Looking to sustain a strong second-half push, the Cal baseball team begins a six-game Pac-12 homestand this weekend when No. 3 Stanford arrives for a three-game series at Evans Diamond. First pitch for Friday's opener is 7:05 p.m., with a 2:05 p.m. game set for Saturday and the Sunday finale beginning at 12:05 p.m. All three games will air live on the Pac-12 Network. The radio broadcast can be heard on KALX 90.7 FM as well as kalx.berkeley.edu/live-streaming and TuneIn Radio.

The Bears are coming off a road sweep of Utah last weekend and a 10-5 non-conference win at USF on Tuesday. They've won 17 of their past 21 and have captured four of their past five conference series. Cal also has been a very tough team on its home field, bringing a 14-4 record at Evans Diamond into this weekend. After the Stanford series, the Bears will welcome current-No. 24 Arizona State for the final home series of 2019, May 17-19. They'll finish the regular season with a three-game series at Washington, May 23-25.

Cal is fourth in the Pac-12 standings at 13-8, three games behind third-place UCLA. The Bears hit a season-high five homers Sunday at Utah, and their 66 homers overall are second most in the conference (Arizona State, 76). Andrew Vaughn ranks fifth individually with 13 long balls, with teammate Korey Lee right behind in sixth with 12. Lee is the fifth-leading RBI man in the conference at 49.

Junior right-hander Jared Horn, who will start Saturday, carries a 2.03 ERA that's tied for second-lowest in the Pac-12.


PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday, May 10
Stanford: RHP Brendan Beck (4-3, 2.74)
Cal: LHP Arman Sabouri (2-2, 2.14)

Saturday, May 11
Stanford: RHP Will Matthiessen (5-1, 3.20)
Cal: RHP Jared Horn (4-1, 2.03)

Sunday, May 12
Stanford: LHP Erik Miller (6-1, 2.64)
Cal: TBA

SCOUTING THE CARDINAL

Last meeting:  Cal and Stanford met for three on the Farm last season, with the Cardinal taking two out of three games. In Cal's lone Friday night victory, the Bears broke the 3-3 stalemate with an RBI single in the seventh inning to claim a 4-3 victory.
  
Stanford 2018 Record: 46-12, 22-9 Pac-12

• The Cardinal has won 10 of its last 12 and comes in ranked No. 3 in the country by Baseball America. 
• Two-way standout Will Matthiessen, a junior, leads the team in batting average (.342), on-base percentage (.424), hits (54) and RBI (41). On the mound, Matthiessen comes to Berkeley carrying a 3.20 ERA, with a perfect 4-0 record and 44 strikeouts.
• Stanford owns a 3.05 team ERA. The trio of Brendan Beck, Erik Miller and Alex Williams lead the rotation, each carrying a sub-3.00 ERA. Junior closer Jack Little owns a 2.48 ERA with eight saves, which ranks second in the Pac-12.

NEXT UP
The Bears will welcome another ranked conference opponent next weekend, when current No. 24 Arizona State visits Evans Diamond.