12-game hitting streak (18-for-47, .383, 3-2B, 10 RBI) from March 27-April 17.
47 INNINGS WITHOUT AN EARNED RUN:
From March 19-March 27, the Bears went 47 innings without allowing an earned run, a streak that was snapped in the third inning of the third game of the Washington State series. In a seven game span that began with the two games against Ohio State, a single game against Nevada, and the WSU Pac-10 opening series, and a non-conference game at San Francisco. During that span, Cal only allowed four runs (three of them earned). The Bears' pitching staff has 10 shutouts this season, with the latest coming June 5 in an 8-0 win over Baylor. Last season, Cal opened the season with four consecutive shutouts, including not allowing a run in the three-game opening series against Southern Utah. The Bears ended the 2010 campaign with eight total shutouts.
CAL WINS 2011 CAL BASEBALL CLASSIC:
On March 11-13, the Bears won all three of their games at the Cal Baseball Class - defeating Louisiana-Lafayette (7-6), Rice (7-6 in 15 innings) and Long Beach State (6-1) - to be the only undefeated team at the inaugural college baseball tournament at AT&T Park, home of the World Series champion San Francisco Giants. The Bears' highlights during the tournament included junior shortstop Marcus Semien (3-for-4, two RBI) leading a 12-hit attack March 11, helping junior right-hander Erik Johnson (6.0 innings, three hits, two runs, five walks, five strikeouts) pick up the win against Louisiana-Lafayette. On Saturday, sophomore first baseman Devon Rodriguez (5-for-5, three doubles) and sophomore third baseman Mitch Delfino (4-for-5, double, four RBI) led Cal's 21-hit attack against Rice, as Cal overcame a five-run deficit to force extra innings, then won the game on freshman third baseman Derek Campbell's squeeze bunt in the 15th inning. Senior right-hander Kevin Miller (7.0 innings, one hit, no runs, two walks, five strikeouts) and freshman left-hander Kyle Porter (4.0 innings, one hit, no runs, one walk, five strikeouts) kept the Owls off the scoreboard for the final 10 innings. In the final tournament game March 13 against Long Beach State, junior right-hander Dixon Anderson went 5.2 innings with six hits, no runs, no walks and four strikeouts. Against the 49ers, the Bears got big offensive production from sophomore second baseman Tony Renda (3-for-4, double, two RBI), sophomore left fielder Vince Bruno (2-for-3, RBI double) and junior catcher Chadd Krist (2-for-4, two RBI).
BUNTING PAC-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Junior right fielder Chad Bunting was named Pac-10 Player of the Week for Feb. 21-27 after an outstanding performance at the Caravelle Resorts Tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C.. Bunting had a huge day at the plate Feb. 25 versus Coastal Carolina, at team that was 55-10 in 2010, by going 3-for-5 with two, three-run homers and a career-high seven RBI in a 17-0 Cal win. The Ukiah, Calif., native who began his Cal career as a bullpen catcher, finished the tournament 7-for-12 (.583) with four runs and a double to go along with his two-homer day on Friday. Bunting helped the Bears finish with a .355 team batting average and 0.33 ERA in the tournament.
MILLER MAGNIFICANT:
Senior right-hander Kevin Miller is sporting a 6-4 record with a 2.78 ERA and has 86 strikeouts (only 13 walks) in 81.0 innings. Miller had a streak of 24.1 innings without allowing a run (March 12- April 5). He last picked up a win May 24 at Pacific, throwing 7.0 innings with six hits, two runs, no walks and seven strikeouts. Miller had a phenomenal game Feb. 25 against Coastal Carolina at the Caravelle Resorts Tournament, throwing 7.1 innings of no-hit ball before yielding a double in the eighth inning. Miller finished the day throwing 7.1 shutout innings with one hit, no walks and 10 strikeouts. He had another outstanding game in a 2-0 shutout of Nevada, throwing 7.0 innings with six hits, no walks and nine strikeouts. He followed that up with a 4-0 shutout of San Francisco, throwing his second one-hitter of the year (a single in the first inning) with a career-high 15 strikeouts (seven looking, eight swinging). Miller was a Freshman All-American in 2008 when he was 6-1 with a 2.90 ERA, and started his college career not giving up an earned run in his first 44.0 innings pitched. He currently has 232 career strikeouts, sixth on the Cal career strikeout list.
KRIST'S CONTRIBUTIONS:
One of the keys to the Bears' success the last two seasons has been the play of junior catcher Chadd Krist . This year, Krist is hitting .297 with a Pac-10 leading 26 doubles, a triple, two home runs and a team-leading 43 RBI. His 26 doubles (No. 26 was hit Sunday versus Virginia in the CWS) passed Cal's former Major League star Jeff Kent for second on the Bears' single-season list. Krist also leads Cal with 23 multiple hit games and 12 multiple RBI games, and is batting .403 with runners in scoring position. After seeing action in 27 games in 2009, he started off the 2010 campaign going 12-for-19 (.632) in his first five games with three doubles, a triple, three home runs (including a grand slam) and nine RBI. Krist did not slow down, producing 22 multiple hit games and hitting .344 with 15 doubles, three triples, 10 home runs and 43 RBI). He was ranked in the Top-10 in the Pac-10 in 2010 in three offensive categories - fifth in home runs (10), fifth in slugging percentage (.609) and 10th in triples (3) in 2010.
CAL'S FATHER-SON CONNECTION:
Cal features senior Austin Booker , junior Marcus Semien and freshman catcher Andrew Knapp whose fathers were Golden Bears. Booker's dad is Rod Booker , a former Major Leaguer who was Cal's starting shortstop on the Bears' 1980 College World Series team that finished third in the nation. Rod and Austin Booker are the 10th father-son combination to both play in the College World Series and the fifth to compete for the same school at the CWS. Semien, Cal's starting shortstop, father is former Cal wide receiver Damian Semien (1990-93). Knapp's father is former catcher Mike Knapp (1985-86), who helped the Bears to an NCAA regional in Fresno, Calif. in 1985.
ADDITIONAL BEAR NOTES:
Cal featured 10 former players on Major League rosters entering Spring Training, more than any other school in the nation - catcher John Baker (Florida Marlins), utility Geoff Blum (Arizona Diamondbacks), outfielder Brennan Boesch (Detroit Tigers), outfielder Allen Craig (St. Louis Cardinals), right-hander Ryan Drese (Baltimore Orioles), first baseman Conor Jackson (Oakland A's), right-hander Brandon Morrow (Toronto Blue Jays), first baseman/outfielder Xavier Nady (Arizona Diamondbacks), right-hander Tyson Ross (Oakland A's) and right-hander Tyler Walker (Washington Nationals).
*Cal won the inaugural College World Series title in 1947, defeating former President George Bush's Yale team, 8-7, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Bears' program began in 1892 and is now in its 119th season.
*Cal is one of only 20 schools that have won NCAA Baseball titles and only one of 12 schools that have won more than one national championship (1947, 1957). The Bears have competed in five College World Series (1947, 1957, 1980, 1988, 1992).
*Geoff Blum, Cal's starting shortstop as a freshman on the Bears' 1992 College World Series team, had a game-winning homer for the Chicago White Sox in the 2005 Major League World Series.
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