BERKELEY - Pac-12 play picks up on a busy weekend in Berkeley as the Cal baseball team hosts Washington for three games beginning April 20. Game one of the series is scheduled for a 7:05 p.m. first pitch, Saturday's second game is set to start at 4:05 p.m. and Sunday's finale will begin at 12:05 p.m. All three games will be broadcast live by the Pac-12 Network with Joe Castellano and Dean Stotz on the call.

Baseball will serve as a centerpiece of a weekend full of energy on the Cal campus. Saturday is Cal Day as the university throws open its doors for its annual open house event. With the increase in visitors, fans are encouraged to plan ahead when it comes to traveling to and from campus. On Sunday, Cal Baseball hosts its popular Bark at the Park promotion presented by Avoderm, Nylabone and Pet Club. To sign up, visit CalBears.com/pupclub.

On the field, Cal will look to continue a strong run of form in the Pac-12. Winners of each of the last three conference series, the Bears will try to build off a series win at Washington State last weekend in which they claimed victories of 13-6 and 6-3. Darren Baker led the offensive charge in Pullman, collecting six hits in 14 at-bats while driving in a team-high five runs. Tanner Dodson was an all-around force, going 6 for 15 at the plate and throwing three scoreless innings on the mound to earn his eighth save of the season. Dodson, who is hitting .322 and owns a 2.39 ERA in 12 pitching appearances, continues to rank as one of the top two-way players in the country.

PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday, April 20, 7:05 p.m.
Cal: LHP Matt Ladrech (5-3, 4.75 ERA)
Washington: LHP Lucas Knowles (2-3, 3.72)

Saturday, April 21, 4:05 p.m.
Cal: RHP Jared Horn (4-4, 5.26)
Washington: RHP Joe DeMers (3-1, 1.56)

Sunday, April 22, 12:05 p.m.
Cal: RHP Aaron Shortridge (2-1, 2.60)
Washington: RHP Jordan Jones (4-3, 3.17)

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
Last Meeting: Cal's trip to Seattle in 2017 netted one win in three tries as the Bears picked up a 7-3 victory on Saturday behind a strong pitching performance by Erik Martinez. The then-junior tossed 4 2/3 innings of one-run relief to earn his third win of the season. Jonah Davis led the offense, going 2 for 4 with a double and four RBIs.
Washington's 2018 Record: 17-15, 8-4 Pac-12

• Weather thwarted Washington's attempt to take on Seattle University on Tuesday so the Huskies come to Berkeley as winners of three of their last four after a series win over Oregon last weekend combined with a mid-week win over Gonzaga for a successful stretch of games.
• The Huskies enter the week sitting third in the Pac-12 standings and success on the mound has served as a foundation head coach Lindsay Meggs' squad can rely on. Washington ranks fourth in the conference with a team ERA of 3.40 and Joe DeMers, who is slated to start Saturday's game, ranks second individually with a 1.56 ERA. Senior Alex Hardy has been UW's go-to option out of the bullpen and he has compiled a 1.95 ERA while making a conference-high 21 appearances. 
• Junior Mason Cerrillo leads Washington when it comes to batting average as he checks in at .360 entering the weekend. Levi Jordan and Joe Wainhouse share the team lead when it comes to run production with each entering the Cal series at four home runs and 21 RBIs.

NATIONAL LEADERS
A tremendous start at the plate has the Bears in lofty company when it comes to national rankings this week. Cal ranks 10th in the country in team batting average (.309), 23rd in on-base percentage (.401) and 21st in slugging percentage (.465). Individually, Andrew Vaughn's name is seemingly everywhere on the national leader board as the sophomore leads the nation in on-base percentage (.562) while also ranking second in home runs (16) and slugging percentage (.886) and sixth in batting average (.423). Jonah Davis is also among the national leaders in several categories including RBIs (22nd, 43) and slugging (18th, .706). Senior left-hander Matt Ladrech also appears on the national leaderboard thanks to his ability to throw strikes as the Lafayette, Calif. native ranks third in the nation in walks per nine innings (0.57) and seventh in strikeout-to-walk ratio (11.33).

NEXT UP
A five-game homestand comes to a close Tuesday when Sacramento State visits for a 7:05 p.m. non-conference game. The Bears hit the road for their next Pac-12 series but they won't have to travel far as conference play takes them to Stanford for three games beginning April 26. Action returns to Evans Diamond on May 1 when BYU visits for Cal's final mid-week game of the season.