With an opportunistic attitude, California will be looking to claw its way into the top spot in the Pac-10 with current leader Stanford facing non-conference foes.
The Golden Bears (20-15, 6-3 Pac-10) have won each of their first-three conference series and lie just one game behind the Cardinal heading into this weekend's action against ASU at Berkeley, Calif.
California has already taken two-of-three games from Washington State, Oregon State and UCLA, but will face a tougher road down the stretch facing USC and Washington after hosting the Sun Devils.
So far this season, California has relied on a number of guys to get the job done. A team that features just one senior in the starting lineup, juniors like catcher Chris Grossman and first baseman Conor Jackson have picked up the team from an offensive standpoint.
Grossman leads the team in hitting at a .351 clip. He's gone deep six times and knocked home 33 runs, both team highs. Not far behind is Jackson, hitting .333 with four home runs and 24 RBI.
Ben Conley, the lone senior in the starting lineup, has not been putting up the numbers in the past two seasons as he did during his sophomore campaign. His batting average of .227 (.204 last year and .271 this season) pales in comparison to his sophomore season, when he batted a career high .324. Still, Conley had an impressive weekend against UCLA, sparking a comeback rally Sunday with a 3-for-4 performance including a home run.
The Golden Bears five starting pitchers all have an ERA over five, but the bullpen has helped pick up the slack when needed. Sophomore right hander Jesse Ingram posted two saves against the Bruins en route to earning Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week award. He has an ERA of 3.90 with a 2-0 record. Ingram has seven saves and has struck out 29 in 32.1 innings.
As far as the starters are concerned, all three hurlers to face the Sun Devils this weekend are right handed. Junior Matt Brown (2-4) gets the nod Friday afternoon and junior Brian Montalbo (3-2) will go on Saturday. Sunday's starter is sophomore Kyle Crist (2-1). Brown leads the staff in innings pitched (55.2) and strikeouts (47), but his 5.82 ERA is second worst among the starters, behind only Montalbo who has posted a 6.21 ERA.
Reach the reporter at casey.pritchard@asu.edu.
