USC Trojans vs California Bears Baseball Series Preview

USC Trojans at California Golden Bears

USC Trojans baseball is back in action this weekend following a two game split earlier this week against UC Irvine. USC (18-17, 5-8) will travel to Berkeley, California to take on the California Golden Bears (16-18, 8-7). This series is a much needed break against top 25 competition, and is a vital series to win given the difficult schedule remaining for the Trojans. USC, who has lost nine of their last twelve games, faces another struggling opponent in the Bears, who have lost four of their last five. Both teams will look to get their season back on track, climbing their way up conference rankings which will hopefully lead to postseason ball.

Game 1: Friday April 21 7:00 pm PT

Projected starters: USC Chris Clarke (4-1 4.93 ERA) vs Cal Jared Horn (3-3 3.50 ERA)

Game 2: Saturday April 22 6:00 pm PT

Projected starters: USC CJ Stubbs (0-2 3.67 ERA) vs Cal Joey Matulovich (4-1 4.91 ERA)

Game 3: Sunday April 23 1:00pm PT

Projected starters: USC Marrick Crouse(2-5 7.07 ERA) vs Cal Matt Ladrech (2-0 2.49 ERA)

USC Projected lineup:

David Edson DH, Brandon Perez 2B, Lars Nootbaar CF/1B, Rios Frankie SS, Corey Dempster RF, Dillon Paulsen 1B, Cris Perez C, Blake Sabol LF, Adalberto Carrillo 3B

Cal Projected lineup:

Tyrus Greene C, Jeffrey Mitchell Jr RF, Andrew Vaughn 1B, Denis Karas 3B, Tanner Dodson CF, Matt Ruff DH, Max Flower LF, Ripken Reyes 2B, Cameron Eden SS

Prediction

USC breaks their series losing slump and takes two out of three against the “Golden” Bears. Even though the Bears are 12-6 at home and USC is a mere 4-9 on the road, I predict this team will win a tight, hard fought series. Bats come alive led by Brandon Perez’s table-setting, followed by Lars Nootbaar and Corey Dempster’s power. Stubbs and Clarke provide solid starts, followed by relief studs in Connor Lynn and Bryce Dyrda.