With further financial help from donors, alumni, Cal baseball set for first game under lights

BERKELEY, Calif. – David Esquer walks a few steps outside his campus office right into the construction zone that is Evans Diamond.

There on Thursday, the lights will come on for California's first night game, and the coach proudly points to the place where a new, modern scoreboard soon will hang at his home ballpark.

Esquer never could have envisioned such progress for his team two springs ago, when supporters came through with the money to save a sport that had been set for elimination by the Cal administration in a cost-cutting move.

Donors made this latest $2.3 million project a reality, too, co-signing on a loan.