Cal Poly baseball was shut out in game two of their series against No. 12-ranked UC Irvine, losing 4-0 on Saturday at Baggett Stadium.
The Mustangs (28-13, 15-5 Big West) have been shut out for 13 straight innings against Anteaters (31-9, 18-2) pitching, starting in the sixth inning of Friday’s matchup.
Cal Poly is now three games back of UC Irvine for first place in the Big West, but doesn’t feel outmatched on the field despite already losing the series. The Mustangs know they belong; they just need to execute.
“They’re a great team, but we’re a great team too,” sophomore left-handed pitcher Josh Volmerding said. “We have a bunch of wins also. We earned our spot here, being at the top of the Big West.”
Cal Poly will have some work to do to chase down Irvine in the standings, but a Sunday would be a good start.
To win the series finale, however, the offense needs to get going. UC Irvine’s pitching has been outstanding all season long, but so has Cal Poly’s offense.
Confidence in the lineup remains high regardless of their recent struggles. The team is aware of how dominant the Anteaters’ staff has been and believes they can hang with them.
“Sometimes the bats aren’t there, but the confidence is still high, we’ve been raking the whole season,” Volmerding said.
Volmerding was fantastic, but he did not receive adequate run support. Volmerding struck out a career-high 11 batters in six innings of work, giving up three runs in the process, qualifying as a quality start.
No matter what the southpaw threw, it seemed untouchable. Volmerding felt that sentiment as well.
“Stuff-wise, some days you don’t have it, some days you do,” Volmerding said. “Today, [I] pretty much just had everything.”
Volmerding is coming off an outing versus UC Santa Barbara in which he walked six batters. In Saturday’s outing, he walked none, more characteristic of the control he possesses.
“This week, I just worked on throwing a lot of strikes, making sure I’m hitting my spots,” Volmerding said. “And that’s what I did today, I hit my spots.”
The Mustangs will look to snap their scoreless skid and avoid a sweep on Sunday, April 26 in the final game of the series. First pitch is at 1 p.m. at Baggett Stadium.