Cal Poly baseball won two out of three matchups in a series against UC San Diego from Friday, Mar. 25 through Sunday, Mar. 27 at Triton Ballpark.
The Mustangs (13-10, 5-1 Big West) grabbed wins on Friday and Sunday while the Tritons (8-15, 1-2 Big West) walked away with the Saturday win.
Friday
Ace sophomore righty Drew Thorpe recorded 15 strikeouts on 108 pitches and combined with senior righty Jason Franks in relief to tally 20 total strikeouts in a dominating 7-0 win over UC San Diego in the series opener.
In six appearances, Thorpe (3-0, 2.31 ERA, 42.1 IP, 66 SO) has been dominant all season long.
This game was full of records and statistical marvels. Thorpe topped his previous strikeout record (13) against BYU in 2020 while also tying the Cal Poly Division I school record. Through six innings, Thorpe faced only one batter above the minimum after a double-play in the third and a runner was caught stealing in the fourth.
For Frank, all five of his strikeouts in his 2.0 IP were caught looking, and he ended the game with three straight backward K’s.
Thorpe and Franks limited UCSD to 28 at-bats (one more than the nine-inning minimum) and 31 batters faced (four more than the minimum). Also, the pair recorded three-strikeout frames in the first, fifth and ninth innings.
After Thrope’s six strikeouts in three innings, sophomore first baseman Joe Yorke opened up the fourth with a solo home run to put the Mustangs up 1-0.
Cal Poly added to the score with an explosive sixth inning. Sophomore shortstop Brooks Lee hit a lead-off single and Yorke followed with a walk. Junior catcher Collin Villegas then singled a full-count pitch to left field, scoring Lee and advancing Yorke.
Up 2-0, freshman outfielder Matthias Haas loaded the bases with a walk and sophomore infielder Nick Marinconz recorded an RBI fielder’s choice, scoring Yorke – his second run of the game. Sophomore center fielder Reagan Doss then hit a 2-RBI single to cap off the rally and put the Mustangs up 5-0.
In the ninth, with the score the same, graduate second baseman Brett Borgogno got on base via an error. Doss singled for his second hit of the game and freshman catcher Ryan Stafford followed with an RBI single. A walk and a fielder’s choice added another run, making the score 7-0.
Once again, Franks closed the ninth with back-to-back-to-back strikeouts, all looking, to complete the shutout victory.
Saturday
In a complete reverse of the script, Cal Poly was pummeled 12-1 in the second game of the series against UC San Diego.
The Mustangs left 12 runners on base throughout the game. The team batted 2-13 or .154 with runners in scoring position and hit .182 (2-11) with two outs.
On the bump, Mustangs’ southpaw junior Travis Weston got the call for game two.
In the second, Cal Poly had an opportunity to put the first runs on the board. However, senior third baseman Tate Samuelson was caught out at home on a passed-ball strikeout. In the bottom of the inning, the Tritons hit a two-run homer to break the scoreless tie.
In the fourth, UC San Diego rallied for four more runs, making it six total. They scored off two singles and a triple.
Between the third and eighth inning, seven batters reached base for the Mustangs, but no runner made it home. In the bottom of the fifth, the Tritons hit a two-run homer and followed up in the sixth with an RBI single to extend their lead to 9-0.
The Mustangs made three substitutions in the eighth to stir the pot. However, their efforts did not come to fruition as UC San Diego recorded a bases-loaded double that cleared the bases and extended the score to 12-0
Cal Poly scored their lone run in the top of the ninth inning when Haas singled and scored on an RBI single from Yorke.
Graduate outfielder John Lagattuta was the only Mustang with multiple hits.
This game snapped a five-game winning streak for the Mustangs and it was just the second win in the last 14 games for the Tritons.
Sunday
In the rubber match, senior righty Dylan Villalobos got the start and pitched three in the 4-2 win and series clincher.
Junior right-hander Zach Button followed in the middle third and earned the win. Sophomore righty Kyle Scott got his third save of the season, pitching the seventh, eighth and ninth inning.
UC San Diego scored first with a solo shot to lead off the bottom of the second inning, but this would end up being one of two hits Villalobos allowed.
Cal Poly followed in the third with the top of their lineup. Stafford led off with an infield single, which was followed by a walk from Lee. Yorke then laid down a sacrifice bunt to push both runners over. Villegas – hitting higher in the lineup than usual this season – delivered with a 2 RBI single to center field.
Up 2-1, Villalobos finished his outing in the third with a strikeout and double play.
In the fifth, the top of the Mustang lineup struck again. Stafford hit a lead-off double, which was followed by Lee hitting an RBI single to right-center to extend the lead to 3-1.
Through the fifth and sixth, Button added three more strikeouts and only allowed one hit while throwing 59 pitches. Button remains at a 0.00 ERA in seven appearances and 13.0 IP.
In the top of the sixth, Cal Poly added onto their lead. Doss pulled a double down the line and Lee was intentionally walked to get two runners on base. In the number three spot, Yorke capitalized and hit an RBI single up the middle to make the score 4-1.
Scott came in for relief and earned his third save of the year, allowing one run on four hits and striking out two in 38 pitches.
Cal Poly has now won six of their last seven games and is 5-1 in Big West play. This is the best six-game start to conference play since 2014 when the team went 47-12 (19-5 Big West), won the conference and was consistently ranked within the top five in the NCAA Division I baseball rankings.
The Mustangs will look to stay hot when they face off against Santa Clara on Tuesday, Mar. 29 at 6 p.m. inside Baggett Stadium.
