March 5, 2000

Box Score

BERKELEY, Calif. -- Stefan Bailie was 2-for-5 with a two-run home run and junior relief pitcher Donny Davis threw 3.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen to help lead the Washington State Cougars to a 6-3 win over the California Golden Bears in Pac-10 Conference action Sunday afternooon at Evans Diamond.

The consecutive wins over Cal was the first time in 2000 the Cougs have won two in a row and the victory clinched the first series win of the year. WSU is now 7-10 in 2000 and takes an early lead in the Pac-10 race with a 2-1 conference record. Cal drops to 7-12 for the year and 1-2 in Pac-10 play.

Davis, a native of the Oakland area, had his most impressive outing of the year in front of several of his hometown friends and family. The junior right-hander entered in relief of starter Reggie Rivard in the fourth and did not allow a run to cross the plate in his 3.1 innings of work to earn the win.

Senior Matt O'Brien closed out the win for the Cougars picking up his first save of the year and his WSU career. O'Brien, who was the winner in Saturday's marathon 15-inning game, allowed only one run in 2.2 innings Sunday. For the weekend O'Brien was 1-0 with one save and posted a 1.80 ERA in five innings out of the bullpen.

Cal Starter Jon Shirley was impressive in his outing maintaining a no-hitter and striking out six of the first nine Cougar hitters through the first three innings. Shirley's outing was cut short after allowing a single to lead off the fourth and left the game with an injury. Ryan Lubner took over for Shirley and was saddled with the loss allowing three runs and two walks while not recording an out.

The Cal pitching corps, while wild in the fourth frame, turned in a good performance, combining to strike out 16 Cougar batters. Reliever Kevin Johnson struck out 10 in his five inning appearance.

The Golden Bears staked to an early 2-0 lead after three innings. Preseason Player of the Year Xavier Nady plated Cal's first run with a double in the first inning, and scored in the third on a RBI groundout by Derek Ayers.

Bailie tied the game with one swing of the bat in the fourth inning to fuel a four-run Cougar rally. After a Shawn Stevenson single to scatter Shirley from the game, Bailie clubbed his third home run of the year to knot the game at two. Five consecutive walks by Cal pitchers pushed two more runs across the plate in the fourth to give the Cougs to 4-2 advantage.

The Cougs added two insurance runs in the seventh and eighth frames to help seal the series win for the Cougs. Bailie contributed a two-out double in the seventh and came around to score on a single by senior Zach Bode. In the eighth, WSU forged to a 6-2 lead behind Steve Curran's team-leading fourth round-tripper of the year.

O'Brien shut the Bears down in order in the ninth getting Nady and 1999 all-Pac-10 catcher Mike Tonis to strike out.

The Cougars will next travel to Corvallis, Ore., for a three-game series of non-Pac-10 counting games against Oregon State. The trip will kick off the Cougars seven-game spring break trip that will also see the Cougs take on Cal State Northridge and UC Santa Barbara.

WSU   000  400  110 -  6  6  0
CAL   101  000  010 -  3  7  0
Reggie Rivard, Donny Davis (4), Matt O'Brien (7), and Ryan Smith.
Jon Shirley, Ryan Lubner (4), Jason Ball (4), Kevin Johnson (4)
Jon Cuccias (9), and Mike Tonis.
W - Davis (1-0), L - Lubner (0-1), S - O'Brien (1), HR - Bailie (3), Curran (4).
T - 3:15, A - 205.
WSU Hits - Stevenson 2, Bailie 2, Bode, Curran.
CAL Hits - Weiner, Callen, Nady 2, Meyer, Petke, Williams.
E - None, 2B - Bailie (5), Nady, 3B - None.

Copy by Jeff R. Evans
WSU Sports Information