:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70581521/F1CB7F33_40C2_40C3_94CA_B33EA5EBFDA5.0.jpeg)
The 5-3 Florida State Seminoles host the 5-3 California Golden Bears in a good matchup this weekend. The Bears have a couple of impressive wins over #16 TCU and #23 Sacramento State but have lost their only weekend series of the year against Illinois-Chicago. This is still early in the year so don’t expect their last weekend series to hold a lot of weight (their Sacramento State win was just on Wednesday).
Cal’s lineup is pretty good with five players hitting over .300, three with an OPS over 1.000 and leadoff man Dylan Beavers (a likely first round pick) responsible for three home runs in the early season. Cal doesn’t look to run much nor do they walk much and they are prone to striking out a bit but they do hit the ball well.
Friday: 4-3, FSU win
FSU got down early but kept grinding and pulled out a win with just a little bit of luck. Early in the game Cal SS Keshawn Ogans snuck a fly ball over the right field fence but jumped over home plate in his celebration. After a review Ogans was awarded a triple but called out for missing home plate.
Florida State struck out 16 times on the night and once with the bases loaded in the ninth with one out.
Alex Toral now leads the team with 13 Ks but he also leads the team in doubles, RBI and is tied for the lead in home runs.
Saturday 3/5 - 4:00 PM
Bryce Hubbard will reprise his role as Saturday starter against Steven Zobac. Zobac has struggled early on with a 8:5 K to BB ratio and a 1.50 WHIP. However, this mostly stems from his start against TCU where he gave up four runs in seven innings. He looked much better against UIC giving up just one run over seven innings in a game the Bears would go onto win 12-2.
Sunday 3/6 - 12:00 PM
Ross Dunn will look to put it all together against Joseph King. Dunn has not been bad this year at all but has yet to live up to his pre-season hype. King has struggled a bit for the Bears not yet pitching six innings and lasting only 3.2 innings last week.