Al Sermeno/KLC fotos
Arman Sabouri will start Friday's series-opener at No. 10 LSU.
BASE3/7/2019 9:18 AM | By: Cal Athletics
Cal Faces LSU For First Time In Program History
Bears Set For Road Series Against No. 10 Tigers
Coming off a big weekend of offense against Saint Mary's, the Cal baseball team travels to Baton Rouge for a three-game series against the LSU Tigers beginning Friday night at 5 p.m. (PT) at Alex Box Stadium. First pitch on Saturday is at 1 p.m. and the series finale is set for 10 a.m. Sunday. All three games will be televised by SEC Network+.
The Bears took two of three from Saint Mary's in a scheduled four-game series that was shortened by one contest due to rain. They combined for 22 runs and 32 hits over the final two games of the series, with ? rst baseman Andrew Vaughn homering twice in each of those games. That offensive surge has shot Cal up the ladder in several Pac-12 categories. The Bears entered the week tied for second in the conference in homers with 12. They ranked fourth in slugging percentage (.447), tied for third in total bases (155), tied for fourth in extra-base hits (32) and were sixth in runs (68).
Cal began the week ranked seventh in ERA at 3.89. The Bears will be looking to tighten things up defensively against the Tigers, as the Bears have committed the second-most errors in the Pac-12 with 15.
Vaughn, coming off a Golden Spikes-winning sophomore season, has been on an early-season terror. He leads the Pac-12 in batting average (.529, 18-for-34) and home runs (7) and is third in RBI (18). His .680 on-base percentage and 1.176 slugging percentage both rank second nationally.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday, March 8, 5 p.m.
Cal: LHPÂ
Arman Sabouri (1-1, 2.79)
LSU: TBA
Saturday, March 9, 1 p.m.
Cal: TBA
LSU: TBA
Sunday, March 10, 10 a.m.
Cal: RHP
Grant Holman (1-0, 3.29)
LSU: TBA
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Last meeting: Cal and No. 10 LSU have never played each other before this weekend.
LSU 2018 Record: 39-27, 15-15 SEC:Â
• The Tigers entered last weekend ranked No. 1 in the country by multiple polls before getting swept by Texas to fall to 8-3.Â
• They return 19 letterwinners from last season, including 11 on the pitching staff.Â
• Senior OF Antoine Duplantis was a preseason All-SEC pick after hitting .328 with 2 HRs, 48 RBI, 55 runs and 19 SBs last year. He's 68 hits away from becoming the SEC's all-time leader in that category.
• Sophomore OF Daniel Cabrera (2018 Freshman All-America) hit.315 with 18 doubles, 2 triples, 8 HR and 54 RBI last year.
• Junior RHP Zack Hess, a 2017 Freshman AllAmerican, went 7-6 with a 5.05 ERA in 16 starts and one relief appearance in 2018.
• OF Zack Watson went 8-for-17 last week with 3 doubles, 3 RBI and 5 runs. The junior is hitting .349 so far this season. NEXT UP Cal will return from Louisiana and host San Jose State in a nonconference game Tuesday night before opening Pac-12 play with a three-game home series vs. USC on March 15-17.Â
NEXT UP
Cal will return from Louisiana and host San Jose State in a nonconference game Tuesday night before opening Pac-12 play with a three-game home series vs. USC on March 15-17.
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