Following a four-game skid to USC in which Cal Poly Baseball were outscored 34-8, the Mustangs found themselves back in the win column with a commanding 12-2 win over Pepperdine on Tuesday evening.
The Mustangs (5-7) used arguably their most dominant pitching performance of the season, alongside a pair of innings in which at least five batters were able to reach base, en route to their second-largest win of the year.
Cal Poly’s triumph over Pepperdine was their first victory in their last seven games played. This is the fifth consecutive game in which the Mustangs have triumphed over the Waves in program history.
Waving goodbye
Freshman Brady Estes was given the nod to make the Tuesday start for Cal Poly. The evening’s outing was Estes’ first official start as a Mustang, though not his debut appearance.Â
In his first official appearance as the headliner on the mound, Estes’ efficiency was shaky – he threw 78 pitches across four frames of work – but the results highlighted a potential ace in the program’s future.
Estes allowed four hits and one walk for two runs but found 10 of his 12 total outs reached through strikeouts. The righty retired four batters within the first half of his performance, and then downed each of his next six outs via strikeout.
“It’s all about getting those two strikes early,” Estes said. “And then using your weapons to finish off the at-bat from there.”
The Mustangs’ relievers were equally as dominant, tacking on eight additional strikeouts to bring the Mustangs’ thrown strikeouts to a season-high of 18.
Junior Josh Morano had his best outing of the season, matching Estes’ four innings of work, though he was arguably more efficient, having thrown 50 total pitches in his scoreless appearance. Morano contributed six strikeouts to the team’s total, and gave up just one hit and one walk, earning his second win of the season.
This was the first time all season in which Morano had not allowed a run to score, and the appearance lowered his ERA on the season from 11.37 to 6.97.
Junior Chris Downs shined in the closing shift, throwing a clean 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts to seal the double-digit win for Cal Poly.
A Mustangs’ dozen
After having mustered just eight runs across their four game setback to USC, Cal Poly’s offense were searching for a spark to reignite the bats that showed promise in matches against Campbell and Washington State.
Through the course of the first six innings, the Mustangs were still looking for the right matchbox; Cal Poly had knocked in four hits for just two runs across that span.
The Mustangs had several opportunities to produce more runs, having stranded seven total baserunners within those frames. This included a two outs, bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the fifth inning that saw Cal Poly ground out on the first pitch of the at-bat to allow Pepperdine to escape the jam.
With the game tied at two apiece, Cal Poly was finally able to light their fire in the seventh inning. Graduate student Casey Murray Jr. was responsible for breaking open the tie, recording a bases-clearing triple, the second triple of the night, that would allow the Mustangs to take their first lead of the game, 4-2.
A single from junior Ryan Tayman extended the Mustangs’ lead to three runs. A double from sophomore Dante Vachini would immediately follow, making it so that five consecutive Mustangs reached base without recording an out. Three more batters would reach base to give Cal Poly an 8-2 advantage over Pepperdine.Â
The Mustangs’ bats had not cooled off by the following inning, with Cal Poly piling on four additional runs in their final frame of offense. Three of those runs had come from a bases-clearing triple hit by freshman Antonio Castro – the team’s third triple of the night, a season high.
Total team offense, such as the performances within those two innings, is crucial to success within the season, according to Murray Jr.
“We need to have team at-bats,” Murray Jr. said. “Just keep passing the baton to the next guy; that’s how runs end up stacking up.”
Defending the title
Cal Poly will open the defense of its Big West Championship when conference play begins this weekend at Hawaii.
The Rainbow Warriors have come out as victors in six of their last nine matches, and sport an 8-4 record on the season, good enough to be ranked second within the Big West, prior to conference play.
The first pitch of the series will be on Friday, March 6 at 9:35 p.m.