Cal Poly Baseball opened up Big West Conference play with a series loss in a three-game set against Hawaii from Friday, March 17 through Saturday, March 18 at Baggett Stadium.
This is the first time the Mustangs (4-13, 1-2 Big West) lost a series to the Rainbow Warriors (9-8, 2-1 Big West) since Hawai’i joined the Big West conference in 2012.
Friday
Cal Poly opened up the series with a tough 1-0 loss in 10 innings where neither offense could muster up a run until extras.
It was the first time the Mustangs were shut out at home since 2018.
Junior righty Bryce Warrecker took the mound Friday night and had a stellar seven-inning performance, not allowing a run and striking out six.
After an uneventful first inning, the Rainbow Warriors were looking to score after a double down the left field line with a runner on, but junior shortstop Aaron Casillas gunned the runner down at home after a relay throw from senior left fielder Collin Villegas to keep the score at 0-0.
After a 1-2-3 third inning from Warrecker and a scoreless bottom half from the Mustangs, the fourth inning saw another relay from Villegas to Casillas to freshman third baseman Tate Shimao to get the runner out at third.
The fifth inning saw Warrecker get into some trouble after a double and an error put a runner on third with no outs, but the Mustang struck out the side to get out of it and keep the game scoreless.
In the sixth inning, Cal Poly loaded the bases but came up empty after a groundout.
After a scoreless seventh from both sides, the bases were now loaded for Hawaii in the eighth but junior righty Derek True came in to get out of it and leave the Rainbow Warriors scoreless.
Both teams then went down in order in the ninth, sending the game to extra innings.
The 10th saw True looking to send it to the bottom half to give his team a chance to walk it off. He got the job done, surrendering a fly ball to right, but it was dropped and a runner scored the first run of the night for both teams to give the Rainbow Warriors the 1-0 lead.
The Mustangs couldn’t get any runs across in their half of the 10th, dropping the first game of the series 1-0.
Saturday Game One
After a scheduling change due to inclement weather, the two teams played a doubleheader and Cal Poly extended its losing streak to seven straight in a 7-2 loss in game one on Saturday.
Sophomore righthander Steven Brooks got the start and was handed the loss after allowing five runs in four innings pitched.
After a spectacular grab by junior center fielder Jake Steels in the first, Hawaii followed it up with an RBI single to take a quick 1-0 lead in the first.
The Mustangs responded with a run of their own in the first after an RBI single from junior first baseman Joe Yorke to tie it up at one apiece.
Following a scoreless second, the Rainbow Warrior offense broke through in the third and scored three runs on back-to-back RBI doubles and an RBI single to take a 4-1 lead.
There was some traffic on the bases for Cal Poly in the fourth, but the offense came up empty.
After Hawaii knocked Brooks out of the game with a leadoff solo home run to put them up 5-1 in the fifth, junior righty Kaden Sheedy came in to relieve Brooks and kept the score as it was.
The Mustangs responded with a sac-fly from sophomore catcher Ryan Stafford in their half of the inning.
The score would remain the same until the ninth inning when the Rainbow Warriors knocked in two more insurance runs to cap off the 7-2 win.
Saturday Game Two
The Mustangs bounced back in a big way in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, cruising to a 10-3 win over the Rainbow Warriors.
Graduate lefty Travis Weston earned the win for the Green and Gold, pitching six solid innings of two-run ball while striking out four.
After three scoreless innings, Hawaii struck first with an RBI single to take a 1-0 lead in the fourth.
Cal Poly quickly responded with an RBI single from freshman outfielder Wyatt King to tie it at 1-1. Followed up by an RBI single from senior infielder Taison Corio to take the first lead for the Mustangs all series at 2-1.
After a scoreless fifth, the Rainbow Warriors tied the game up at 2-2 with an RBI single. Cal Poly responded with a seven-run inning that included three pitching changes from Hawaii, capped off by an RBI double from King to put them up 9-2 through six innings.
The Rainbow Warriors got a run back with an RBI double in the top of the seventh, but the Mustangs took that run right back to go up 10-3.
The Green and Gold cruised the rest of the way to the 10-3 win, snapping a seven-game losing streak.
The Mustangs will close out their home stand with a series against UC Irvine from Friday, March 24 through Sunday, March 26 at Baggett Stadium.
