The last time Cal first baseman Devon Rodriguez faced Baylor in Houston, it was the most memorable moment of his career.
The Bears’ backs were against the wall, and they were one loss away from elimination in the 2011 NCAA Regionals. There were two outs and two strikes, and Rodriguez hit a walk-off RBI single to keep Cal’s hopes alive of reaching the College World Series.
The Bears take on Baylor again on Friday in their first game of the Houston College Classic, a tournament representing their best chance to boost their national reputation and their odds at securing an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
Cal will also see No. 1 North Carolina, No. 12 Rice and Houston over the course of the four-day tournament. The games against North Carolina and Rice should be of utmost importance to the Bears; after this tournament, Cal likely won’t see another ranked nonconference opponent for the rest of the year.
A win over either teams might be the deciding factor when the College World Series committee picks its at-large teams in May. Wins won’t come easily, however. The Rice pitching staff has been the mirror opposite of the Bears’ hurlers, shutting down almost every opponent they’ve faced.
The team as a whole has allowed just 15 earned runs in 80 innings on the strength of the starting rotation.
And the first-ranked Tar Heels might boast the best offense in the country.
The North Carolina lineup is led by consensus first-round pick and first-team All-American third baseman Colin Moran. Moran finished among the leaders in all of college baseball in batting average last year.
Moran hit .365 in 2012 and compiled a 21:24 BB/K ratio, displaying great hitting discipline. He’s already off to a hot start to the 2013 campaign, hitting .346 and walking eight times while striking out just once in 26 at-bats.
And Moran’s just fourth on the team in hitting. There’s a reason the Tar Heels are first in the nation, after all. Starting center fielder and Skye Bolt jolted to the top of the squads hitting leaderboards with a .538 average, piling up 14 hits in his first 26-at bats.
Cal manager David Esquer is likely weary of facing a lineup with North Carolina’s potency. His top three starters have pitched 18 innings and allowed 19 runs for a combined 9.50 ERA.
Although the season is young, the combined struggles of lefties Justin Jones, Kyle Porter and Michael Theofanopolous thus far this year have shown no signs of slowing. All three have struggled with command, a worry Esquer professed even after the Bears’ three-game sweep of Michigan to start the season.
Facing off against these ranked teams contains potential to serve as more than just fodder for possible NCAA tournament seeding. Quality performances by the aforementioned left-handers against any of these four teams could supply the rotation with more confidence before entering the grueling and unforgiving Pac-12 schedule.
Michael Rosen covers baseball. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @michaelrosen3.