The Bears begin a five-game homestand Tuesday night against San Jose State after going 1-2 over the weekend on the road against No. 10 LSU. The series marked the Bears' first games in program history against the Tigers, and although they dropped two of the three games, they were in position to possibly sweep the home team. 

Cal led Friday's game 3-2 and had LSU down to its final strike in the bottom of the ninth before losing on a two-run walk-off single. With rain in the forecast for Sunday, the teams agreed to play a Saturday doubleheader. The Bears took the opener 5-2 and led in the nightcap 4-1 before the Tigers made a comeback to win the game and series. Both of Cal's losses in Baton Rouge were by one run, and four of its six losses on the season have been by two runs or less.

Now Cal shifts its focus to a nonconference game against San Jose State before opening Pac-12 play with a weekend series against USC that starts Friday at Evans Diamond. The Bears rank sixth in the Pac-12 in runs scored (80). They're tied for second in homers (13) with Oregon State, and they're also tied with the Beavers for third in slugging percentage at .419.

Junior first baseman Andrew Vaughn remains among conference leaders in several categories, ranking first in on-base percentage (.603), third in batting (.432), second in homers (7), and T-6th in RBI (19). 

PROBABLE STARTERS
Tuesday, March 12
SJSU: LHP Connor Konishi (0-0, 0.00)
Cal:  RHP Jared Horn (0-0, 0.00)

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS

Last meeting: This is the first game between the schools since 2013, when San Jose State claimed a 3-1 victory.

SJSU 2018 Record: 27-30, 16-14 Mountain West

• The Spartans are 9-6 (3-3 Mountain West) after taking two of three from Air Force over the weekend at home.
• In Brad Sanfilippo's first season as head coach in 2018, San Jose State's 16 conference wins were their most since 2008.
• The Spartans arrive as one of the top offensive teams in the Mountain West, ranking in the top three in batting average (.325), hits (158), runs scored (103) and stolen bases (28).
• Junior OF Kellen Strahm leads the team with a .458 batting average (27-for-59), with one home run and 13 RBI. Strahm also leads the Mountain West conference in hits (27) and stolen bases (10).
• Freshman Connor Konishi, a two-way player, brings a .412 average (21-for-51), 4 doubles and .531 OBP into town.
• Junior Josh Zanger sets the tone for the San Jose State bullpen. The right-hander has posted a 1.38 ERA in five appearances and 13.0 innings of work.

NEXT UP
The Bears will begin Pac-12 play Friday when they host USC in the opener of a three-game series