Cal Poly Baseball extended their conference opening winning streak to seven games, taking down UC Davis 4-2 on Friday, March 28 at Dobbins Field.
The Mustangs (16-8, 7-0 Big West) collected their 14th game of double-digit hits this season and extended their program-best start to the Big West season. The Aggies (12-11 3-4 Big West) got the winning run to the plate in the ninth but were unable to capitalize.
Cal Poly also stayed atop the Big West standings with its 7-0 conference record. The Mustangs remain in first place over No. 19-ranked UC Irvine, which has a 9-1 Big West record.
Double trouble
Cal Poly used four doubles to plate their runs, all charged to Aggies starting pitcher Noel Valdez.
Senior first baseman Zach Daudet doubled in the second inning, later being brought in on an RBI single by freshman left fielder Dante Vachini to make it 2-0.
Sophomore third baseman Alejandro Garza hit his second double of the game in the fifth, advancing the runner to third, who scored on a sacrifice fly by junior catcher Jack Collins.
Garza himself was brought in by a double by senior right fielder Dylan Kordic to make it 4-1.
A pair of caught stealings ended a promising eighth inning, but their offensive output was enough to earn the win.
Daudet and Garza had three hits each, with senior second baseman Ryan Fenn collecting a pair of hits and eventually coming around to score on both.
Pitching slows down Aggies
Sophomore right-hander Griffin Naess took the ball for the series opener and, for the most part, silenced the Aggies bats.
Naess gave up a homer in the third and a pair of doubles in the sixth that chased him from the game. His final line was 5 ⅔ innings with two runs on four hits and a walk, earning him his tenth career win as a Mustang.
Sophomore lefty Chris Downs got the call and escaped Naess’ jam before pitching two innings cleanly. Downs tried to close out the game but ended up getting pulled after UC Davis brought a pinch hitter to the plate.
Head coach Larry Lee countered by going to senior right-hander Tanner Sagouspe.
Sagouspe hit the pinch hitter on a 2-2 count to bring the winning run to the plate, but he got the team that grounds into the most double plays in the league to bounce one over to Garza to start the 5-4-3 double play to pick up his fourth save of the season.
Cal Poly plays a doubleheader on Saturday, March 29, with inclement weather on the way Sunday. The first game starts at 1 p.m. at Dobbins Field with the second game starting 45 minutes after the last out.
