The No. 25 Cal baseball team is participating in its first NCAA Regionals since 2015, capping a season in which the Bears have exceeded all outside expectations. They beat Washington twice last weekend -- the third game was rained out -- to finish the regular season 32-18 (17-11 Pac-12) and alone in fourth place in the rugged Pac-12. It represents Cal's highest finish in the conference standings since a tie for third place in 2015.

The Bears will begin play Friday in the four-team Fayetteville Regional, facing TCU in a 6 p.m. game televised by ESPN3. Host Arkansas will play Central Connecticut in Friday's other opener in Fayetteville. The winner of the double-elimination pool will advance the following weekend to the Super Regional round, where the final 16 teams will be paired off to compete in eight separate best-of-three series that will determine the eight participants in the College World Series.

Cal, picked to finish eighth in the preseason Pac-12 coaches poll, does not feature a single senior on its roster. But the Bears have been led by a talented nucleus of juniors who have complemented their 14 freshmen very well. First baseman Andrew Vaughn, the 2018 Golden Spikes Award winner, is hitting .387 with 15 HRs and 49 RBI to go with a .549 on-base percentage that's third in the country. Right-hander Jared Horn is 6-1 with a 1.82 ERA that is second in the Pac-12 and 14th nationally. Vaughn, Horn, catcher Korey Lee and 3B Quentin Selma all made first-team All Pac-12, giving Cal four first-teamers for the first time since 2010.



PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday, May 31
TCU: TBA
Cal: TBA

Saturday, June 1
Cal: TBA
Opponent TBA

Sunday, June 2
Cal: TBA 
Opponent TBA

SCOUTING THE HORNED FROGS
Last meeting:  Cal hosted TCU in May 2017 and dropped two out of three to a team that was ranked No. 7 at the time.
 
TCU 2018 Record: 33-23, 10-13 Big 12
• Lefty Nick Lodolo leads the TCU pitching staff and his 2.48 ERA ranked second in the Big 12 this season. Baseball America has Lodolo ranked as the No. 8 overall draft prospect.

SCOUTING THE RAZORBACKS
Arkansas 2018 Record: 48-21, 18-12 SEC
•The Razorbacks, ranked fifth in the country by D1Baseball.com, are hosting an NCAA Regional for the third straight season. They are 28-6 at home this season.

SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS
Central Connecticut 2018 Record: 18-28, 12-16 Northeast Conference
•Central Connecticut defeated Bryant on Sunday to win its second Northeast Conference title in the past three years.