SACRAMENTO — After playing its first seven games of the regular season within the friendly confines of John Smith Field, the Sacramento State baseball team hits the road for the first time in 2024, making the short jaunt to Berkeley, Calif., to take on California in a midweek clash. First pitch from Stu Gordon Stadium is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. PT.

PLAY BALL…
WHAT: Sacramento State (3-4) at California (6-1)
WHEN: Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024
TIME: 6:05 p.m. PT
WHERE: Berkeley, Calif.
STADIUM: Stu Gordon Stadium
WATCH LIVE: Pac-12 Network Live Stream
LIVE STATS: CalBears.com
BUY TICKETS: CalBears.com 

ON THE MOUND…
Sacramento State: RHP Andrew Overland (0-0, 3.86 ERA)
California: RHP Quinn Larson (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS…
• California has opened the season with a 6-1 mark after going 2-1 at the MLB Desert Invitational in Scottsdale, Ariz., and claiming home victories over BYU in a midweek contest and a three-game sweep of UConn
• The Golden Bears have won their last four straight — all at home
• The Cal offense has already put up double-digit runs three times this season: 12 in a win over Georgetown, 10 in a loss to Boston College, and 15 in a win over UConn
• Freshman infielder PJ Moutzouridis leads the team with a .632 (12-for-19) average through seven games, scoring seven times and driving in 15
• Junior catcher Caleb Lomavita is batting .414 with three home runs and 15 RBI
• The duo power an offense that is batting .321 as a team and has slugged 15 home runs
• Tuesday's probable starter, RHP Quinn Larson, will be making is third appearance of the year and his second start after going four shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out six in the win over BYU on Feb. 21

SERIES NOTES…
• According to records that date back to 1957, Tuesday marks the 53rd all-time meeting between the Hornets and Golden Bears, with California leading the series 46-16 overall (23-10 in Sacramento State's Division I history)
• The two schools last met in 2022, with California taking a 6-2 win at home on March 1
• This year's meeting marks the third straight meeting in Berkeley with the Golden Bears winning the last two in 2019 (12-4) and 2022
• Sacramento State's last win in the series came on March 26, 2019 at home, posting a 6-0 shutout as Austin Roberts and six other pitchers combined on the four-hitter while Ryan Walstad finished 4-for-4 and Steven Moretto homered and scored twice
• The Hornets are a combined 5-27 on the road against California, last posting a win in Berkeley on April 24, 2018

CONFERENCE CALL…
• Thanks to last year's meeting with USC, the Hornets have now faced all 11 baseball-playing members of the Pac-12 Conference, posting a 93-170 record against that group
• The Hornets own double-digit wins over Stanford (18), Washington State (17), California (16), and Oregon State (15)
• Sacramento State was 1-2 against the Pac-12 last season, snapping a three-game losing streak against the conference with a wild 15-13 midweek win at then-No. 9 Stanford
• Eight of the last nine games against a Pac-12 foe have been decided by two runs or fewer save for the 6-2 decision against California in 2022, including one run games at USC and No. 12 UCLA last year

HORNET SHORT HOPS…
• Head Coach Reggie Christiansen enters Tuesday's game at California needing just one victory to reach 500 wins in his Division I coaching career
• Tuesday's game at California will be the second midweek game of the year for Sacramento State following an 8-6 win over Fresno State at home on Feb. 21
• The Hornets improved to 11-3 in midweek contests over the last two seasons following the win over the Bulldogs, winning their last three straight when you include wins over UC Davis (7-5) on May 9 and Pacific (18-15) on May 16 last season
• Freshman right-hander Andrew Overland will be making his second career start (and third appearance) against California, after going four innings, allowing two runs on three hits against Fresno State on Feb. 21
• He also threw two-thirds of an inning in relief in game two of the series against LMU on Feb. 16, retiring both batters he faced on nine pitches
• Overland has held opposing hitters to a .188 average in his two appearances this year
• Despite not being hit by pitch after being plunked eight times in his first nine plate appearances to start the year against Loyola Marymount, junior Matt Masciangelo continues to lead the nation with his eight HBPs — accounting for more than half of the team's 15 on the year
• The feat during opening weekend gained national attention with the compilation video garnering close to 10 million views via various social media outlets
• Masciangelo set a program Division I era single-game record after being hit by a pitch four times in the second half of the season-opening doubleheader against Loyola Marymount
• He continues to show a knack for getting on base, posting a team-best .538 on-base percentage after adding five walks to his eight HBPs and collecting his first hit as a Hornet in the series finale against UC Santa Barbara on Sunday (Feb. 25)
• Also finding his way on base is junior catcher Elie Kligman, who nearly has as many walks (7) as official at-bats (10) this season for a .471 on-base percentage
• Junior RHP Tyler Stewart picked up his first win of the year in the series opener against No. 22 UC Santa Barbara, allowing just one earned on six hits and striking out three over six innings
• Through two starts (11.0 IP), Stewart has yet to walk a batter while striking out a combined 10 opposing hitters
• Stewart and Evan Gibbons picked up back-to-back "quality starts" against the Gauchos last weekend, with Gibbons going six innings, allowing one run on three hits and striking out seven in game two of the series
• Junior LHP Aiden Garza and junior RHP Matthew Bachelier made their debuts on the mound for the Hornets in game two against UCSB, while freshman RHP Bryce Stockton earned his first career start in the series finale
• The Hornets continue to excel at turning two as their seven double plays entering the week are tied for the WAC lead and rank No. 31 in the nation
• Sacramento State has turned at least one double play in five of its first seven games
• On the flip side, the Hornets have hit into a double play only twice
• Junior Tyler White logged his team-best third multi-hit game in game two against UC Santa Barbara and has hit safely in five of the team's seven contests, driving in at least one run in each of those games
• Six of White's eight hits this year have gone for extra bases, leading the team with four doubles while ranking second with two home runs