California Golden Bears Athletics
Tuesday, April 11
Moraga, Calif.
3:00 PM
California
at
Saint Mary's (California)
Jeffrey Mitchell, Jr. ranks in the top five in the Pac-12 with six stolen bases (Stephen Wandzura)
Photo by: Stephen Wandzura
Bears Take Short Trip To Face Saint Mary's
4/10/2017 2:18 PM | Baseball
BERKELEY - The Cal baseball team returns to non-conference competition on Tuesday when the Bears make the trek through the Caldecott Tunnel to take on East Bay neighbor Saint Mary's. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. and the game will be streamed live at SMCGaels.com.
After a weekend sweep of Arizona State and riding a six-game Pac-12 winning streak, Cal will look to apply that momentum gained when it comes to Tuesday's contest. The Bears collected 36 hits over three games against the Sun Devils and hit .556 with runners in scoring position. Success also came on the mound as Cal compiled a strikeout to walk ratio of 24 to 5 over the three-game series and pitched to a weekend team ERA of 3.67.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Cal: RHP Rogelio Reyes (2-3, 6.43 ERA)
Saint Mary's: LHP Ty Madrigal (3-3, 4.45 ERA)
SCOUTING REPORT: SAINT MARY'S
One bad inning proved Cal's undoing during a mid-week trip to Stanford as the No. 20-ranked Cardinal scored eight runs in the fourth inning to take command at Sunken Diamond. Andrew Vaughn continued to lead the Cal offense, driving in three runs with a pair of doubles, and the Bears got solid relief pitching in the later innings, allowing just one hit over the final 4 1/3 frames.
Once the Bears returned to the friendly confines of Evans Diamond, the momentum they built with a sweep of Washington State came right back to the forefront. Cal earned a second-straight Pac-12 sweep, this time over Arizona State, to improve to 7-5 in conference play and push its overall record to 15-14.
A 9-6 win on Friday got the Bears rolling as they built a 9-1 lead before the Sun Devils scored five in the fifth inning to close the gap. On Saturday, Cal again set an early tone, building a 6-0 lead behind strong solid pitching from Joey Matulovich. And Sunday brought more of the same as Matt Ladrech delivered another quality start and the Cal offense delivered 10 runs on 11 hits.
DIGGING THE LONG BALL
With the first few weeks of Pac-12 play in the books, Cal is tied for first in the conference when it comes to home runs. The Bears have hit 22 big flies as a team, led by a conference-high eight from freshman Andrew Vaughn. Junior Denis Karas hit one against Arizona State and ranks second on the team with four while Cameron Eden has three and both Jeffrey Mitchell, Jr. and Tanner Dodson have two.
NO FREE PASSES
Perhaps the biggest indication of Cal's success on the mound against Arizona State came in the Bears' strikeout to walk ratio. Cal pitchers fanned 24 Sun Devils and walked just five with the starting trio of Jared Horn, Joey Matulovich and Matt Ladrech combining to issue just one free pass.
BASEPATH THIEVERY
Cal leads the Pac-12 when it comes to stealing bases as the Bears enter the Saint Mary's game with 36 steals. Sophomore Jonah Davis ranks second individually with eight and Jeffrey Mitchell, Jr. is tied for fifth with six. 10 different Bears have stolen a base so far this season.
ON DECK
With the Saint Mary's game marking Cal's ninth-straight contest in the Bay Area, the Bears head back on the road this week as they travel for a three-game series at Utah. Action begins Thursday and continues through Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 10:30 a.m. (PT) all three days. Cal comes back to the region for a Tuesday game at Stanford and then it's back into Pac-12 play as USC visits from April 21-23. The Saint Mary's game starts a stretch in which Cal will play 12 of its next 16 away from home.
After a weekend sweep of Arizona State and riding a six-game Pac-12 winning streak, Cal will look to apply that momentum gained when it comes to Tuesday's contest. The Bears collected 36 hits over three games against the Sun Devils and hit .556 with runners in scoring position. Success also came on the mound as Cal compiled a strikeout to walk ratio of 24 to 5 over the three-game series and pitched to a weekend team ERA of 3.67.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Cal: RHP Rogelio Reyes (2-3, 6.43 ERA)
Saint Mary's: LHP Ty Madrigal (3-3, 4.45 ERA)
SCOUTING REPORT: SAINT MARY'S
- The Gaels enter Tuesday's contest as winners of three of their last four after taking a series win at cross-bay rival San Francisco over the weekend. Wins of 5-3 and 2-1 (14 inn.) in the first two games of the series gave way to an 8-1 defeat on Sunday.
- SMC returns several key pieces from a 2016 team that earned the program's first-ever WCC championship. Infielder Zach Kirtley and outfielder Joey Fiske are two of the Gaels' veteran leaders with Kirtley tied for the team lead in RBI (22) and Fiske leading the team in batting average (.308).
- On the mound, Ty Madrigal is set to start and the sophomore southpaw is 3-3 with a 4.45 ERA. The Gaels own a 4.30 team ERA under the tutelage of head coach Eric Valenzuela, who also doubles as pitching coach.
- Cal owns the all-time series lead, 120-58.
- Last meeting: The Bears and Gaels last met in 2010 with Cal earning a 5-4 victory in Bakersfield. The teams last played in the Bay Area in 2006 with Cal picking up a 6-0 win at home and 7-6 victory on the road.
One bad inning proved Cal's undoing during a mid-week trip to Stanford as the No. 20-ranked Cardinal scored eight runs in the fourth inning to take command at Sunken Diamond. Andrew Vaughn continued to lead the Cal offense, driving in three runs with a pair of doubles, and the Bears got solid relief pitching in the later innings, allowing just one hit over the final 4 1/3 frames.
Once the Bears returned to the friendly confines of Evans Diamond, the momentum they built with a sweep of Washington State came right back to the forefront. Cal earned a second-straight Pac-12 sweep, this time over Arizona State, to improve to 7-5 in conference play and push its overall record to 15-14.
A 9-6 win on Friday got the Bears rolling as they built a 9-1 lead before the Sun Devils scored five in the fifth inning to close the gap. On Saturday, Cal again set an early tone, building a 6-0 lead behind strong solid pitching from Joey Matulovich. And Sunday brought more of the same as Matt Ladrech delivered another quality start and the Cal offense delivered 10 runs on 11 hits.
DIGGING THE LONG BALL
With the first few weeks of Pac-12 play in the books, Cal is tied for first in the conference when it comes to home runs. The Bears have hit 22 big flies as a team, led by a conference-high eight from freshman Andrew Vaughn. Junior Denis Karas hit one against Arizona State and ranks second on the team with four while Cameron Eden has three and both Jeffrey Mitchell, Jr. and Tanner Dodson have two.
NO FREE PASSES
Perhaps the biggest indication of Cal's success on the mound against Arizona State came in the Bears' strikeout to walk ratio. Cal pitchers fanned 24 Sun Devils and walked just five with the starting trio of Jared Horn, Joey Matulovich and Matt Ladrech combining to issue just one free pass.
BASEPATH THIEVERY
Cal leads the Pac-12 when it comes to stealing bases as the Bears enter the Saint Mary's game with 36 steals. Sophomore Jonah Davis ranks second individually with eight and Jeffrey Mitchell, Jr. is tied for fifth with six. 10 different Bears have stolen a base so far this season.
ON DECK
With the Saint Mary's game marking Cal's ninth-straight contest in the Bay Area, the Bears head back on the road this week as they travel for a three-game series at Utah. Action begins Thursday and continues through Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 10:30 a.m. (PT) all three days. Cal comes back to the region for a Tuesday game at Stanford and then it's back into Pac-12 play as USC visits from April 21-23. The Saint Mary's game starts a stretch in which Cal will play 12 of its next 16 away from home.
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