BERKELEY - An eight-game homestand continues at Evans Diamond as the Cal baseball team welcomes No. 15-ranked UCLA for three games beginning Thursday at 7:05 p.m. Friday's game is set for a 6:05 p.m. start and Saturday's series finale will begin at 2:05 p.m. Live stats for all three games can be found at CalBears.com and live updates will be available through Twitter (@CalBaseball).

The Bears kicked off their stay at home with a 9-3 victory over UC Davis on Tuesday. Home runs by Andrew Vaughn and Jonah Davis, three hits by Darren Baker and two RBIs from Cameron Eden helped lead the charge offensively while Rogelio Reyes picked up win No. 3 on the season with five innings on the mound. Cal's last Pac-12 series saw the Bears finish strong with a Sunday win at Oregon. The Ducks claimed the first two games of the series but Matt Ladrech and Tanner Dodson combined for a win and a save on the mound while Vaughn hit a three-run home run to lead the offense.

Cal continues to rank among the nation's top offensive teams and the Bears lead the Pac-12 in slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits and RBIs. Vaughn leads the nation with 13 home runs, a .611 on-base percentage and 1.038 slugging percentage. On the mound, Dodson has established himself as one of the nation's most dynamic options at the back end of the bullpen and the right-hander has four saves to go with a 2.40 ERA.

PROBABLE STARTERS

Thursday, March 29, 7:05 p.m.
Cal: LHP Matt Ladrech (2-3, 4.97 ERA)
UCLA: RHP Jake Bird (2-1, 1.17)

Friday, March 30, 6:05 p.m.
Cal: RHP Jared Horn (3-2, 4.81)
UCLA: RHP Zach Pettway (4-0, 2.35)

Saturday, March 31, 2:05 p.m.
Cal: RHP Aaron Shortridge (1-1, 3.03)
UCLA: TBA

LAST TIME OUT
Cal Starts Homestand With Win

• Cal returned to Evans Diamond in winning fashion on Tuesday as the Bears posted runs in five different innings to earn a 9-3 win over UC Davis. Andrew Vaughn and Jonah Davis each hit a home run, Darren Baker collected three hits and Cameron Eden drove in two runs while Rogelio Reyes pitched five innings to earn his third win of the year.
• Cal's trip to Oregon yielded one win in three tries but the one victory helped provide momentum moving forward as Matt Ladrech and Tanner Dodson combined on the mound to lead the Bears to a 5-3 win on Sunday. Vaughn led the offense with a three-run home run.

SCOUTING UCLA

• Last Meeting: UCLA enjoyed the home field advantage when the Bears and Bruins met in 2017 as the hosts swept Cal in three games at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The last time the two met at Evans Diamond, it was Cal that did the sweeping as the Bears picked up three wins during the 2016 season.
• UCLA's 2018 Record: 15-5, 5-1 Pac-12
• Head coach John Savage's crew is off to a fast start in 2018 as the Bruins swept Washington State to begin Pac-12 play and took two of three against Arizona State last weekend. Early season wins over Pepperdine, Baylor (x2) and Cal State Fullerton highlight UCLA's ledger so far this year.
• UCLA hasn't lacked for offense in 2018 and Jeremy Ydens leads the Bruins with a .367 average. Michael Toglia has been an all-around force with a .329 average, four home runs, eight doubles and 17 RBIs while Chase Strumpf leads the way in the run production department with 21 RBIs.
• On the mound, senior Jake Bird has set the tone for the UCLA staff and the right-hander comes to Berkeley with a 2-1 record and 1.17 ERA in six starts. Freshman Zach Pettway is also slated to get the ball during the Bruins' trip north and he enters with a 4-0 record and 2.35 ERA. Three different Bruins have recorded a save in 2018, led by Holden Powell and Kyle Mora with two apiece. 

NATIONAL LEADERS
A tremendous start at the plate has the Bears in lofty company when it comes to national rankings this week. Cal ranks 16th in the country in team batting average (.308), 18th in slugging percentage (.474) and 21st in scoring (7.6 runs/game). Individually, Andrew Vaughn's name is seemingly everywhere on the national leader board as the sophomore ranks first in on-base percentage (.611), slugging percentage (1.038) and home runs (13), third in average (.468), 10th in runs (31) and 11th in RBIs (33). Jonah Davis is also among the national leaders in several categories including RBI (19th, 31) and slugging (37th, .684). And, junior catcher Tyrus Greene has moved his name up the national leaderboard when it comes to batting average as he enters the UCLA series ranked 27th in the nation with a .414 mark.

NEXT UP
Cal returns to Evans Diamond on March 27 to host UC Davis in the first game of an eight-game homestand. UCLA visits from  March 29-31 (Thursday-Saturday series), Utah comes to town from April 5-7 (also Thursday-Saturday) and San Francisco travels across the Bay on April 10. The Utah series and San Francisco game will be televised live by Pac-12 Networks.