When: 6:00 pm
Radio: KALX, KNEW 960 locally
Gametracker
The Bears are back in the state of California for the first time in a while, but not in the friendly confines of Evans Diamond. Instead it's Los Angeles, where Cal will face the USC Trojans, who carry a 3-5 conference record into tonight's game. That's not great, but it's better than Cal's 1-5 record, which tells you how important this series will be. Neither team can afford to drop many more games.
In a twist, Michael Theofanopoulos is scheduled start today's game, with Matt Flemer and Justin Jones scheduled for Friday and Saturday. I'm not sure what kind of impact playing 5 games in 6 days might have on the regular pitching rotation, but I'm guessing we might see some creative use of entire staff over the next week.
USC counters with Stephen Tarpley, a lefty with a 3.25 ERA. Ricky Oropesa is no longer around to harass Cal pitchers, but USC's lineup is probably a little more balanced than last year. This isn't a gimme, but the Bears need to take it regardless. Go Bears!