DURHAM, N.C. (theACC.com) – In their first-ever ACC Baseball Championship appearance, the No. 16 seed California Golden Bears (23-30) took a 10-0 lead en route to a 12-2 eight-inning win over No. 9 seed Miami (31-24) in the first game of the 2025 ACC Baseball Championship on Tuesday, May 20, in Durham, North Carolina.
The Golden Bears will take on No. 8 seed Wake Forest (36-19) in a second-round matchup on Wednesday, May 21, at 9 a.m. ET on ACC Network.
Cal scored two runs in the second and blew the game open with seven runs in the top of the fourth to take a 9-0 lead and did not look back in the eight-inning win.
The Bears were led offensively by catcher Alex Birge (2-for-4, 2 HR, BB, 4 RBI, 3 runs), who blasted two home runs in his ACC Championship debut, bookending the scoring with a two-run home run to right field in the top of the second and a two-run shot to left-center field in the top of the eighth.
The other eight RBIs came from six different players, including seven from the top five hitters in the lineup – Jarren Advincula (1-6, RBI), PJ Moutzouridis (3-6, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 runs, SB), Dominic Smaldino (2-3, BB, RBI, run), Jacob French (1-for-2, BB, RBI) and Carl Schmidt (1-for-4, 2 RBI).
Miami’s lone offense came off of just five hits, highlighted by a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh off the bat of Tanner Smith (1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI).
Cal starting pitcher Oliver de la Torre (3-4) picked up the victory in a quality start, firing 6.0 scoreless innings and allowing just two hits and striking out seven batters.
Taking the loss for Miami was Griffin Hugus (5-7), as the right-handed hurler gave up four runs on three hits, three walks and one strikeout over 3.0 innings of work.
2025 ACC Baseball Championship Schedule
Tuesday, May 20
Game 1 – No. 16 California 12, No. 9 Miami 2 (8 innings)
Game 2 – No. 12 Virginia Tech vs. No. 13 Stanford, 1 p.m.
Game 3 – No. 15 Pitt vs. No. 10 Louisville, 5 p.m.
Game 4 – No. 14 Boston College vs. No. 11 Notre Dame, 9 p.m.
Wednesday, May 21
Game 5 – No. 16 California vs. No. 8 Wake Forest, 9 a.m.
Game 6 – Game 2 Winner vs. No. 5 Clemson, 1 p.m.
Game 7 – Game 3 Winner vs. No. 7 Duke, 5 p.m.
Game 8 – Game 4 Winner vs. No. 6 Virginia, 9 p.m.
Thursday, May 22
Game 9 – Game 5 Winner vs. No. 1 Georgia Tech, 3 p.m.
Game 10 – Game 6 Winner vs. No. 4 NC State, 7 p.m.
Friday, May 23
Game 11 – Game 7 Winner vs. No. 2 Florida State, 3 p.m.
Game 12 – Game 8 Winner vs. No. 3 North Carolina, 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 24
Game 13 – Game 9 vs. Game 10 Winners, 1 p.m.
Game 14 – Game 11 vs. Game 12 Winners, 5 p.m.
Sunday, May 25 - Championship Game
Game 15 – Saturday Winners, Noon, ESPN2
All Tuesday through Saturday games air on ACC Network
All times Eastern