BERKELEY – California will carry the momentum of two consecutive victories into a key early-season series against TCU at Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas, on Feb. 28-March 1.
 
The Lone Star State trip will pit Cal (3-5) against a familiar foe of late; the Bears faced TCU (6-1) in the 2019 NCAA Fayetteville (Ark.) Regional and hosted the Horned Frogs in a three-game series in 2017. Friday's series opener starts at 4:30 p.m. (PT) and will be followed by 1 p.m. (PT) and 11 a.m. (PT) starts on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Game one will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest Plus while games two and three will be streamed live on GoFrogs.com.
 
WEEKEND LINEUP

• Teams: Cal (3-5) at TCU (7-1)
• Locations: Lupton Stadium | Fort Worth, Texas
• Friday: Feb. 28 | 4:30 p.m. (PT) | Live Stats
• Saturday: Feb. 29 | 1 p.m. (PT) | Live Stats | Watch
• Sunday: March 1 | 11 a.m. (PT) | Live Stats | Watch
• Projected Rotations:
  • Friday: RHP Sam Stoutenborough vs. RHP Johnny Ray
  • Saturday: RHP Grant Holman vs. RHP Charles King
  • Sunday: TBA vs. LHP Russell Smith

QUICK HITS

• Cal's trip to Forth Worth (1,706 miles) is its longest this season.
• The Bears last visited the state of Texas for the 2018 Frisco Classic, where the defeated Baylor and lost to No. 11 Texas A&M and Louisiana Tech.
• Cal is 1-3 all-time against TCU. All four games have been played since 2017.
• Cal most recently lost to TCU, 13-2, on May 31, 2019 in the opening game of the NCAA Fayetteville (Ark.) Regional.
• Quentin Selma was named the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week on Monday and is the league's RBI leader (15).
• Darren Baker leads the Pac-12 in runs scored (12).
• Cal has scored 14 total runs in the seventh inning or later in its last two games.

Q-FACTOR
Junior third baseman Quentin Selma's rise has been a fast one. After breaking into the Bears' lineup in midway through the 2019 season as a sophomore, Selma has developed into one of the team's most consistent hitters. He landed on the All-Pac-12 First Team with a .311 batting average, 14 doubles, 10 home runs and 27 RBI and also participated in the College Home Run Derby in Omaha during the summer.  D1Baseball ranked Selma as the No. 81 hitter in the nation. The Clovis, Calif., native was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week on Monday and is the conference's RBI leader (15). He leads also leads Cal in batting average (.367), hits (11), walks (6), slugging percentage (.533) and on base percentage (.447).
 
WELCOME TO THE SHOW
Multiple freshmen have the chance to prove their worth through Cal's first eight games this season. Five freshmen have started in each of Cal's last two games – both of which were wins – and at least three freshmen have appeared in four of Cal's starting lineups this season. Among the multiple freshmen earning playing time are a handful of standouts.

• Nathan Martorella » eight starts at 1B/DH, seven hits, three RBI, two doubles
• Keshawn Ogans » .308 batting average, four starts, five runs, one home run
• Joseph King » 2-0 record, 1.93 ERA, 4.2 innings, eight strikeouts
• Dylan Beavers » .364 batting average, three starts, one home run, four hits
• Steven Zobac » three starts, two RBI, two pitching appearances, six strikeouts
• Ethan Cloyd » two starts, .286 batting average, two runs

THEY GROW UP FAST
Not too far ahead of Cal's impressive freshman class is a talented crop of sophomore pitchers, including Sam Stoutenborough, Grant Holman, Nick Proctor, Ian Villers and Sean Sullivan.
 
Stoutenborough and Holman are slotted as Cal's Friday and Saturday starters, having logged nine innings and 11.2 innings, respectively, over two starts apiece so far. Sean Sullivan, Cal's saves leader in 2019, is expected to join them in the weekend rotation in the weeks to come. Proctor and Villers have been top options out of the bullpen for Cal with five appearances each. Proctor has struck out a team-best 13 batters over 9.1 innings and owns a 0.96 ERA while Villers hasn't allowed a run in 4.2 innings of work.
 
A LOT OF THIS, A LOT OF THAT
Unlike most of his fellow Cal pitchers, Grant Holman is heavily involved in the Bears' game plan even when he isn't on the mound on Saturdays. The sophomore also serves as Cal's starting first baseman and will hit for himself when he pitches. So far in 2020, Holman has proved that the two-way style can be successful; he is batting .323 (10-for-31) with seven RBI – including three on a go-ahead, bases-clearing double in Cal's win over Stanford on Tuesday – and owns a .190 opposing batting average against in 11.2 innings on the mound.
 
STAR POWER
Darren Baker is poised to solidify himself as one of the Pac-12 Conference's most dynamic players this spring. Through eight games, the junior second baseman is batting .303 with a league-leading 12 runs scored and has successfully stolen all four bases he's attempted. Baker has proven that he's much more than "Dusty's son" throughout his collegiate career, which included a 2019 All-Pac-12 Defensive Team selection and a Cape Code League all-star selection after slashing .342/.384/.376 for the Wareham Gatemen last summer.
 
FULLY FOCUSED
After three years as a collegiate dual-sport athlete (football and baseball) at South Carolina and Cal, Brandon McIlwain now refers to himself as just a baseball player. The Bears' starting center fielder left the football program after the 2018 season and has spent the entire 2019-20 academic year focused on baseball. Despite a slow start, McIlwain is hopeful that the extra preparation toward baseball will pay off. He was drafted in the 26th round of the 2019 MLB Draft but did not sign, instead opting to return for his third year of eligibility.
 
The former quarterback added an exclamation point in Cal's 8-4 win over Stanford on Tuesday with a two-run home run to center field in the bottom of the seventh inning.
 
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