Pac-12 Play Opens With Visit From Oregon

Friday, March 17

Berkeley, Calif.

7:05 PM

California

Oregon

Buy Tickets

Erik Martinez ranks in the top 10 in the Pac-12 with two saves (ISIPhotos.com)

3/16/2017 12:41 PM | Baseball

Weekly Notes Live Stats Tickets Follow Cal Baseball on Twitter Cal Baseball Foundation

By: Cal Athletics

BERKELEY – Pac-12 play gets underway as the Cal baseball team plays host to Oregon for three weekend games at Evans Diamond. First pitch on Friday is set for 7:05 p.m., Saturday's contest is scheduled for a 6:05 p.m. start and the series concludes Sunday with a 1:05 p.m. matinee. Live stats can be found at CalBears.com and live updates will be available on Twitter (@Cal_Baseball).

The Bears enter the weekend with plenty of momentum as a 7-1 win over Minnesota on Tuesday pushed Cal's win streak to five. Sophomore Tanner Dodson hit a home run, freshman Rogelio Reyes earned the win with five solid innings and relievers Arman Sabouri, Zayne Patino and Andrew Vaughn were impressive in the late innings.

LAST TIME OUT
The Bears returned to Evans Diamond and, after spotting Minnesota a run in the first, scored seven unanswered to win 7-1. Five different Bears had two hits apiece and Tanner Dodson launched a solo home run. On the mound, freshman Rogelio Reyes worked five innings to earn win No. 2 while relievers Arman Sabouri, Zayne Patino and Andrew Vaughn were strong out of the bullpen.

Before taking on the Golden Gophers, Cal showed its ability to win in a variety of ways with a road sweep at Pepperdine. Friday's 12-7 victory featured a four-RBI day from junior Denis Karas and earned Dodson his first win of the season. Freshman Jared Horn picked up his first win of the year Saturday with a strong start, working into the seventh inning and striking out eight to get the win. Joey Matulovich took over on Sunday to notch Cal's first complete game of the year, striking out 10 and Cameron Eden hit a two-run home run.

PROMO TIME
Cal Baseball will celebrate St. Patrick's Day with Irish Heritage Night on Friday against Oregon. Student group dancers will perform throughout the night to celebrate the occasion.

Before Sunday's 1:05 p.m. game against the Ducks, Colleges Against Cancer will have a table next to the third base concession stand in conjunction with the Strike Out Cancer effort. After the game, Cal players will sign autographs and kids will be invited to run the bases.

DIGGING THE LONG BALL
As the Pac-12 season gets underway, Cal ranks atop the conference when it comes to home runs. The Bears have hit 12 big flies as a team, led by three from freshman Andrew Vaughn. Jeffrey Mitchell, Jr., Denis Karas and Tanner Dodson each have two and all four rank in the top 10 in the conference individually.

VAUGHN'S VERSATILITY
Installed right away as Cal's No. 3 hitter, true freshman Andrew Vaughn has established himself as one of the team's top run producers. The Santa Rosa, Calif. native leads the Bears in RBI with 10, ranks third in batting average at .343 and is tied for second with nine runs scored. Vaughn's contributions aren't limited to the plate though, as Cal's starting first baseman doubles as a key arm out the bullpen and owns a 1-0 record and 1.80 ERA in five relief appearances (5 IP).

LEFT COAST RELIEF
Cal has relied on a pair of left-handed newcomers out of the bullpen this year and southpaws Zayne Patino and Arman Sabouri have established themselves as reliable options for pitching coach Thomas Eager. Patino leads all Cal relievers in innings pitched with 11 and owns a 1.64 ERA entering the Oregon series. Sabouri ranks third on that list with 8.2 IP and has a 3.24 ERA.

CLOSING TIME
Cal does return one of the nation's top options in the bullpen in junior RHP Erik Martinez. The West Covina, Calif. native saved eight games with a 3.13 ERA in 2016 and, after notching two saves in the first four weeks of the 2017 season, is tied with Andy Wortham, Matt Flemer and Dylan Nelson for 10th all-time with 11.

BASEPATH THIEVERY
Cal ranks second in the Pac-12 when it comes to stealing bases as the Bears enter the Oregon series with 21 steals. Sophomore Jonah Davis is tied with Oregon State's Nick Madrigal for the individual lead with seven and Jeffrey Mitchell, Jr. is tied for sixth with four. Nine different Bears have stolen a base so far this season.

SCOUTING OREGON
• Head coach George Horton's crew owns an 11-4 record and enters on a six-game winning streak after a four-game sweep of Santa Clara last weekend. After a pair of losses to begin the season, the Ducks have gone 11-2.
• Friday starter David Peterson earned his second National Player of the Week nod in a row after striking out 14 against Santa Clara on March 10. The left-hander has 31 strikeouts combined in his last two starts.
• Oregon owns a .259 team batting average but Kyle Kasser is among the Pac-12's top hitters with a .345 mark in 15 games. Daniel Patzlaff is the team's top run-producer with two home runs and 12 RBI.
• Horton earned his 300th win as Oregon's head coach with Saturday's win over Santa Clara. He is 301-199-1 in his ninth season at Oregon and owns a 791-311-2 career record.
• Cal trails the all-time series against Oregon, 26-25.
• Last meeting: The Ducks took two of three when Cal visited Eugene in 2016. The Bears earned their lone win on Friday behind a complete-game effort from RHP Ryan Mason.

ON DECK
With Pac-12 play now underway, Cal gets set for its second trip to Southern California in three weeks as the Bears head to Los Angeles for three games against UCLA. That series will be broadcast live by Pac-12 Networks. Once that series concludes, Cal enters a stretch of eight straight Bay Area games, beginning with a Monday night contest against Long Beach State. Washington State and Arizona State visit Evans Diamond for Pac-12 play and Cal takes a mid-week trip to Stanford.