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Making The Rounds On Upcoming Series Against Cal - Starting Pitching Re-Shuffled

[Mike] Weathers has adjusted the rotation this weekend. Cesar Ramos pitches the opener tonight, but Cody Evans will be bypassed, with Marco Estrada (16 strike outs, one walk in 2005) pitching Saturday and Jared Hughes making his first start on Sunday. Estrada's start last week was bumped by the rain, but he pitched four perfect innings in relief last Saturday. Hughes made his debut in relief of Evans Sunday and pitched four shutout innings. "Hughes got a chance to pitch, and he was always part of the competition for the rotation from the beginning," Weathers said. "We just hadn't had a chance yet to use him." ... Cal dropped two of three games against UC Irvine earlier in the season and is coming off a 25-31 2004 season. Cal's three scheduled starters (Adam Gold, Brandon Morrow, Eric Dworkis) are 0-2 with an ERA over 8.00 in 2005 ... Dirtbags outfielder Sean Boatright, down with a hamstring injury since the opening series, may return to action this weekend.

No. 20 Long Beach State faces California this weekend without shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who's out five to six more weeks following wrist surgery. However, outfielder Sean Boatright's return looks probable. He hasn't played since straining a hamstring in the second game of the year.

The Dirtbags also shuffled the righthanders in their rotation. Junior Cody Evans (0-1, 2.57) is out, with fellow junior Marco Estrada (1-0, 1.80) moving up to Saturday and sophomore Jared Hughes (four strikeouts and no runs allowed in four innings) getting the Sunday duties.

Junior pitcher Adam Gold can look to last year's 3-1 victory over then-No. 9 Long Beach State as indication of the Cal baseball team's boundless potential and his own ability to serve as an effective ace.

His impressive one-run, 7.3-inning performance against the 49ers, however, stands in stark contrast to his first two starts this season, which have seen him get shelled against inferior opponents for a 10.03 ERA.

Traveling to face No. 20 Long Beach State would prove to be a potent test for any ballclub-especially one with no starting pitchers managing an ERA of less than 8.00.

The Bears will face their stiffest test of this young season in a three-game road trip beginning today at 6:30 p.m. against a 49ers team with a recent history of marked national success.

Cal will look to build upon its two-game winning streak over Loyola Marymount, but doing so will likely take near-perfection-and Gold's return to top form.

"I definitely think if I make the pitches I need to make, I'll be able to have a performance like I did last season," Gold said. "The problem is really that I'm just not executing pitches or hitting my spots."

Long Beach St. (5-3)-riding back-to-back 40-win seasons-showcases three preseason All-Americans in shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, starting pitcher Cesar Ramos and closer Neil Jamison. Tulowitzki, projected by Baseball America to be the 10th overall pick in the upcoming major league draft, has begun the season on a torrid pace, hitting .526.

"They're one of the top powerhouses in the country," Bears closer Matt Swanson said. 'They really have an amazing pitching staff. It's going to be a big test to see how we measure up against them."

The 49ers, hitting .326 on the season, should pose a potent challenge for Cal's starting pitching. Although Gold has yet to find his rhythm, his performance has not merited a demotion, as fellow starters Eric Dworkis and Brandon Morrow have done little to overtake him, struggling with ERAs of 10.00 and 8.38, respectively.

"Guys are getting into the swing of things," Swanson said. "They're still trying to get comfortable with the roles they've been given."

The lone bright spot for the pitching staff has been its relievers, who have succeeded in righting the wayward ship on multiple occasions so far this season. Relievers Travis Talbott, Swanson and Alex Trafton have been flawless in nine combined appearances for the Bears, yielding no earned runs.

For the Cal pitching staff (3-4) to have any chance against the well balanced, high-octane Long Beach St. offense, it will likely need solid run support, a necessity which has not always been provided.

Although the Bears have scored 40 runs in seven games, the production has come almost solely from a trio of power hitters-center fielder Brennan Boesch, freshman second baseman Josh Satin and junior right fielder Chris Errecart. No other Cal starter has managed better than a .300 average.

Boesch has paced the team with a .423 average and a .692 slugging percentage. Satin (.344, 2 HR, 11 RBI), who won the position battle at second base in the offseason, has exceeded expectations, leading the Bears in RBIs. Errecart (.310, 2 HR, 7 RBI) has also shown his ability to be one of the top players in the Pac-10 conference.