A season that had so much promise at the midway point of this month is rapidly slipping away as Cal Poly Baseball dropped their fourth straight game, this time on the road to Santa Clara, 7-5.
It is the first midweek loss the Mustangs (28-15) have suffered this season. The Broncos (17-23) have enjoyed home cooking against Cal Poly at Stephen Schott Stadium, as the last road win over Santa Clara came in 2017.
Cal Poly is now 2-6 in their last eight games after starting 26-9 and on the brink of being ranked in the Top 25.
The loss has dropped the Mustangs’ RPI to 30, dangerously close to falling out of the 35 at-large bid range. The remaining ten games on the schedule are crucial to gain momentum before the Big West tournament.
At this point in the season, Cal Poly looks to get back on track, especially in a crucial stretch to determine Big West tournament seeding.
Cal Poly jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the opening frame on the back of an RBI double by sophomore third baseman Alejandro Garza.
Sophomore right-hander Carson Turnquist took the mound for his first start as a Mustang. He failed to complete the second inning, giving up a two-run blast in the first and a leadoff homer in the second before being pulled.
Nothing could stop the Broncos offense in the first half of the game, plating a run in each of the first five innings. Conversely, the Mustang bats went cold, with just three hits in that same span.
That changed in the sixth, singles from Garza and senior designated hitter Cam Hoiland set up a three-run shot by freshman sophomore Nate Castellon, his third of the campaign, to cut the deficit to 6-4.
The seventh had senior first baseman Zach Daudet parking one over the center field wall to make it just a one-run game.
At the bottom of the frame, Santa Clara scored an unearned insurance run, but it was inconsequential as Cal Poly went down in order in both the eighth and ninth innings to drop the game 7-5.
Their next series is in Bakersfield, as they take on the Roadrunners from Friday, May 2 to Sunday, May 4 at Hardt Field.
