BERKELEY – Cole Tremain was the unquestionable hero at Stu Gordon Stadium on Wednesday evening as the California baseball team (5-3) earned its first walk-off win of the season with a 6-5 victory over Cal State Bakersfield in 11 innings. Tremain sent his teammates into a frenzy when he plated Cade Campbell with the game-winning run on his one-out RBI single in the bottom of the 11th. Campbell had started the rally with a one-out single before moving into scoring position at second base when Alex Birge walked.
Tremain, a two-way player in his first season at Cal after transferring from Baylor, made the first start for the Golden Bears in right field and homered in his first at bat to lead off the bottom of the third. Not only did Tremain star at the plate, but he also earned a win on the mound with 2.2 innings of hitless relief as the sixth and final Cal pitcher. In addition. Tremain saved the Bears a run in the top of the eighth when he backed up first base on a ground ball to Campbell at third, retrieved Campbell’s throwing error wide of first base and threw out a Cal State Bakersfield runner at the plate trying to score from first on the play.
“It felt great,” Tremain said of his performance. “It was one of things where you stay ready, so you don’t have to get ready.”
Video: Kai Smith
Tremain may have been the biggest hero for the Bears on Wednesday, but he wasn’t the only one.
Alex Birge started what was also Cal’s first comeback win of the year with his solo homer in the bottom of the seventh to cut the Road Runners’ lead to 4-3 and after Cal State Bakersfield scored once in the top of eighth on Campbell’s throwing error, the Cal third baseman redeemed himself with a clutch two-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth that tied the game at 5-5. Seth Gwynn and Ryan Tayman had started a two-out rally with back-to-back singles.
Cal also got strong relief outings from Logan Piper (2.2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 SO) and Lucas Alaniz (2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO) to help the Bears stay in the contest before their late heroics.
Cal State Bakersfield started the game’s scoring with a run in the top of the first on a two-out RBI double that Gwynn misplayed in center field after Noah Alvarez started the rally with a two-out single and moved to second when Evan Cloyd was hit by a pitch.
Cal got the run back in the bottom of the second when Dominic Smaldino led off with a double, moved to third on Gwynn’s fly out and scored an RBI groundout from Jacob French.
The teams traded runs in third with Cal State Bakersfield scoring when Perreira drew a bases loaded walk before Tremain’s homer led off the bottom half of the frame.
Cal State Bakersfield took a 4-2 lead in the top of the fourth on Jared Bujanda-McConnell’s two-run line drive home run over the right field wall after Elijah Pelaylo had singled to lead off the inning.
Campbell (3-5, 2B, 2 RBI) continued his strong start to the 2025 season with the first three-hit game of his career to improve his team-leading batting average to .406, while Tremain (2-4, HR, 2 RBI, HBP) was the only other Cal player with more than one hit.
Alvarez (2-4) and Pelayo (2-5) had a pair of hits each for the Road Runners.
Cal State Bakersfield used just two pitchers in starter Jack Leary (7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO) and reliever and losing pitcher Michael Riley (3.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO).
“We had a bunch of big moments to win the game, but I know we are capable of much more,” head coach Mike Neu said. “It was really good [to play a close game]. It was a learning moment … We got opportunities for some big moments today and we got to see how our team reacted.”
Cal continues its season-opening 10-game homestand by Santa Clara (4-3) at Stu Gordon Stadium on Friday to begin a four-game series with the Broncos. First pitch on ACCNX/ESPN+ is scheduled for 6 p.m. with the first 200 Cal students at the game to receive Chick-fil-a gift cards. Information on additional 2025 Cal baseball promotions can be found online at CalBears.com.
The first two games of the Santa Clara series will be in Berkeley with a 2 p.m. Saturday contest that will also include a postgame autograph session and a $5 ticket for all fans who purchase a Cal men’s basketball ticket on the same day concluding the homestand before the final two games of the series at Santa Clara on Sunday (2 p.m.) and Monday (6 p.m.) in the Bears final preparations for their first ACC games in school history at No. 17/19/18 Duke (March 7-9).
Tickets for all 2025 Cal baseball home games are on sale at CalBears.com.
STAY POSTED
For coverage of Cal baseball, please follow the Bears on X (@CalBaseball) and Instagram (@CalBaseball).
