Cal Baseball Foundation

Winter 2017 Newsletter

Cal Baseball Foundation Golden Bear News & Notes

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January 2017 Volume 4, Issue 1 Baseball Foundation Golden Bear News & Notes Inside: Cal Weighs Athletic Programs—The Case for Cal Baseball T he 2017 season is upon us and we are very excited to get started. Our schedule in- cludes quality opponents as we host Cal Poly, Gonzaga, TCU, Minnesota, and Long Beach along with Pac 12 op- ponents Oregon, Washington State, USC, Arizona State, and Stanford. This schedule will be a tough test for a young and developing Cal squad. Cal Baseball said goodbye to 15 extremely talented players from last year's squad; 11 to graduation and four juniors to the draft. We are proud of those who have completed their studies and those who had the opportunity to sign profes- sional contracts. Despite the loss of so much talent from last year, we are very excited about our returning players whose leadership will be vital to our success. The 2017 pitching staff includes experience and talent with returnees Tanner Dodson, Matt Ladrech, Erik Martinez, Joey Matulovich, Aaron Shortridge, Akaash Agarwal, Andrew Buckley, and Connor Jackson. We will look to transfers Kevin Flemer (Oregon State), Ian Lutz (San Diego Mesa College), and Zayne Patino (Mission College) to help anchor our pitching staff. Our fans will soon become acquainted with incoming freshmen pitchers including Jared Horn, Rogelio Reyes, Arman Sabouri, Jack Wolger, and Jack Cosca. Managing this talented group behind the plate are returning catchers Ty Greene and Matt Ruff and newcomer Korey Lee. Our offense will rely on returning infielders Denis Karas, Preston Grand Pre, Ripken Reyes, Cal Lutheran transfer Kyle Sanchez, and outfielders Jonah Davis, Jeffrey Mitchell, and Lorenzo Hampton. This talented group will be pushed by rookies Conner Bock, Tommy Henderson, Cameron Eden, Andrew Vaughn, Anthony Walters, Max Flower, Austen Swift, Cole Lemmel, Andrew Deaver, and Roman Reed. Off the field, our players are being supported by a special group of Cal Baseball alumni. Cal Baseball Foundation board members Jesse Ingram and John Hughes took time this fall to meet with the entire team and they will continue to offer their assistance in helping the players get acclimated at Cal. Our fall alumni event schedule included a career night hosted by members of the 1992 CWS team who spoke to our players about what lies ahead after Cal and the network of former players who are willing to offer their support in the transition from college baseball. In the months ahead, we plan to continue our community service events such as an afternoon at the Alameda Food Bank, our annual book drive, campus visits to De La Salle Academy, and our youth events at Evans Diamond. All of these are opportunities for our team to extend their attention and influence into the community. After a productive fall that included two scrim- mages versus USF and UOP, I know our team is looking forward to the challenge of the new year. The Pac 12 is always competitive and this year will be no different. Our team has worked extremely hard to prepare for the 2017 season and we are embracing a season that will challenge the Bears to play beyond their years and beyond their level of experience. We have adopted the Cub's Joe Maddon's mantra: "The process is fearless." Happy New Year and GO BEARS! 2017 Golden Bears season PreVIew david esquer, Head Coach The 2017 Bears compete in the traditional Blue/Gold Series.

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