Seattle, WA — After getting out to a 2-2 start to the season last weekend, the UC Riverside Baseball Team will head north to Seattle to face Washington in a four-game series this Friday-Sunday, Feb. 23-25 at Husky Ballpark.
 

Highlanders vs. Huskies Game 1 - Friday, Feb. 23 - 6:05 PM  |  RHP Trenton Toplikar Game 2 - Saturday, Feb. 24 - 2:05 PM  |  LHP Hazahel Quijada Game 3 - Saturday, Feb. 24 - 5:35 PM  |  RHP Cole Percival Game 4 - Sunday, Feb. 25 - 1:05 PM  |   RHP Kevin West Live Stats
	UC Riverside	Washington
Stats	2-2	2-2
	Schedule	Schedule
	Roster	Roster
Streak	L1	W3
Last Result	L, 7-6 vs. Washington State	W, 8-5 @ Sac State
Leaders
ERA	Jared Morton 0.00 ERA	Three Tied 0.00 ERA
B/avg	Dean Miller .533	Mason Cerrillo .333
RBI	Connor Cannon 9 RBI	Nick Kahle 3 RBI
History
Record vs.		14-15
Streak		W2

OPENING WEEKEND IN TEMPE
UC Riverside split its four opening-weekend games, going 1-1 against both Washington State and Nebraska at the Tempe Diablo Stadium in Arizona. The Highlanders began the year by defeating Washington State 8-1 last Friday, but would fall to Nebraska 8-3 that same day. UC Riverside bounced back with another 8-1 win over the Cornhuskers on Saturday, before closing the weekend with a 7-6 loss to WSU on Sunday.

BRING ON THE HUSKIES
This weekend, the Highlanders will take on a Washington side that is also off to a 2-2 start. The last time the two teams squared off in February of 2016, they split their four-game series, 2-2, with UCR coming away victorious in the final two meetings. The Huskies hold a slight 15-14 edge in the all-time series.

THE CANNON STRIKES
Sophomore Connor Cannon has gotten out to a fast start this season, leading the Big West in both RBIs (9) and home runs (3) and ranking second in total bases (14) through one weekend of play. More than half of those RBIs came in the Highlanders' 8-1 season-opening win over WSU, when Cannon tallied a career-high five, most coming on his first ever grand slam in the bottom of the seventh. The Riverside native also ranks 5th in the conference in slugging percentage (.875), 6th in hits (5), and 7th in runs (3).

PERCIVAL DAZZLES IN DEBUT
Right-handed pitcher Cole Percival – son of UC Riverside Head Coach Troy Percival – impressed many in his first career start on the mound, leading the Highlanders to an 8-1 victory over Nebraska in just under six innings pitched. The freshman struck out eight batters, giving up just one hit, one run, and a meager .056 opposing batting average to a team that had defeated UCR 8-3 less than 24 hours prior.

TWO OF A KIND
Cole Percival isn't the only Highlander pitcher to strikeout eight batters this year, a mark which is tied for third-most in the conference. Redshirt sophomore righty Trenton Toplikar also has eight strikeouts to his name. He is even tied with Percival in both ERA (1.59) and wins (1).

THE DEAN IS A HIT MACHINE
Junior outfielder Dean Miller also had it going offensively last weekend, leading the team in batting average (.533), hits (8) and on base percentage (.588). Those marks currently rank second, third and fourth in the Big West, respectively. Miller also sits just behind Cannon for the team-high in total bases (12).

COOL COLBY
2017 All-Big West Second Team selection and infielder Colby Schultz is off to a fine start in his senior season, leading the Highlanders with four runs and sitting right behind Miller for the team-lead in hits (7), batting average (.438) and on base percentage (.471).

THE SAVIOR
Right-handed pitcher Jared Morton is one of five Highlanders to have pitched over four innings thus far. However, the senior from La Mesa is the only pitcher of the bunch that has yet to give up an earned run, coming in with a perfect 0.00 ERA. Morton also has UCR's only save of the young season.

LOOKING AHEAD
After opening the year with eight straight away from home, UC Riverside will be at home for 10 straight contests from Feb. 27 - Mar. 14. The Highlanders' home season-opener will be against UNLV on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 3:00 p.m.