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The Collegiate Baseball poll also ranks Stanford, Arizona St., UCLA, Arizona and Oregon St. The decisions by Chadd Krist and Matt Flemer to return for their senior seasons rather than sign a pro contract likely helped Cal start the season ranked.

Looks like we're not the only team pulling off crazy come-from-behind victories. And we were THIS close to starting up the long sought Cal-UC Irvine rivalry! Sunday's game is 11 AM PT/2 PM ET on ESPN. Nick will have more coverage of the College World Series this week. Stay tuned.

Game 1 will be on Saturday at 5:00 PST, and Sunday's game will start at 7:00 PST. Monday's start time (if necessary) is TBD. You can find info about Stephen Schott Stadium here. Calbears.com has ticket info - act fast, capacity is only 1,500. Go Bears!

Cal's 2nd Baseman joins former Bear greats Jon Zuber and Troy Penix as conference POY honorees. Renda hit .330 and grew into an excellent defender at 2nd base this year as a sophomore. Additionally, Chadd Krist and Erik Johnson earned first team honors, and Justin Jones, Matt Flemer and Vince Bruno were honorable mention performers.

Katie Thomas of the New York Times reports. "But there is a chance it will never come to that because the university is considering reversing course. After originally saying it would take at least $80 million in private donations to reinstate the five teams, officials recently said they would accept $25 million to guarantee the return of the teams for a shorter time if supporters could demonstrate a long-term plan for financing the teams. The Cal athletic director, Sandy Barbour, said she had received a proposal from supporters of the affected teams that includes about $12 million in pledged donations. Officials are said to be considering a range of options, from reinstating none to some or all of the teams, and an announcement is expected Thursday. Barbour said the university’s decision to consider reinstating the teams was in reaction to the outcry by supporters of the cut teams, not to a dawning unease about how Cal would comply with Title IX. "There was, as we anticipated, a lot of emotion, a lot of passion," Barbour said, "and quite frankly a little bit more of a call to action perhaps than we anticipated." "

Cal Baseball supporters have rallied together to help keep the Athletic Department from cutting the sports, and they're halfway to their goal for this year. Make your pledge, join the Facebook group, and click the link above for more information! "Our coordinated plan is as follows: Raise $12.5 million to reinstate all 5 programs for a period of 4 years: Raise $10 million in pledges by January 1, 2011 Raise $2.5 million in pledges by January 1, 2012 Note that as of November 17, 2010, we have already received commitments approaching $5 million. With this great start, our $10 million goal is well within reach. By January 1, 2013, each program will complete a strategic business plan to achieve long-term financial sustainability. For the Baseball Program, this plan will be built on fiscal accountability, cost control, and revenue generation from as-yet untapped sources, to ensure that we do not face this threat again."

Click on the title of this fanshot or here to read the Daily Cal story regarding cuts to the athletic department. Essentially, Cal is cutting baseball, men's and women's gymnastics, and women's lacrosse. Further, men's rugby will be re-categorized in a way that allows it to still be a campus sport. Here is the official press release. Here is the most important part, of course: The campus will honor existing scholarship commitments for those student athletes whose teams have been eliminated, and the campus will support students wishing to transfer to other schools to compete. According to an FAQ released with Birgeneau's letter, "a total of 163 out of 814 student-athletes are directly impacted � baseball (38), men's gymnastics (19), women's gymnastics (15), women's lacrosse (30) and men's rugby (61)." The total number of intercollegiate teams at UC Berkeley is now reduced from 29 to 24. The removal of these teams will allow the campus to save $4 million in the first year and put the department in a better position to control its costs moving forward, according to Birgeneau.