Cal Poly Baseball was swept by UC San Diego in a three-game series from Friday, April 28 to Sunday, April 30 at Baggett Stadium.
The Mustangs (14-27, 8-13 Big West) have now lost three straight Big West series while the Tritons (25-16, 14-7 Big West) picked up their fourth conference sweep of the year.
Friday
Cal Poly opened up the home series with a loss at the hands of UC San Diego by a score of 5-1 on Friday.
Junior starter Bryce Warrecker drew the start for the Mustangs and only pitched 4 ⅔ innings while allowing four runs and striking out seven. Junior righty Kaden Sheedy then relieved Warrecker and only allowed a run over 4 ⅓ innings while striking out two.
After Warrecker escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first, Cal Poly struck first on a solo home run over the left field wall by senior left fielder Collin Villegas to take an early 1-0 lead.
The Tritons hit right back in the third inning after a two-RBI double into left gave them the lead, followed by a two-run home run to extend their lead to 4-1.
The game remained scoreless through the next few innings with little traffic on the bases from both teams.
The ninth inning saw UC San Diego tack on another run via a bases-loaded walk to further extend their lead to 5-1 with Cal Poly going down in order in the bottom of the ninth.
Saturday
The Tritons kept it rolling with an 8-6 victory over the Mustangs to clinch the series on Saturday.
Both squads struck early, with UC San Diego picking up a run in the top half before Villegas tied it up with an RBI groundout.
Following a scoreless top of the second, an RBI sacrifice fly by freshman third baseman Tate Shimao put Cal Poly on top 2-1.
However, the lead didn’t last long as the Tritons tacked on a pair of runs in the third to recapture the lead at 3-2.
The Mustangs kept up the pattern of scoring one run per inning in the third as junior shortstop Aaron Casillas singled to knot things back up, this time at 3-3.
Each team tallied a run in the fourth before UC San Diego got a three-run homer to jump out to a 7-4 advantage, which proved to be too much for Cal Poly to overcome.
The Mustangs would add on two more runs, including a homer from Villegas in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough to pick up the win.
Sunday
Sunday’s matinee and series finale was no different than the rest of the series, as the Mustangs fell by a tally of 7-6, thus suffering a sweep to the Tritons.
Initially, however, it looked as though the season-high 2,347 fans packed into Baggett Stadium on Sunday were in for a low-scoring affair, given that neither side managed to plate a run through the first three innings of the contest.
The Tritons saw to it that there would not be a shutout when they used their frame of the fourth inning to score a run off of sophomore reliever Steven Brooks via a single, sacrifice bunt and another single, giving them both the game’s first run and a 1-0 lead in the contest.
The lead was brief, as the Mustangs returned the favor twice over in the bottom half of the inning.
After back-to-back one-out hits by Casillas and junior first baseman Joe Yorke, freshman right fielder Wyatt King brought home Casillas with an RBI groundout before senior second baseman Taison Corio ripped a two-strike triple to deep center field to bring home Yorke, giving the Mustangs the 2-1 lead.
It was at this point that the game suddenly shifted from a pitcher’s duel into a back-and-forth hit parade. But, it didn’t look to be shaping up that way at first.
UC San Diego managed to tie the game in their half of the fifth inning, and then tacked on three more in the seventh giving the Tritons a 5-2 lead come the seventh inning stretch.
Much like Saturday’s contest, though, Cal Poly wouldn’t go quietly, as the Mustangs immediately answered back with three runs of their own in their half of the inning.
After the first two batters reached base, an RBI single by redshirt sophomore third baseman Ryan Fenn and a two-run single by Casillas tied the game again, this time at 5-5.
However, that was all the hometown favorites would manage, as a Yorke intentional walk to load the bases was rendered moot two batters later, and the game remained tied going into the eighth.
In a repeat of Saturday, the Tritons got a two-run, no doubt home run to right field off of junior closer Kyle Scott with nobody out.
The visitors couldn’t put another run across in the inning, but two proved to be all they needed.
Villegas appeared to kickstart a comeback with a leadoff home run in the bottom half of the inning, but it was all the Mustangs were able to manage, as UC San Diego retired the side to secure the 7-6 win and series sweep.
However, despite the difficult series for the Mustangs Casillas still feels that the team not only played well, but that the losses can only serve to help the team.
“We’re still learning and growing as a team, and I think our pitching… was very competitive this weekend,” Casillas said. “UCSD’s a very, very good team, and they fought all weekend. For us to stick close with them, I think that’s a positive as a team.”
Up next, Cal Poly will look to get back in the win column when they start a four-game road trip against non-conference foe Pepperdine on Tuesday, May 2 at 3 p.m. inside Eddy D. Field Stadium.