Preview: Stanford BSB heads to Berkeley to face Cal
On Tuesday at 7:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks and KZSU radio, Stanford baseball will head to Berkeley to face the California Golden Bears. Stanford comes in at 6-5 overall while Cal comes in at 7-3. This will count as a non-league game.
Last time out: Stanford swept Rice over the weekend in a three-game series. Stanford won game three on Sunday by a final score of 4-3.
RECAP: Stanford BSB sweeps Rice
Probable pitchers: The probable starting pitching matchup for tonight is Stanford freshman righty Aidan Keenan (0-0, 4.50 ERA, 2K) vs. Cal graduate student lefty Luke Short (0-0, 5.40 ERA, 6K).
On Cal: The Golden Bears are having a strong season so far. They are 5-0 at home and 2-3 in neutral site games. The swept Connecticut at home and also dominated BYU 8-0. They are currently on a two-game losing skid having lost to Ohio State and Pittsburgh in Las Vegas.
The top contact hitter for the Bears is freshman infielder PJ Moutzouridis, who is batting .483 for two home runs and 14 RBIs to go along with a .759 slugging percentage and a .615 on base percentage. The top power hitter for the Bears is junior catcher Caleb Lomavita, who is batting .405 for five home runs and 18 RBIs to go along with a .786 slugging percentage and a .469 on base percentage.
One other player I should definitely mention is junior outfielder Rodney Green, Jr., who is batting .263 for four home runs and eight RBIS to go along with a .632 slugging percentage and a .404 on base percentage. Green is considered the star of this Cal team, so he’s one to definitely be aware of even though he’s not leading the team in batting average or home runs.
As a team, Cal is batting .301 for an average of 2.0 home runs, 7.5 RBIs, and 7.8 runs per game. They also have a .532 slugging percentage and a .399 on base percentage. Their opponents are batting .276 for an average of 1.4 home runs, 6.6 RBIs, and 6.7 runs per game. Their opponents also have a .442 slugging percentage and a .386 on base percentage. As a pitching staff, they have a 5.76 ERA while their opponents have a 7.90 ERA.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is not allow Cal to jump out to an early lead. Cal is undefeated at home on the season and will look to pounce on Stanford early. If Stanford can be the first ones to strike or at a minimum make sure Cal doesn’t strike early with a couple of runs in the first two innings or something, that will help Stanford settle in and win this game.
Secondly, Aidan Keenan needs to have a strong outing on the mound. If he has to leave the game early, Stanford’s thin bullpen could do them in. They need Keenan to at least go five innings. Otherwise, this one could get wild and ugly for Stanford.
Finally, Stanford needs to keep finding a source of power. When they are able to go yard and hit a home run, that makes a big difference for their offense and just overall psyche. If Stanford is able to go yard at least once tonight, that’ll help tremendously. Especially if that homer comes with at least one guy on base.
Prediction: This is a toss-up game in my eyes. I could see either team winning this one. Given that Stanford is coming in hot with five wins in a row while Cal has lost two straight, I’ll give a slight edge to Stanford: 8-7 Cardinal.
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