Cal Baseball vs. Oregon on Pac-12 Networks Thursday Gamethread

With two outs trailing by 6 runs in the bottom of the 9th, any more outs would end the game in defeat.

The situation is akin to that but in the context of the season. After the Bears drop the opening game of the 3 game series against Arizona last Friday, the Golden Bears face a tough battle to become postseason eligible. Needing to win out the season for a shot of an at-large bid (Bears would have a decent resume with plenty of wins against ranked opponents and a nice winning streak to end the season should they win out...Cal's RPI this week is in the 70s so they would need the jump from sweeping a top 20 team on the road to make the 64 team postseason), the Bears responded by beating Arizona 7-6 in 12 innings on Saturday, a slightly easier 6-4 win on Sunday over Arizona, and a 12-4 rout of USF on Monday (only the 2nd time this year that the Bears have scored in double digits).

Back to the baseball game metaphor, now comes the closer for this metaphorical opposing team that is trying to keep the Bears out: the ranked (No.15) Oregon Ducks. The Bears would need to avoid losing any of their remaining games to finish above 0.500 for the year.

The Bears travel up to Eugene for 3 crucial games today through Saturday - all on the Pac-12 Networks (today is national, Friday is most of the nation, Saturday is just regional to Bay Area and Oregon).

Cal (24-26, 11-16) at Oregon (41-16, 17-10)

When: 7 PM PT

TV: Pac-12 Networks (JB Long and JT Snow)

Radio: KALX (90.7 FM Berkeley)

Facing elimination game for the 4th game in a row, can the Bears find a way to triumph against the Ducks? All hands will likely be on deck for the Bears to try to prolong the season beyond this weekend. While this is no doubt a long shot, the seniors on this Cal teams are the ones who were there for the supposed demise of the program. They have faced and overcome adversity together as a team for so long, I would not rule them out until that final out is recorded and a winning record is no longer possible.

Cal Tentative Line-Up
No.    Pos.    Player    2014 Stats

23    CF    Aaron Knapp, Fr.    .243, 12 RBI, 1 HR    
37    C    Mike Reuvekamp, Sr.    .200, 5 RBI, 0 HR 
33    1B    Devon Rodriguez, Sr.    .280, 34 RBI, 7 HR
21    DH    Brenden Farney, Jr.    .293, 18 RBI, 0 HR
17    3B    Lucas Erceg, Fr.    .217, 8 RBI, 2 HR 
2    SS    Derek Campbell, Jr.      .264, 18 RBI, 7 HR    
22    LF    Vince Bruno, Sr.    .280, 16 RBI, 2 HR
20    2B    Robbie Tenerowicz, Fr.    .172, 6 RBI, 1 HR
27    RF    Devin Pearson, So.    .190, 13 RBI, 0 HR    
24    RHP    Daulton Jefferies, Fr. (Thu.)    2-7, 3.34 ERA
16    LHP    Kyle Porter, Sr. (Fri.)    5-5, 3.30 ERA
42    RHP    Ryan Mason, So. (Sat.)    6-1, 3.05 ERA

About Oregon:

NOTING OREGON: Oregon, coached by George Horton (sixth year at UO, 173-125-1, .580), is 41-16 (17-10 Pac-12), last defeating No. 1 Oregon State, 6-2, Tuesday in Eugene after sweeping UCLA (2-1, 4-1, 5-4) May 16-18 in Los Angeles. Top hitters for the Ducks are sophomore first baseman Mitchell Tolman (.330, 2 HR, 46 RBI), senior right fielder Tyler Baumgartner (.292, 2 HR, 39 RBI) and junior left fielder Kyle Garlick (.266, 4 HR, 36 RBI). Oregon’s rotation is junior left-hander Tommy Thorpe (9-4, 2.33 ERA), senior right-hander Jeff Gold (10-1, 2.95 ERA) and senior right-hander Brando Tessar (4-1, 3.48 ERA).

The Ducks are winner of 5 straight games, including 1 on Tuesday over the top ranked Oregon State Beavers. On the other hand, they don't really have much to play for as they are a lock for the postseason and out of contention for the Pac-12 title.

2014 PAC-12 STANDINGS (5-21-14)

Conference    Overall
W    L    PCT    W    L     T    .PCT
Oregon State*         22    5    .815    41    10    0    .804
Washington             20    7    .741    38    13    1    .740
Oregon*                    17    10    .630    41    16    0    .719
Arizona State*          17    10    .630    31    21    0    .596
USC                           14    13    .519    27    23    0    .540
Stanford                     13    14    .481    27    23    0    .540
Washington State    13    14    .481    23    28    0    .451
CALIFORNIA              11    16    .407    24    26    0    .480
UCLA**                       10    17    .370    23    29    1    .443
Arizona                          9    21    .300    20    32    0    .385
Utah                               4    23    .148    16    33    0    .327

**2013 National Champions
*2013 NCAA Tournament participant

GO BEARS!