SAN DIEGO (Interstat) — The Oregon State Beavers look to continue their strong start to the season when they visit the San Diego Toreros for the second game of a weekend series Saturday at USD Sports Center.

First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. PDT under partly cloudy skies with temperatures near 80 degrees.

Oregon State (11-4) enters with momentum, having won seven of its last eight games, including a four-game sweep of Xavier last weekend. The Beavers opened this series with a victory Friday night.

San Diego (7-9) seeks to rebound after a tough stretch, having lost five of its last six contests. The Toreros fell in 10 innings at Southern California on Wednesday.

A key matchup will feature Oregon State reliever Connor Mendez, who has been dominant of late. In his last appearance Monday against Xavier, Mendez threw four innings, allowing one hit and one earned run while striking out four. Over his last two outings, he has surrendered just one hit in six innings of work.

For San Diego, right-hander Porter Rovin will be a player to watch. Rovin has shown swing-and-miss ability, striking out 11 batters over 8 1/3 innings in his last four appearances, but has been tagged with the loss in each of them while battling control issues.

Interstat’s projection models heavily favor the Beavers, simulating a 7-2 victory and giving Oregon State a 68.9% probability to win.

Following Saturday’s contest, the series concludes Sunday before Oregon State travels to face Portland on Tuesday. San Diego begins West Coast Conference play next weekend, hosting Gonzaga.