BERKELEY, Calif. — Boston College Baseball (25-27, 10-18 ACC) fell 8-6 to California (21-29, 8-20 ACC) in the series opener on Thursday night at Stu Gordon Stadium.
The hosts opened the scoring in the second inning, taking a 2-0 lead on a pair of singles and a double. The Eagles responded in the next frame, with Josiah Ragsdale reaching on a two-out walk. A base hit from Jack Toomey advanced Ragsdale to third, and the Eagles’ stolen-base leader flexed his speed on a wild pitch in the dirt, breaking instantly and scoring from third. Kyle Wolff walked, and another wild pitch put two runners in scoring position for Gunnar Johnson. With a 3-1 count, Johnson put BC in front with one swing, roping a two-run double to right-center, his third two-bagger of the season to make it 3-2 Eagles.
JD Ogden took over on the mound after three innings from A.J. Colarusso. Colarusso finished with a strikeout and just two earned runs, leaving the game with the Eagles in front 3-2. Ogden began the frame with a strikeout, and finished by stranding two runners to keep the hosts off the board, preserving the 3-2 Eagles lead after four full.
With one down in the fifth, Gunnar Johnson produced again, this time driving a one-run single through the left side to extend the Eagles lead to 4-2. The Golden Bears tied it up at 4-4 in the bottom of the fifth on a pair of singles and a pair of doubles. Gavin Soares relieved Ogden in the sixth and stranded the bases loaded to end the frame, holding the 4-4 tie after six full.
The sides traded zeroes in the seventh and the eighth, with Soares staying in and retiring seven straight batters across consecutive 1-2-3 innings. The Eagles took a 6-4 lead in the top of the ninth on a two-run, pinch-hit double from Esteban Garcia, but the hosts responded with a two-run home run in their half to tie the game at 6-6 in the bottom of the ninth. After a single, California ended it on a walk-off two-run home run, taking game one 8-6.
Game two of the series is scheduled for Friday night at 6:00 PT/9:00 ET.
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