Coming off its first shutout of the season, the Cal baseball team opens Pac-12 play with a three-game home series against USC that begins Friday night.

The Bears enter the conference schedule with an 8-6 record and having routed San Jose State 13-0 in Berkeley on Tuesday. This weekend's series opens with a 7:05 p.m. game Friday, followed by a 3:05 p.m. matchup Saturday and the finale Sunday at 1:05 p.m. Links for a live stream and live stats of each game can be found on the baseball schedule page at CalBears.com.

Cal received big performances on the mound and at the plate in Tuesday's win over San Jose State. Max Flower led the way offensively with four RBI, and eight of nine starters in the lineup registered at least one hit. Seven pitchers combined on a four-hitter, with junior Jared Horn making the start and tossing two scoreless innings in his first outing of 2019.

To no one's surprise, reigning Golden Spikes Award winner Andrew Vaughn paced the Bears offensively in non-conference play with some of the best all-around numbers in the country. The junior first baseman is hitting .426 (20-for-47) with seven homers and 20 RBI in 14 games to go along with a .603 on-base percentage that ranks second in the country. 

The pitching staff ranks sixth in the Pac-12 with a 3.72 ERA and has issued the second-fewest walks in the conference with 40.    
 
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday, March 15
USC: RHP Connor Lunn (1-0, 0.84)
Cal:  LHP Arman Sabouri (1-1, 2.45)

Saturday, March 16
USC: LHP Isaac Esqueda (1-0, 1.65)
Cal: TBA

Sunday, March 17
USC: RHP Kyle Hurt (0-2, 7.71)
Cal: RHP Grant Holman (2-0, 3.20)

SCOUTING THE TROJANS

Last meeting: USC took two out of three in Los Angeles last May, winning by scores of 11-4 and 9-8. Cal won its game 6-2.

USC 2018 Record: 26-28, 12-18 Pac-12

• USC lost two of three games during last weekend's Dodger Stadium College Baseball Classic. The Trojans fell to Oklahoma State 11-6, then beat No. 16 Michigan 4-1 and lost to No. 2 UCLA, 7-5.
•CF Matthew Acosta is hitting a team-high .339 from the No. 3 spot in the order with 1 HR and 10 RBI. He's also sporting a team-best .464 on-base percentage.
•1B Jamal O'Guinn is second behind Acosta in batting at .320, with 1 HR and 11 RBI.
•C CJ Stubbs is hitting .309 with 1 HR, 8 RBI and a team-high .509 slugging percentage.
•USC has taken its lumps so far with a 5-10 record, but the team has shown a flair for the dramatic with two walk-off victories over Arkansas and Omaha.

NEXT UP
The Bears will conclude their five-game homestand Tuesday night against USF.