BERKELEY – California begins the back half of an eight-game homestand with a midweek nonconference outing before closing with another Pac-12 series.
 
The Bears look to build momentum against Saint Mary's on Wednesday, after giving up a tough three games to No. 6 Washington over the weekend.
 
With just one conference win so far, Cal (21-18, 1-10 Pac-12) will need to dig deep going into the Friday-Sunday series with Oregon State in order to move toward playoff contention.
 
The slate has provided historically favorable numbers for the Bears, who've only given up two games ever to the Gaels, and claim a significant 86-40 advantage with the Beavers.
 
Individually, senior Lindsay Rood is posting notable numbers with a league-high 59 hits, which ranks fourth nationally. But even with that note, Cal was only able to plate a pair of runs against the Huskies and are going to need to have a big offensive weekend to settle that debt.
 
The Bears-Gaels matchup is scheduled for 3 p.m. (PT) and will be live streamed on Pac-12.com, while games 1 and 2 against the Beavers are slated for 3 p.m. and game 3 for noon.
 
Sunday is also Alumni Day as the Bears welcome back former members from throughout the program's 47 years.
 
The OSU series also marks Cal's penultimate home series at Levine-Fricke Field for the year and for the program, as the Bears look to start a new chapter in a brand new facility for the 2021 season. More info here: https://calbea.rs/2VAFx6m.
 
BEAR BUSINESS

• Lindsay Rood's 59 hits leads the Pac-12 and ranks fourth in the nation
• Rood and teammate Destiny Blueford rank second in the Pac-12 with four triples, along with Stanford's Emily Young and Teagan Cowles
• Rood, who was named Pac-12 Player of the Week on March 12 after going 11-for-17 (.647) in Honolulu, currently ranks second in the Pac-12 with a .434 batting average, which ranks 30th nationally. She continues to top the league with 24 steals in as many attempts
• Mikayla Coelho leads the Bears with seven home runs and 24 walks is tied for third in conference
• Coelho and fellow sophomore Karlee Sparacino top the Cal ledger with 25 RBI each
• Cal's wins over No. 22 James Madison (7-2) and No. 24 Notre Dame (7-6) mark the first time the Bears have downed two non-conference top-25 opponents since 2016 when they outlasted No. 18 Kentucky (5-1) and another 24th-ranked Fighting Irish squad (8-7)
• Cal made a historic run from March 1-9 winning seven consecutive five-inning games, believed to be a program record
• Senior ace Kamalani Dung (8-6) holds a 2.34 ERA which ranks ninth in the Pac-12 and has struck out 106 batters, seventh most in the league
• Freshman Alexandra Perez's 2.10 ERA ranks sixth in the league behind a 5-0 record in 12 appearances and 43.1 innings of work
• Zoe Conley pitched her first no-hitter in a Bear's uniform on March 8 against St. Bonaventure in Honolulu; a 12-0 shutout for the Bears
• Two of Cal's last three victories came on game-winning yard balls from junior Destiny Blueford (8-7 vs Utah in eight) and sophomore Karlee Sparacino (3-1 vs Sac State in nine)
• Cal is currently on a eight-game losing streak in conference play, with its lone win coming at Utah on March 17
• Despite being swept by the No. 1 Bruins, Cal allowed just four runs in the first two games of the series, while UCLA went into the matchup averaging 7.15 runs per outing through the season
• Cal kept the top-ranked Bruins scoreless through 13 innings this series and hold them 44 points (.304) under their season average (.348) heading into the weekend
• The Bears have done some of their best offensive work under pressure, recording 60 two-out RBIs so far this season

vs. Saint Mary's

• The Gaels are 7-26 and have been run-ruled in four of the last seven outings
• SMC has given up 206 runs, scoring just 79
• First baseman and clean-up hitter Bailey Lotz (.239) leads the team with 14 runs
• Junior Eryn McCoy leads the staff with a 6.72 ERA and WHIP of 1.85 in 79.0 innings of work

vs. Oregon State

• The Beavers are 1-9 in conference (19-14 overall) and sit ahead of the Bears in eighth place in the league
• Defeated Arizona State, ranked 17th/18th at the time in the Pac-12 opener on March 15 before giving up 30 runs in the last two games of the series
• OSU's .251 batting average ranks last in the league, while the Bears sit in fifth with a .294 hitting percentage
• Freshman Frankie Hammoude, who played at Bishop O'Dowd for high school, is tied for sixth in the league with 21 walks and tied for ninth with nine homers
• Cal gave up last year's series in Corvallis 2-1, with its win coming behind a 12-0 six-inning decision

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