California Golden Bears Athletics
Friday, February 19
Berkeley, CA
5:00 PM
California
vs
Pacific
Sean Sullivan (pictured) and the Bears open the 2021 season with a four-game series against Pacific this weekend.
Photo by: Rob Edwards/klcfotos
Season-Opening Weekend
2/18/2021 12:56 PM | Baseball
Cal Starts 2021 Campaign With Four-Game Series Against Pacific
BERKELEY – California opens the 2021 baseball season this weekend with a four-game, home-and-home series against Pacific, starting Friday night at Evans Diamond. The Golden Bears will host the first two games of the series in Berkeley while the third and fourth games will be played at Pacific's Klein Family Field in Stockton.
Under Pac-12 Conference guidance and local public health protocols in Alameda and San Joaquin counties, no fans are permitted to attend the four games between Cal and Pacific.
There will be no live stream available for the first two games of the series in Berkeley. Fans are encouraged to follow along via live stats.
WEEKEND LINEUP
OLD TIES
Cal head coach Mike Neu previously served in the same position at Pacific for two seasons (2016-17). He led the Tigers to 40 wins across two seasons before accepting the head coach position at Cal ahead of the 2018 campaign. Cal assistant coach Noah Jackson also spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons with Neu at Pacific before joining him in Berkeley.
HOLMAN CATCHING ATTENTION
Grant Holman will make his 14th career start on the mound Friday, and he'll do so with a pair of preseason accolades under his belt. The junior right-hander was named to USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list Thursday, making him a contender for the top honor in amateur baseball. Holman was additionally named to Baseball America's preseason All-America First Team at utility on Feb. 1. In 58 career games played, Holman owns a 4.21 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 62 innings pitched while slashing .264/.414/.348 with five home runs offensively.
CORE LEADERSHIP
Many familiar faces will be scattered across the diamond for Cal this spring, including a pair of accomplished senior infielders in Darren Baker and Quentin Selma. A three-year starter at second base, Baker has made 110 career starts and owns a .290 batting average during his time in Berkeley. He was named to Baseball America's preseason All-America Third Team in early February and joined Selma on the Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award watch list for the second consecutive year.
Selma, Cal's most consistent hitter during the shortened 2020 season, has hit .282 with 11 home runs during his career. He was tabbed as the 29th-best third baseman heading into 2021 by D1Baseball.
NEW ROLE FOR WEZNIAK
After missing the shortened 2020 season with a preseason injury, senior Sam Wezniak has transitioned into an undergraduate assistant coach position this spring. The Carlsbad, Calif., native started all 52 games and slugged 10 home runs in the Bears' 2019 season, but did not compete last spring due to the injury.
COACHING STAFF CHANGES
Matt Flemer, a former Cal standout and volunteer assistant coach, steps into the new role of assistant coach this spring. He spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons as the program's volunteer assistant and will continue to work with the team's pitching staff. The volunteer assistant position is now held by Chad Highberger, who most recently spent two seasons on staff at Holy Names University (Oakland).
STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal baseball, please follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalBaseball), Instagram (@CalBaseball) and Facebook (/CalBaseball/).
Under Pac-12 Conference guidance and local public health protocols in Alameda and San Joaquin counties, no fans are permitted to attend the four games between Cal and Pacific.
There will be no live stream available for the first two games of the series in Berkeley. Fans are encouraged to follow along via live stats.
WEEKEND LINEUP
- Teams: Cal (0-0) vs. Pacific (0-0)
- Locations: Evans Diamond, Berkeley, Calif. (Games 1 & 2) | Klein Family Field, Stockton, Calif. (Games 3 & 4)
- First pitch: Friday: 5 p.m. PT | Saturday: 5 p.m. PT | Sunday: 2 p.m. PT | Monday: 5 p.m. PT
- Projected rotations:
- Friday: RHP Grant Holman vs. RHP Hayden Pearce
- Saturday: RHP Sean Sullivan vs. RHP Henrik Reinertsen
- Sunday: RHP Paulshawn Pasqualotto vs. RHP Hunter Hayes
- Monday: TBD vs. RHP Dylan Pottgieser
- Friday: Live Stats | Live Stream: N/A
- Saturday: Live Stats | Live Stream: N/A
- Sunday: Live Stats | Live Stream: WCC Network
- Monday: Live Stats | Live Stream: WCC Network
- Friday's season opener will be the first time in 346 days that Cal has played a baseball game. The Bears' final game of the shortened 2020 season was played on March 10, 2020.
- Cal is 64-23 all-time against Pacific. The two teams last met on March 10, 2015 when Cal came away with a 13-6 win in Stockton.
- Cal is 40-20 at Evans Diamond under head coach Mike Neu (2018-present).
- The Bears are scheduled to play 54 regular-season games this spring, including 29 home games at Evans Diamond.
- Cal returns 31 lettermen to this year's roster, accounting for over 81 percent of the team's at bats and 98 percent of the team's innings pitched during the 2020 season.
- Cal was picked to finish ninth in the 2021 Pac-12 Conference preseason coaches poll.
OLD TIES
Cal head coach Mike Neu previously served in the same position at Pacific for two seasons (2016-17). He led the Tigers to 40 wins across two seasons before accepting the head coach position at Cal ahead of the 2018 campaign. Cal assistant coach Noah Jackson also spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons with Neu at Pacific before joining him in Berkeley.
HOLMAN CATCHING ATTENTION
Grant Holman will make his 14th career start on the mound Friday, and he'll do so with a pair of preseason accolades under his belt. The junior right-hander was named to USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list Thursday, making him a contender for the top honor in amateur baseball. Holman was additionally named to Baseball America's preseason All-America First Team at utility on Feb. 1. In 58 career games played, Holman owns a 4.21 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 62 innings pitched while slashing .264/.414/.348 with five home runs offensively.
CORE LEADERSHIP
Many familiar faces will be scattered across the diamond for Cal this spring, including a pair of accomplished senior infielders in Darren Baker and Quentin Selma. A three-year starter at second base, Baker has made 110 career starts and owns a .290 batting average during his time in Berkeley. He was named to Baseball America's preseason All-America Third Team in early February and joined Selma on the Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award watch list for the second consecutive year.
Selma, Cal's most consistent hitter during the shortened 2020 season, has hit .282 with 11 home runs during his career. He was tabbed as the 29th-best third baseman heading into 2021 by D1Baseball.
NEW ROLE FOR WEZNIAK
After missing the shortened 2020 season with a preseason injury, senior Sam Wezniak has transitioned into an undergraduate assistant coach position this spring. The Carlsbad, Calif., native started all 52 games and slugged 10 home runs in the Bears' 2019 season, but did not compete last spring due to the injury.
COACHING STAFF CHANGES
Matt Flemer, a former Cal standout and volunteer assistant coach, steps into the new role of assistant coach this spring. He spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons as the program's volunteer assistant and will continue to work with the team's pitching staff. The volunteer assistant position is now held by Chad Highberger, who most recently spent two seasons on staff at Holy Names University (Oakland).
STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal baseball, please follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalBaseball), Instagram (@CalBaseball) and Facebook (/CalBaseball/).
Players Mentioned
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