Cal Poly Baseball picked up one win in a three-game set against UC Santa Barbara from Friday, May 19 through Sunday, May 21 at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.
After dropping the first two games, the Mustangs (20-33, 10-17 Big West) salvaged the series finale on the road against the Gauchos (35-17, 18-9 Big West).
Friday
Cal Poly dropped game one of the series by a score of 7-0 on Friday night.
Junior righty Bryce Warrecker drew the start and went 6 1/3 innings pitched while allowing two runs on six hits and tacking on nine strikeouts.
Despite traffic on the bases from both teams in the opening frames, the game remained scoreless until the Gauchos struck first in the fourth on a solo homer over the left field fence to take an early 1-0 lead.
UC Santa Barbara extended its lead in the fifth on another solo home run to bring the score to 2-0.
The Mustangs loaded the bases in their half of the sixth with one out but came up empty, which became a trend as they left 11 runners on base.
The Gauchos broke the game open in the eighth inning following a five-run inning capped off by a bases-clearing double to further extend the lead to 7-0
That lead then became the final score when Cal Poly went down in order in the ninth.
Saturday
UC Santa Barbara clinched the series win with a 4-2 victory over the Mustangs on Saturday.
The Gauchos did most of their damage early, scoring three runs in the first two innings thanks to a homer and a pair of RBI singles.
Down 3-0, Cal Poly took advantage of a UC Santa Barbara error in the third to plate its first run of the game.
However, the Gauchos answered right back with a solo home run in the fourth to extend the lead back to three at 4-1.
In the fifth, freshman right fielder Wyatt King cleared the outfield wall for the first home run of his collegiate career to cut the lead down to 4-2.
However, that was all the Mustangs could manage as both teams went scoreless in the final 3 ½ innings of the game.
Sunday
Cal Poly baseball avoided the sweep against UC Santa Barbara with a 9-5 win on Sunday.
The Mustangs struck first in the top of the second when junior shortstop Aaron Casillas doubled down the left field line to plate the first run of the game.
Casillas eventually scored, as back-to-back groundouts from junior first baseman Joe Yorke and senior Taison Corio pushed him across to make it 2-0.
Graduate left-hander Travis Weston got the start and did his part in limiting a dangerous Gaucho offense, only giving up two runs in three innings, with both coming on a bases-loaded single in the third.
Cal Poly answered back in a huge way in the top of the fourth. Corio drew a bases-loaded walk to score one run and King followed that up with another walk to score another.
Freshman designated hitter Evan Cloyd then singled in a run to make it 5-2, while junior center fielder Jake Steels was hit by the pitch to score the fourth and final run of the inning.
UC Santa Barbara took a run back in the bottom of the fifth, but Cal Poly snatched it back in the top of the sixth as Steels again drove in a run, this time with a base hit.
The top of the eighth saw more Mustang runs, as sophomore catcher Ryan Stafford blasted a two-run home run into right field to bring the score to 9-3.
The Gauchos responded with a home run of their own in the bottom of the ninth to make it 9-5, but it was too little, too late for the home side as Cal Poly won on getaway day.
Redshirt freshman Jakob Wright (1-1) picked up the win after Weston was lifted, giving up only one run in five innings of work.
Sunday’s win also snapped a nine-game losing streak for the Mustangs against the Gauchos.
Cal Poly will round out its season with a three-game set against CSU Fullerton from Thursday, May 25 through Saturday, May 27 at Baggett Stadium.