BERKELEY, Calif. – Blue and Gold game week is upon us, signifying the conclusion of a very successful fall ball season for the Bears. The Blue team, led by new Cal pitching coach Thomas Eager will be taking on the Gold team, led by fellow assistant coach Brad Sanfilippo, in a three-game, cumulative-scoring series beginning on Thursday afternoon at 5 p.m. PT at Evans Diamond in Berkeley.
Eager owned the first overall (pitching) pick at the Blue and Gold Draft, which was held on Tuesday night and elected to go with junior right-hander Daulton Jefferies. The teams traded picks for their respective pitching staffs, and Jefferies figures to oppose senior righty Ryan Mason in game three on Sunday afternoon. The Gold team then had the first overall pick for positional players, and Sanfilippo chose junior centerfielder Aaron Knapp to captain his outfield. Senior Mitchell “El Gaucho” Kranson was Eager's top choice, and the two alternated picks until the teams were selected.
Freshman Tanner Dodson was the first newcomer off the board, going second to Sanfilippo's Gold squad in the positional player draft. Dodson had one of the hottest bats among the Bears this fall, which was clearly reflected in his draft position. The first relievers off the board were sophomore righty Erik Martinez (Gold) as well as junior right-hander Alex Schick (who may also be featured as a starter in game two) and senior righty Jesse Kay (both Blue).
The Blue and Gold series opens up at 5 p.m. with sophomore lefty Matt Ladrech (Blue) slated to face off against sophomore right-hander Jeff Bain (Gold), while game two will take place at 3:30 p.m. at Evans with the starters yet to have been determined. With cumulative scoring throughout the course of the series, bragging rights will come down to Sunday afternoon's finale, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.
Fans are encouraged to come out and get their final looks at the Golden Bears during the fall, and can follow coverage from the series @Cal_Baseball on Twitter and Instagram, as well as on Facebook and CalBears.com. The rosters for both teams are listed below.