(Photo: Dominic Cotroneo/WCSN)
Arizona State will travel to the University of California to begin a three-game series against the Golden Bears in Berkeley.
The Sun Devils enter the weekend with a 28-13 overall record, and are 13-5 in the Pac-12, 1.5 games behind UCLA, which is atop the conference.
ASU suffered a loss to Arizona on Tuesday, a midweek game that involved its pitching crashing and burning in Tucson. The pitchers who struggled in the game likely won’t see much action in postseason play or even in these critical Pac-12 series, so there isn’t much cause for concern at this point. The Sun Devils have yet to lose a conference series, but this weekend’s bout with Cal puts that streak in jeopardy.
The Golden Bears (27-14, 13-8) sit right behind ASU in the Pac-12 standings, and are three games behind the lead. Cal is riding a four-game winning streak, a nice rebound as it follows a three-game losing streak. It recently swept Arizona on the road and followed that up with a midweek win over Fresno State.
It has been a surprising season for head coach David Esquer’s team–a team that finished just 26-27 overall last season.
Cal has received both strong hitting and pitching throughout the season.
Chris Paul and Lucas Erceg have formed a formidable duo in its order. They are currently 5th and 6th respectively in slugging percentage in the Pac-12. Erceg is also second in home runs (9), while Paul is tied for third (7).
Sophomore Aaron Knapp has also stepped up in a different way, stealing nine bases while hitting .321 atop the Golden Bears’ order.
You can also find a multitude of Cal pitchers among the leaders in Pac-12. Starting pitchers Daulton Jeffries, Matt Ladrech and Jeff Bain are all in the top ten in ERA. All three are underclassmen, which gives the Golden Bears a star-studded rotation not only for this year, but next year as well. Fellow starter Ryan Mason was recently named the Pac-12 pitcher of the week.
The only potential Achilles heel of the team lies within the bullpen, which has been both good and bad at times. Closer Dylan Nelson has allowed three home runs in 21 innings, but has also struck out 29.
Cal has excelled in challenges against tough non-conference opponents, but failed to impress against some of the Pac-12 bottom dwellers, losing two out of three to Washington State and Stanford.
There isn’t much debate that this series is the most important for both teams up to this point. The outcome will give a better insight as to whether either team is a legitimate threat to UCLA atop the conference.
The weekend series will begin with Seth Martinez taking the mound against Jeffries. Ryan Kellogg and Brett Lilek will follow Martinez for ASU, while Mason and Ladrech are likely to follow for the Golden Bears.
