Despite a late comeback attempt in the ninth, Cal Poly baseball fell by a score of 5-3 to the Fresno State Bulldogs on Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium on Tuesday, May 3.
This loss extended Cal Poly’s (24-20, 11-7 Big West) current losing streak to six straight, and helped Fresno State (23-22, 11-10 Mountain West) even up the season series between these teams.
The Bulldogs were all over the Mustangs and freshman right-handed start Steven Brooks from the jump, scoring their first run in the second inning on Josh Lauck’s 10th homer of the year and making it 4-0 by the end of the third thanks to the combination of a two-run home run by Andrew Kachel and an RBI single by Ivan Luna.
Cal Poly trimmed the deficit to 4-1 in the fifth, as with two outs sophomore outfielder Reagan Doss singled to short, and the subsequent throwing error allowed senior infielder Matt Lopez, who had doubled to lead off the frame, to score.
However, Fresno State answered right back in the bottom of the inning, restoring their four-run advantage on Kachel’s second home run of the game — his 10th of the year.
The Mustangs weren’t done yet, however. Sophomore shortstop Brooks Lee led off the Cal Poly sixth with a solo shot of his own to right-center, bringing them back within three at 5-2.
The deficit would stay at that number until the ninth, and though the Mustangs plated one run thanks to junior infielder Taison Corio’s infield single with two outs to score junior outfielder Collin Villegas, one was all they would get. Fresno State’s Cooper Bergman caught Doss looking four pitches later to end the game and give the home team the 5-3 win.
Offensively, Villegas, Doss and sophomore first baseman Joe Yorke all recorded multi-hit games while RBIs came from Doss and Lee.
Cal Poly will look to get back in the win column when they host a three-game series against Big West foe CSU Bakersfield beginning on Friday, May. 6 at 6 p.m. inside Baggett Stadium.