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This weekend, Kansas State was scheduled to take on Eastern Illinois in their home-opening series for 2015. The weather raised objections to that plan, however. As a result, the folks at the University of California were kind enough to invite the BatCats out to their park for a three-game weekend set. Cal leads the all-time series with the Wildcats, 4-0.
| Sat, Feb 28, 8:00pm CT Evans Diamond, Berkeley CA |
 Kansas State(4-4, 0-0 Big 12) RHP Nate Griep R-So., 1-0, 2.51 |
vs |  Cal(5-3, 0-0 Pac 12) RHP Daulton Jefferies So., 1-1, 3.85 |
Sophomore Nate Griep is on a roll. After a fantastic opening game effort which resulted in no decision for Griep although the Cats won, he then tossed a complete game against Utah last weekend. Jefferies was Cal's opening day starter last year as a true freshman, and defeated Texas 7-1. He lost his next eight, though. He returned as the opening day starter this year, being knocked out relatively early in the Golden Bears' opening loss to Duke; last weekend he bounced back with seven solid innings against Cal-Irvine, allowing only a single run while striking out ten.
The game airs on 1350 KMAN and on K-StateHD.TV (audio only), with John Kurtz on the call. Live stats via Gametracker. (Note: the K-StateHD and Gametracker links are direct links, and are different for each game!)
| Sun, Mar 1, 3:00pm CT Evans Diamond, Berkeley CA |
Kansas State (4-4, 0-0 Big 12) RHP Colton Kalmus R-So., 0-0, 0.90 |
vs | Cal (5-3, 0-0 Pac 12) RHP Ryan Mason Jr., 1-0, 2.45 |
Kalmus went five in his first start last week, allowing only one run but getting no decision in the Wildcats' walk-off loss to Washington. That followed the stellar relief appearance in the opening weekend, which earned Kalmus the Washington start; now, he finds himself as the #2. Mason went 6 for the Bears in a 3-2 win over Duke, then left early in Cal's 10-3 win over Cal-Irvine even though he'd only given up two runs.
The game airs on 1350 KMAN and on K-StateHD.TV (audio only), with John Kurtz on the call. Live stats via Gametracker. (Note: the K-StateHD and Gametracker links are direct links, and are different for each game!)
| Mon, Mar 2, noon CT Evans Diamond, Berkeley CA |
Kansas State (4-4, 0-0 Big 12) RHP Corey Fischer Jr., 1-0, 1.54 |
vs | Cal (5-3, 0-0 Pac 12) TBA (Hain/Ladrech) |
Fischer picked up his first win in K-State's rout of Washington State last Sunday. He also threw 5.2 innings against Saint Louis on the Florida trip, allowing only a single unearned run in the Cats' 7-4 loss. Cal hasn't announced their Monday starter yet; they'll go with either freshman righty Jeff Bain (1-0, 1.00) or freshman lefty Matt Ladrech (1-1, 3.18).
The game airs on 1350 KMAN and on K-StateHD.TV (audio only), with John Kurtz on the call. Live stats via Gametracker. (Note: the K-StateHD and Gametracker links are direct links, and are different for each game!)
Offensively, Cal is led by sophomore 3B Lucas Erceg (.500, 2 HR, 5 RBI), senior 1B Chris Paul (.406, 1 HR, 5 RBI, and a lot of insurance sales, I guess), and freshman SS Preston Grand Pre (.379, 4 RBI).
A big hand to the Golden Bears for accomodating the BatCats on short notice, but let's hope K-State repays their kindness with cruelty.