Cal looks to add to its two-game winning streak this weekend when it faces Utah.
Cal takes on Utah for a 3 game series against Utah
BERKELEY – The California baseball team leaves the Bay Area for the first time since March 26 when it travels to Salt Lake City for a three-game series against Utah beginning Friday at 5:00 PM PT. All three games this weekend will be broadcast live in Utah.
Cal (14-15, 3-12 Pac-12) has spent its last nine games in the Bay Area, which includes an eight-game homestand. The Golden Bears are 4-5 in their last nine contests. They are currently riding a two-game winning streak after beating Nevada 14-2 on Monday and St. Mary’s 9-3 on Tuesday. Utah (12-19-1) is currently 3-11-1 in the Pac-12 and is ahead of the Bears thanks to a 10-10 tie against UCLA last Sunday. The Utes split a pair of midweek contests against Utah Valley earlier this week, losing 6-5 on Tuesday in Orem, Utah.
HOW TO FOLLOW
ENGINEERED STARTERS
QUICK LOOKS
- The Bears are back on the road where they are 5-6 this season and just 1-5 in Pac-12 play. Cal is hitting .236 (87-for-369) on the road as a team. Rodney Green Jr leads team with .292 average (14-for-48) in road contests. On the mound, Cal has a 4.75 ERA in road contests.
- Relief pitchers Tyler Stasiowski and Joe Williams have not allowed a run in 11 combined innings on the road this season.
- Green Jr. continues to lead the Bears at the plate. He saw his average climb to .299 after going 5-for-8 (.625) with five runs scored and 10 runs scored over the past two contests. All five of RJ’s hits went for extra bases (two doubles, a triple and two home runs).
- Green Jr. stole three more bags earlier this week. He now has 21 steals on the year in 23 attempts. He ranks 15th in the nation in total steals and is 13th in the nation in stolen bases per game at 0.72. At his current pace, Green Jr. would finish the season with 36.84 stolen bases, which would be just outside the top 10 for a single season at Cal.
- Kade Kretschmar was on a tear in the month of April, hitting a team-leading .406 (13-for-32). During that stretch, he had his two doubles and four home runs and batted .844. For the year, Kretzschmar saw his average rise steadily to .262 (27-for-103), which was third on the team.
- Cal’s pitching staff has a 4.73 ERA, which ranks 61st out of 295 teams in the nation. Cal’s starters have been fantastic this season, sporting a 3.16 ERA. Paulson Pasqualoto leads the Bears’ starting staff with a 3.10 ERA. He is holding opponents to a .194 batting average, which leads the team.
- Watching a milestone: Several Cal players are approaching individual milestones.
- Kade Kretschmar is three hits shy of 100 for his career. He has 27 this season and 70 in three seasons at Dartmouth.
- Caleb Lomavita is four hits shy of 100 for his career. The Cal sophomore has 31 this season.
- Rodney Green Jr has 45 career RBIs. RJ is third on the team with 24 RBI this season.
- Sophomore Peyton Schulze is three RBI shy of 50 career RBI. Schulze has a team-leading 27 RBI.
SERIES HISTORY
- Friday will mark the 34th time the Bears and Utes have faced each other. All-time, Cal owns a 26-7 advantage in the series. Under Mike New, the Bears are 10-2 against Utah and have no losing streak against the Utes. Last season, Cal defeated Utah in three decisive games at Stu Gordon Stadium to clinch the final berth in the inaugural Pac-12 Baseball Tournament. Dom Souto delivered the go-ahead single in the ninth to make it 9-8 over Utah on May 21, 2022
NEXT
Cal will return home for four games next week, starting with a non-conference clash against rival San Francisco on Tuesday. The Bears and Dons are scheduled to play at 6:05 p.m. This game will be streamed on Cal Livestream-2. Next weekend, the Bears will host Oregon for a three-game series beginning Friday, April 21 at 7:05 p.m.
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