BERKELEY - The Cal baseball team opens the 2019 season with four games in the Angels College Classic in Tempe, Ariz., beginning with Friday's opener against Cal State Bakersfield at 3 p.m. (MT). That's followed by Saturday's 6 p.m. (MT) game vs. Pepperdine, Sunday's 11 a.m. (MT) game vs. Northwestern and Monday's 11 a.m. (MT) contest vs. BYU. Three of those four will be played at Tempe Diablo Stadium, with Saturday's game taking place at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.

After the College Classic, Cal will travel to Cal Poly for a three-game series beginning Feb. 22 and then opens the home schedule with a two-game set against Saint Mary's on Feb. 28.

The Bears went 32-22 (16-14 Pac-12) in 2018 and finished fifth in the conference in their first season under head coach Mike Neu. It marked their best conference finish since tying for third in 2015, and the eighth time in the past 12 seasons that Cal finished with a winning record overall.The Bears return 18 players from last season, including 2018 Golden Spikes Award winner Andrew Vaughn at first base and the rest of their starting infield. 

Cal went 1-3 last season in neutral site games.

PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday, February 15, 2 p.m.
CSUB: RHP Darius Vines (0-0, ---)
Cal: LHP Arman Sabouri (0-0, --)

Saturday, February 16, 5 p.m.
Cal: RHP Jared Horn (0-0, --)
Pepperdine: TBA

Sunday, February 17, 10 a.m.
Cal: TBA
Northwestern: LHP Quinn Lavelle (0-0,--)

Monday, February 18, 10 a.m.
BYU: TBA
Cal: TBA

SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS
Series history: Cal swept a four-game series between the schools last season, outscoring CSUB 58-13 overall. The Bears are 5-0 vs. the Roadrunners all-time.

• The Roadrunners welcome 19 newcomers to a 35-man roster, with 12 of them transferring in from junior colleges.
• Senior catcher Jake Ortega and senior outfielder Noah Barba both were named to the preseason All-WAC team by Perfect Game USA and College Baseball Daily. 
• Ortega hit .245 with 30 runs scored  last season, throwing out 13 base stealers. Barba hit .300 with a .761 OPS as a junior.

SCOUTING THE WAVES
Series history: Cal swept a three-game series at Pepperdine in 2017, winning by scores of 12-7, 3-2 and 3-1. The Bears are 20-22 all-time vs. Pepperdine.
Pepperdine's 2018 Record: 31-24, 17-10 WCC

•The Waves were picked to finish second in the conference this season by a vote of WCC coaches.
•Pepperdine has quality experience returning on the mound. RHP Jonathan Pendergast was the WCC Pitcher of the Year in 2018, going 7-4 with a 2.69 ERA. Fellow righty Cooper Chandler was the WCC Freshman of the Year, posting a 6-3 record and 3.99 ERA.
•2B Quincy McAfee was a second-team all-conference pick last season, hitting .269 with a team-high 18 doubles.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Series history: Cal is 6-0 all-time vs. Northwestern
Northwestern's 2018 Record: 17-32, 6-18 Big Ten

•Northwestern returns 20 players from last year, including a strong core of pitching.
•Junior RHP Hank Christie was 3-5 with a 4.61 ERA in 2018 but was named to the All-Freshman Big Ten team in 2017.
•Senior SS Jack Dunn earned All-Big Ten honors last season when he hit a team-high .314 with 21 stolen bases, which also led the Wildcats.
• Junior 2B Alex Erro also was a staple of last season's lineup and should form a solid defensive core up the middle alongside Dunn.
•1B Willie Bourbon will help anchor the offense. Last season as a junior, Bourbon finished second on the team in home runs (six), RBI (34) and slugging percentage (.455).

SCOUTING THE COUGARS
Series history: The Bears are 12-8 all-time vs. BYU. They claimed a 1-0 win last May in Berkeley when Max Flower drove in the game's only run. 
BYU's 2018 Record: 22-28, 11-16 WCC

•Senior OF Brock Hale was picked by D1baseball.com as the preseason West Coast Conference Player of the Year. Conference coaches picked Hale for the preseason All-WCC team after he hit a team-high .342 last season. That earned Hale all-conference honors in 2018. Perfect Game lists Hale as the "best pure hitter" in the WCC.
•Keaton Kringlen, another senior outfielder, hit .305 last season, one of three Cougars who topped the .300 mark.
•Jordan Wood returns for his senior season to help anchor the rotation. Last year he went 5-4 with a 2.66 ERA.

NEXT UP
After the Angels College Classic, Cal will travel to Cal Poly for a three-game weekend series Feb. 22-24. The Bears are 41-13 vs. the Mustangs all-time. They last played in 2017, with Cal taking two of three to open its season.