BERKELEY - After bookending a 2-2 homestand with wins over Minnesota and Oregon, the Cal baseball team heads back to Southern California to continue Pac-12 play with three games at UCLA. All three games in the series will be televised live by Pac-12 Networks with J.B. Long and Eric Byrnes on the call. The series can also be streamed live at Pac-12.com.

Cal slugged its way to a 7-1 win over Minnesota to begin the week but dropped the first two games of its first Pac-12 series of the season against the Ducks. Right-hander Joey Matulovich played the role of stopper though, tossing eight strong innings to help the Bears earn a 4-1 win to close out the series on Sunday. 

PROBABLE STARTERS

Friday, March 24, 6 p.m.
Cal: RHP Jared Horn (1-2, 5.32 ERA)
UCLA: RHP Griffin Canning (0-1, 1.89)

Saturday, March 25, 4 p.m.
Cal: RHP Joey Matulovich (3-0, 3.18)
UCLA: RHP Moises Ceja (1-1, 1.69)

Sunday, March 26, 2 p.m.
Cal: RHP Tanner Dodson (1-4, 4.67)
UCLA: RHP Jon Olsen (0-1, 5.50)

SCOUTING REPORT: UCLA

• A Sunday win over No. 12 Arizona snapped a six-game skid for the Bruins, who went 1-2 against the Wildcats to open Pac-12 play. Arizona picked up a 19-4 win on Friday and a 4-3 victory on Saturday before UCLA rebounded to claim an 8-7 win in 10 innings on Sunday.
• UCLA enters the second week of conference play with a .237 team batting average but Kyle Cuellar has been a force for the Bruins, hitting .441 in 14 games (9 starts). 
• The Bruins feature one of the nation's top pitchers in Griffin Canning as the right-hander brings a 1.89 ERA and 43 strikeouts into his Friday start. UCLA's ace has yet to record his first win of the season.
• Cal leads the all-time series against UCLA, 177-176.
• Last meeting: The Bears earned a sweep of the Bruins in 2016 with wins of 9-1, 8-2 and 5-3 at Evans Diamond. 2016 Pac-12 Player of the Year Brett Cumberland earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors for his work in the series, which included a Sunday game in which he went 3 for 4 with two home runs and four RBI.

LAST TIME OUT
Cal got a four-game week started on the right foot with a 7-1 victory over Minnesota. The Bears pounded out 13 hits, Rogelio Reyes worked five innings on the mound and Tanner Dodson launched a home run in the victory.

Cal continued to pile up the hits on Friday against Oregon but, despite posting 13 in the hit column, the Bears managed just one run and fell 7-1. Oregon provided offense of its own on Saturday to deal the Bears a 13-2 defeat but Cal rebounded on Sunday thanks to another strong performance from Joey Matulovich. The right-hander worked eight innings before Erik Martinez closed the door with his third save and Cal wrapped up the series with a 4-1 victory.

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
Cal's youth continues to play a major role in how the 2017 season develops. Freshman Cameron Eden leads the Bears in the batting average column with a mark of .365 while sophomores Tyrus Greene and Jeffrey Mitchell, Jr. are second and third, respectively. Freshmen Max Flower and Andrew Vaughn are also hitting over .300 while junior third baseman Denis Karas is the only regular starter older than a sophomore.

DIGGING THE LONG BALL
Cal ranks atop the conference when it comes to home runs. The Bears have hit 14 big flies as a team, led by four from freshman Andrew Vaughn. Junior Denis Karas hit one against Oregon and ranks second on the team with three while Jeffrey Mitchell, Jr. 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 both home runs (4) and RBI (12), ranks fourth in batting average at .343 and is second with 10 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. Both Patino and Sabouri have logged 11 innings so far this season and Patino ranks second on the team in ERA at 1.64. Sabouri carries a 3.27 ERA into the UCLA series.

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 three saves so far in 2017, enters the UCLA series tied for 9th all-time (Trevor Hildenberger) at Cal with 12.

BASEPATH THIEVERY
Cal ranks third in the Pac-12 when it comes to stealing bases as the Bears enter the UCLA series with 21 steals. Sophomore Jonah Davis ranks second individually with seven and Jeffrey Mitchell, Jr. is tied for eighth with four. 

ON DECK
After returning from Los Angeles, the Bears embark on a nine-game stretch of games in the Bay Area with seven coming inside the friendly confines of Evans Diamond. Cal hosts Long Beach State on Monday, March 27 to begin the run of games, then jumps back into Pac-12 play by hosting Washington State from March 31 to April 2. A mid-week trip to Stanford on April 4 keeps the Bears in close proximity and Arizona State pays a visit from April 7-9. Cal's Bay Area stay concludes on April 11 with a non-conference game at Saint Mary's.