Cal Poly Baseball was looking for a road series win against UC San Diego to stay in the hunt for the Big West Conference title, but came up short in La Jolla, CA, dropping two games in the three-game set.
The Mustangs (33-21, 18-9 Big West) have struggled against the Tritons (30-23, 17-13 Big West) now going 3-9 against them since their move to the Big West in 2021.
Cal Poly had an outside shot of coming out on top of the Big West, needing at least a series win to stay in the hunt after holding tiebreakers over the top two seeds in the conference.
However, dropping this series combined with No. 13 UC Santa Barbara’s sweep over CSU Northridge and No. 14 UC Irvine’s series win over Cal State Fullerton effectively eliminates the Mustangs from Big West contention.
Offense runs dry in game one loss
Cal Poly baseball lost game one of a three-game series to the UC San Diego Tritons, 4-1, on Friday, May 17.
The Mustangs, clinging to third place in the Big West, were stifled by Triton starter Anthony Eyanson, who twirled a complete game.
A pitcher’s dual was to be expected in this one, as the Mustangs sent out their ace, Jakob Wright. However, Wright struggled with his command during four innings of work, walking six batters.
The Triton offense capitalized on these free passes, totaling 11 base runners and running up the pitch count of Wright. Despite a lot of traffic on the bases, Wright only surrendered three earned runs, with another run scoring via error.
Redshirt senior reliever Ryan Baum pitched the other four innings without giving up any runs on his line. Baum has operated in various roles this season, mostly working out of the bullpen and has excelled in that role.
The Mustangs offense only mustered four hits on the day, with their one run coming in the fifth inning.
To start the frame, junior transfer outfielder Dylan Kordic doubled down the line to give the Mustangs their first runner in scoring position on the evening.
The next two batters would fail to capitalize, but a two-out single from senior shortstop Aaron Casillas brought in Kordic to get Cal Poly on the board.
Casillas has been a steady presence at the bottom of the lineup as of late, after a slow start to the season at the plate. The CSU Bakersfield transfer is finishing up his second year at Cal Poly and has contributed well as a Mustang.
Cal Poly never posed a real threat to score again, allowing the Triton starter to pitch the complete game in an efficient 102 pitches to finish out the 4-1 final.
Brooks struggles again as Mustangs drop series
Saturday’s contest saw the Mustangs suffer a similar result, as they failed to even up the series en route to suffering a 12-7 defeat.
Saturday’s loss was a game of many milestones for the Mustangs, and almost all of them are detrimental to their Big West title hopes at this point in the season. The series loss is their second straight against the Tritons, and just their second series loss in conference play all season.
The 12 runs allowed are tied with a season-high and marks the first time the Mustangs had allowed double-digit runs in a game since March 23.
At first, it looked as though the Cal Poly offense would be the more dominant one during the contest, as they tallied the game’s first run. The run came from an RBI groundout by senior first baseman Joe Yorke.
However, the early 1-0 lead would be as close to the win as the Mustangs got.
UC San Diego jumped on Cal Poly junior starter Steven Brooks from his first pitch, tying the game at 1-1 on an RBI lineout after Brooks allowed the first two Tritons hitters to reach scoring position.
The Tritons took the lead the very next at-bat, as UC San Diego’s Emiliano Gonzalez smacked a two-run home run to right field to put them up 3-1.
While the rest of the first inning passed without incident, the Tritons weren’t finished scoring.
After Brooks retired the first batter of the second inning, a single and a walk allowed Triton Nick Costello to hit the team’s second home run of the contest putting them up 6-1.
Brooks hit the next batter he faced, prompting head coach Larry Lee to make a pitching change. It was by far the shortest outing of the year for the Mustang starter, who lasted just 1 1/3 innings pitched.
Though Brooks only allowed three hits, he struggled for control all game, giving up two walks and a wild pitch while hitting two batters and striking out none. His seven runs allowed are the most he has given up in a start this season.
The Tritons added one more run in their half of the second inning to put them up 7-1. And though the Mustangs made several attempts to rally, they couldn’t generate any momentum offensively and the bullpen failed to limit the damage.
When it was all said and done, the Mustangs lost the game—and the series—by a 12-7 final score.
Mustangs salvage series with a win, but ultimately out of Big West race
Cal Poly Baseball closed out their final road series of the 2024 season with a 7-5 win over UC San Diego.
Despite the win, the Mustangs still find themselves stuck in third place in the Big West Conference and are ultimately out of the race for the conference title.
Cal Poly took the game behind senior center fielder Jake Steels after smacking two home runs and driving in three RBIs.
Steels’ first home run came on the first pitch of the game before doubling up in the third inning to help the Mustangs take an early 3-0 lead.
Freshman righty Griffin Naess drew the start and pitched 4 2/3 innings only allowing three runs on two hits.
Freshman southpaw Josh Volmerding relieved Naess in the fifth inning and threw two innings of relief only allowing one run while striking out three.
The Mustangs pushed three more runs across in the fifth inning to take a commanding 6-0 lead.
The Tritons attempted a comeback, scoring runs in the fifth, sixth and ninth innings to cut their deficit to two runs, but redshirt sophomore closer Tanner Sagouspe shut the door and picked up his eighth save of the season.
Cal Poly will finish their season in a three-game series against Long Beach State from Thursday, May 23 through Saturday, May 25 at Baggett Stadium.