Fullerton, Calif. – Cal Poly knew that UC Irvine was going to be a tough out. After taking down hosts Cal State Fullerton in their tournament opener, the Mustangs’ attention turned to the Big West regular season champion Anteaters.
In their series earlier in the season, Cal Poly hung close against UC Irvine in what was ultimately a sweep in favor of Irvine. Still, the Mustangs jumped out to an early lead in the opener and were a strike away from winning in the series finale.
In Friday’s game, UC Irvine showed why they are the nationally ranked Big West regular season champions, run-ruling Cal Poly 15-3 at Goodwin Field.
After a strong showing against UC Irvine in their April clash at Baggett Stadium, sophomore lefty Josh Volmerding was knocked around. It started with an RBI groundout in the first inning, followed by an RBI single to make it 2-0.
It broke open in the fourth with Irvine tagging Volmerding for six runs and two home runs, chasing the starter. His final line was 3 2/3rd innings, with nine runs (eight earned) on 11 hits and two walks.
“[UC Irvine] create problems with their hitting approach,” head coach Larry Lee. “It’s tough, you need to be able to mix a lot, you need to be able to limit the amount of leadoff hitters that get on base and limit the amount of free passes. We didn’t do that today.”
Freshman righty Troy Cooper got the final out of the fourth and got two quick outs in the fifth before UC Irvine again struck.
A walk and a double was the end of Cooper’s night, bringing in junior righty Charlie Royle. The next two batters were hit before a double cleared the bases. Another run came across before Royle could get out of the inning, with the fifth inning ending 15-0.
Throughout the game you could hear “two out nightmare” coming from the Irvine faithful, and it was a nightmare for the Cal Poly staff. The last 11 runs of the night for the Anteaters came with two outs.
Cal Poly was unable to get any momentum on the offensive side either. Their best chance before the sixth inning was in the second, when seniors Cam Hoiland and Dylan Kordic both reached scoring position with two outs.
The Mustangs failed to capitalize on the two-out threat and were largely silent until the sixth inning.
Senior second baseman Ryan Fenn led off the frame with a double, scoring on sophomore third baseman Alejandro Garza’s single. Senior center fielder Casey Murray Jr. roped a single into center to score another run, and Kordic picked up an RBI groundout to make it 15-3.
“Offensively, we were okay still,” Lee said. “Double-digit hits and everybody in our lineup except one of our players had a hit. It’s been our strength.”
Junior righty Erik Kvidahl turned in the first 1-2-3 inning of the day for the Mustangs in the sixth. Meaning that Cal Poly needed three runs to extend the game.
Cal Poly brought the run that would have avoided the mercy rule to the plate in the top of the seventh, but grounded into a 6-4-3 game-ending double play to make it final in seven innings.
The Mustangs are now staring down an elimination game against the winner of the 7 p.m. Hawai’i/Fullerton game on Saturday at 3 p.m. The winner of that game faces Irvine Saturday at 7 p.m., needing to beat the Anteaters twice to claim the Big West Tournament crown.
