Pregame nerves are common among athletes and are only amplified during the first game of the season — especially if it’s an athlete’s first collegiate game. These nerves, however, were nowhere to be found for the Bears as several freshmen put on quite a performance this weekend. 

In their 2022 opener, neither the Bears or Cougars managed to score a run for the first six innings of the game. Through the first five scoreless innings, Cal’s starting pitcher Josh White excelled as he tied a career-high 10 strikeouts — a performance that would come to earn him a National Player of the Week honors. 

Not missing the opportunity to make a name for himself, freshman Caleb Lomavita scored two of the Bears’ four runs that day. Three hours and a total of 10 innings later, the blue and gold managed to secure their second consecutive opening-day victory. 

Following an overall dull team performance, the Bears came together to pull off a win versus No. 17 TCU in a nail-biter. The Horned Frogs and Bears went back and forth, leading the game until the bottom of the ninth inning. Tied 6-6, Cal freshman Rodney Green Jr. hit a triple, putting himself in the perfect position to score. Moments later, on a wild pitch, Green brought it home on his collegiate debut and helped the Bears secure their 100th win under head coach Mike Neu. 

Closing out the tournament, Cal was victorious over SDSU, giving the Bears their best start to a season since 2013. Despite going down in the first inning, the blue and gold were more dominant in this game than their previous two as they didn’t wait for the final innings to secure their win. 

A large piece of this success was senior Cole Elvis, who hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning. Though SDSU responded with one run in the subsequent inning, Elvis’ home run proved to be enough to carry the Bears to victory. 

The Bears couldn’t have imagined a better start to their season, going 3-0. 

This perfect record quickly came to an end as the Bears graced the diamond against Gonzaga on Monday. For the majority of the game, it looked as though Cal was going to add another win and go 4-0 in its opening weekend. Going into the ninth inning, the Bears were leading the Bulldogs 6-3.

Late-inning dramatics were the keys to much of the Bears’ success this weekend, but this time, they were on the losing end. In what can only be described as disastrous, the Bears gave up six runs in the top of the ninth. Led by junior Dylan Beavers with a two-run home run, the blue and gold’s attempted comeback fell short as they lost 9-8. 

This last inning, however, should not be the takeaway from an otherwise triumphant weekend. Opening the year 3-1, this squad is a complete 180 from last year, in which it went 1-3. If the team continues this momentum, regionals should be comfortably within reach. 

Shining the brightest was freshman catcher Lomavita: the true star of the weekend. In a jam-packed first weekend of collegiate competition, Lomavita gained his first start. Even more impressive, the Hawaii local scored at least one run in every match thus far, notching two versus Houston and SDSU. 

The Bears came out strong this weekend and have demonstrated noticeable growth since last year. If they wish to continue scoring big, the blue and gold must not wait until the last inning to hit it out of the park.