BERKELEY - With only one weekend left before the start of Pac-12 play, the Cal baseball team welcomes another set of Bears, the Brown Bears, for four games at Evans Diamond. To avoid inclement weather, the series has shifted to begin with a doubleheader on Friday that starts at 3:35 p.m. Saturday's single game is tentatively scheduled for a 2:05 p.m. start while Sunday's finale remains a 1:05 p.m. first pitch. Live updates from all four games can be accessed by following Cal Baseball on Twitter (@CalBaseball).

A trip to Texas to compete in the Frisco Baseball Classic yielded one win in three tries for the Golden Bears but a return to Berkeley produced more offensive fireworks as Cal beat Xavier 13-3 in mid-week action. Offense has been plentiful so far this season and the Bears rank among the nation's leaders in a host of statistical categories. Most notably, a team batting average of .348 entering the weekend has Cal ranked No. 3 in the nation as a team.

The first weekend of home baseball was kind to the Golden Bears as they rolled to a four-game sweep of Cal State Bakersfield. And, even as Cal's offense produced 58 runs in the four games combined, the pitching also carried the Bears to four wins with a team ERA of 2.50 throughout the weekend. Napa, Calif. natives Jared Horn and Aaron Shortridge have led Cal on the mound so far this season with Horn, Cal's Friday starter, entering the Brown series at 3-0 and Shortridge carrying a 1-0 record, 0.75 ERA and two saves into the weekend.

PROBABLE STARTERS

Friday, March 9, 3:35 p.m.
Cal: RHP Jared Horn (3-0, 3.60 ERA)
Brown: RHP Reid Anderson (1-0, 3.00)

Friday, March 9, 7:05 p.m.
Cal: RHP Rogelio Reyes (1-1, 4.15)
Brown: RHP Collin Garner (1-0, 1.50)

Saturday, March 10, 2:05 p.m.
Cal: RHP Joey Matulovich (0-0, 6.28)
Brown: RHP Garrett Delano (0-0, 0.00)

Sunday, March 11, 1:05 p.m.
Cal: LHP Matt Ladrech (1-2, 6.08)
Brown: RHP Will Tomlinson (1-0, 0.00)

SCOUTING THE BEARS
Series Record: First meeting
Brown's 2018 Record: 3-1

• The Bears are playing the role of road warriors to begin the 2018 season with 18 of first their 19 games coming away from home in a stretch that will take them to Florida, California, Texas, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. 
• Head coach Grant Achilles' squad got its year started with a strong weekend at Florida A&M as the Bears took three of four to begin the season. Pitching led the way as Brown allowed an average of two runs a game during the four-game weekend.
• Sophomore infielder Cameron Deere ended the first series of the season as Brown's leading hitter, going 5 for 13 with three runs scored and two RBI. Sam Grigo led the Bears in the power department, hitting two home runs at Florida A&M.
• Eight pitchers exited week one with a spotless ERA and three of Brown's projected starters against Cal - Will Tomlinson, Colling Garner and Reid Anderson - earned victories in their first starts. Garrett Delano, who is slated to also start against the Golden Bears, and Bobby Leyman picked up a save apiece at Florida A&M.

LAST TIME OUT

• The Bears continued their early season offensive onslaught but returned from Texas with only one win in three tries. An 8-2 win over Baylor got the weekend started but Cal dropped a 10-6 decision to Louisiana Tech and fell 9-5 to Texas A&M to finish the weekend. The Bears returned to Berkeley on Tuesday and got back on the winning side of the ledger with a 13-3 victory over Xavier.
• Junior outfielder Jonah Davis continued his tear at the plate in Texas, going 6 for 11 with two home runs, one double, four runs scored and six RBI. He wasn't the only Golden Bear swinging a hot bat as fellow junior Tanner Dodson hit an even .500 (6 for 12) with three runs and three RBI during the weekend.
• 2017 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Andrew Vaughn collected four hits in Texas but enjoyed his return to Evans Diamond even more as he hit home runs No. 6 and 7 on the season in Cal's win over Xavier. Vaughn enters the Brown series as the nation's leader in on-base (.654) and slugging percentage (.1.162).
• On the mound, Cal continues to get important contributions from several pitchers. Junior swingman Aaron Shortridge has established himself as a go-to option, whether out of the bullpen or as a starter. The junior from Napa, Calif. tossed the final four innings of Cal's win over Baylor to earn his second save of the season, then returned Tuesday to work two scoreless innings as the Bears' starter. Friday starter and fellow Napa native Jared Horn sits at 3-0 on the season after pitching the first five innings of the Baylor win. 

NATIONAL LEADERS
A tremendous start at the plate has the Bears in lofty company when it comes to national rankings this week. Cal ranks third in the country in team batting average (.348), seventh in slugging percentage (.548) and ninth in scoring (9.5 runs/game). Individually, Andrew Vaughn's name is seemingly everywhere on the national leader board as the sophomore ranks first in on-base percentage (.654) and slugging percentage (1.162),  third in average (.514) and sixth in home runs (7). Jonah Davis is also among the national leaders in several categories including RBI (8th, 21), slugging (11th, .902) and home runs (13th, 5).

NEXT UP
Mid-week action takes the Bears across the Bay Bridge for a Tuesday contest at San Francisco. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. from Benedetti Diamond. Action resumes at Evans Diamond next weekend as Oregon State visits to open Pac-12 play. The series begins Friday night at 7:05 p.m., continues Saturday at 3:05 p.m. and the finale is set for a 1:05 p.m. first pitch on Sunday.