After coming into the weekend tied for first place in the Big West Conference, Cal Poly Baseball dropped their first conference series of the season after losing two out of three against the University of Hawai’i.
The Mustang (22-16, 12-6 Big West) pitching staff struggled throughout the series while the Rainbow Warriors (22-15, 6-9 Big West) capitalized off of Cal Poly miscues.
Mustangs lose game one via walk-off
In Friday’s game against the Rainbow Warriors, the Mustangs scored three runs in the fourth inning to tie the game up, but it wouldn’t be enough as Hawai’i walked it off on a sacrifice fly in the ninth to win the game.
Hawaii took the lead early as they collected three hits and took a 1-0 lead.
From the bottom of the first until the top of the fourth, it was a pitcher’s duel, but in the fourth, the Mustangs blew it open when junior infielder Zach Daudet hit a double with the bases loaded that scored two of the runners. The third run scored on a wild pitch.
The Rainbow Warriors didn’t go away as they scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth on a double that knotted the game up at 3-3. After that fourth inning, both teams stalled offensively.
Hawaii ended the scoring drought at the bottom of the ninth in walk-off fashion, with the Mustangs dropping the first game of a three-game set.
Although the Mustangs’ win streak was snapped, there were many bright spots. At the plate, senior center fielder Jake Steels went 2-for-5 and has now extended his on-base streak to 36 consecutive games.
Junior catcher Ryan Stafford and senior first baseman Joe Yorke picked up hits to extend their hitting streaks to 16 and 13, respectively.
Redshirt sophomore Jakob Wright drew the start for the Mustangs and threw six innings, gave up ten hits and three runs, two of which were earned, and also struck out five batters.
This was Wright’s eighth time that he had thrown more than five innings while allowing less than three earned runs.
Junior southpaw Jake Torres pitched the next two innings for the Mustangs before redshirt sophomore reliever Tanner Sagouspe got one out in the ninth on the sacrifice fly that drove in the winning run.
Mustang offense bounces back to even series
Down by two runs against Hawai’i going into the fifth inning, the Cal Poly offense came to life, methodically scoring five runs behind a leadoff homer and multiple timely hits.
In a decisive group win, the Mustangs beat the Rainbow Warriors by a score of 9-5 on the road to even the series at 1-1 with one game remaining.
Their one flash of power in the game came to open the fifth inning when Daudet launched his second home run in the last three games to open the scoring for the Mustangs.
After the home run, the Mustangs relied on a steady-paced offensive performance with runners in scoring position.
Their scoring bursts were punctuated by RBI singles from freshman third baseman Alejandro Garza and sophomore designated hitter Evan Cloyd, and an RBI triple by junior pinch hitter Cam Hoiland.
Steels continued his dominant season, going 3-for-4 with two walks and a run. His performance bumped his season batting average to .418, putting him in a tie for first in the Big West.
Also contributing was junior outfielder Dylan Kordic, who went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI of his own.
Junior starting pitcher Steven Brooks turned in his third straight solid outing, going for seven innings with just two earned runs, and was credited with the win.
Head coach Larry Lee turned to redshirt senior pitcher Ryan Baum, who failed to retire any Rainbow Warrior batters and gave up three runs before Sagouspe was called in for a two-inning save.
Sagouspe has put together a solid first full year, and has a 2.51 earned run average and six saves over 32.1 innings pitched.
Both of the Mustangs’ defensive errors came in the eighth inning, leading to the three runs scored off of Baum, two of them earned. Hawai’i added three errors of their own in what was a poor defensive showing on both sides.
Cal Poly’s defense sits near the middle of the pack in fielding percentage and errors, though they do lead the Big West in putouts.
Mustangs drop first Big West series of the season
Cal Poly Baseball couldn’t close the door in extra innings, as Hawai’i overcame a strong start and offensive performance by the Mustangs with late-game heroics.
The Mustangs fell on the road to the Rainbow Warriors by a score of 6-5, sealing their first Big West Conference series loss of the season.
Mustangs starter Griffin Naess tossed a dominant seven innings, allowing just one run and four hits.
The freshman right-hander has been a solid rotation piece in his first year with the Mustangs, collecting five wins with a 3.40 ERA in 10 games on the season.
Five different Mustang pitchers were called on to get through the evening. After Naess exited, the Mustangs allowed at least one run per inning for the next four frames, leading to the eventual walk-off in the 11th.
After allowing three runs across the eighth and ninth innings, Cloyd put the Mustangs up by one with an RBI single to open extra innings.
Hawai’i countered with the tying run yet again in the bottom half of the ninth inning.
Stafford was stranded at second base to end the Mustangs’ last chance at the top of the final frame before a Rainbow Warriors double off of freshman Caden Pearlman sealed the contest.
Stafford had a strong day at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a walk.
Both Cloyd and Yorke drove in one RBI apiece earlier in the game, culminating in what looked like a commanding 4-1 lead going into the bottom of the eighth.
Since beginning Big West play in March, the Mustangs have found their stride, and have yet to lose multiple games in a row.
The top five teams in the Big West remain closely grouped early in the season, and the Mustangs remain very well within the race for the top spot in the conference. They are less than two games away from first place UC Irvine but currently sit in fifth place.
The Mustangs will now come back home for a midweek break before beginning a three-game series against UC Davis, beginning on April 26 at 6 p.m.