The Petaluma, Calif. native Dante Vachini stood in the on-deck circle, timing up his swing against the Triton’s set-up man, Spencer Seid.
As Seid lifted his leg towards the plate, the young freshman timed his front step.
With the Mustangs holding a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth, they needed a little insurance.
Nine-hitter Jake Downing struck out looking, turning the lineup over as Xander McLaurin stood on first.
He tapped his bat against his left foot, then his right, took a deep breath in and walked over to the box.
On the third pitch of the at-bat, Vachini belted a frozen rope over the right field wall, bringing almost 2,000 fans to their feet with an absolute no-doubter. It was 110 mph off the bat.
Vachini’s home run represented the entire team firing on all cylinders, as the Mustangs (22-8) extended their Big West winning streak to 11 with an 8-3 win over UC San Diego (14-15, 5-6 Big West).
The 11-game win streak to open conference play is tied for the second-longest in Big West history, matching Cal State Fullerton’s 11-0 start in 1999. The Mustangs will be chasing Fresno State’s record of 18 straight Big West wins to start a season, which they accomplished in 1988.
Head Coach Larry Lee’s Mustangs have now won seven straight and 20 out of their last 23.
Besides Vachini, who continues to impress in his freshman season, hitting .304, both other outfielders for the Mustangs went deep on the sunny Saturday afternoon at Baggett Stadium.
Center fielder Casey Murray Jr. added his fourth bomb of the year, while right fielder Dylan Kordic hammered his fifth.
The Mustangs put together an 11-hit offensive attack on the day, as senior second baseman Ryan Fenn notched his sixth multi-hit effort in his last nine games.
Fenn extended his hitting streak to seven games, doubling once, singling twice and driving in one run. He’s now hitting at a .312 clip on the season.
Third baseman Alejandro Garza joined the hit party as well, adding a pair of RBI singles.
Sophomore lefty Josh Volmerding (4-1), coming off a Big West Pitcher of the Week award, earned another victory as he tossed five innings of three-hit ball and conceded one run.
Lee used four arms the rest of the way after Volmerding, with closer Tanner Sagouspe shutting down the Tritons in the ninth.
The Mustangs looked to bring the brooms out with a Sunday afternoon sweep.