Conference play is underway for Cal Poly Baseball, as they traveled to the University of Hawai’i for a three game set over the weekend, ending in a sweep in favor of the Mustangs (8-7).
An up-tick in offense from their previous series against USC and strong pitching efforts across the board, has the Mustangs riding high, winners of four straight games.
Cal Poly started conference play in historic fashion in 2025, going 12-0 against Big West opponents before Hawai’i ended their streak. The Mustangs will look to top their record set last season, and are off to a good start.
Friday: Mustangs open Big West play with 6-2 victory over Hawai’i
The non-conference slate for Cal Poly had its ups and downs. Beating Campbell on the road was certainly a plus, followed by a disappointing 2-6 stretch at home against Washington State and USC.
The Mustangs wouldn’t have an easy opener to their Big West title defense. A two thousand mile trip to the Islands to face off the Rainbow Warriors awaited.
But in game one of 30 Cal Poly proved why they are the reigning Big West champions, dispatching Hawai’i 6-2 on Friday night.
Ace night featured junior right hander Griffin Naess doing what Griffin Naess does best, dominating batters.
Cal Poly would continue their offensive momentum from the 12-2 Pepperdine victory, striking first in the second inning, with a Casey Murray Jr. triple followed up by a Ryan Tayman sacrifice fly.
READ MORE: “Cal Poly Baseball back in the win column following double-digit victory over Pepperdine”
Cam Hoiland made his return to the lineup after an injury sidelined him to pinch hitting duty during the series against USC. A staple in the lineup for the Mustangs last season, his bat had been missed by a Mustangs squad that struggled to find any offense during that series.
He made his mark with an RBI single in the third to double the advantage for the Mustangs 2-0.
Naess’ only dings on the night came in the fourth. Hawai’i strung together their only three hits of the evening and scratched two runs across to tie the game. He earned the win, going 6 1/3 innings, with three hits and two walks.
Cal Poly regained the lead the very next frame, with Alejandro Garza going deep with a two run blast. Gavin Spiridonoff added insurance with an RBI single in the eighth and Hoiland added his own insurance with a home run in the ninth.
Not that the insurance was needed, Chris Downs and Nick Bonn came out of the pen and shut down Hawai’i to secure the 6-2 win.
It was a perfect example of complementary baseball, with both offense and pitching exerting their will on the game. The type of game that Cal Poly often played down the stretch during their run to the NCAA tournament, and it’s the type of game that they will need to consistently play to repeat as Big West champions.
Saturday: Mustangs recover from late collapse, defeat Hawai’i in extra innings
Jake Downing burst onto the scene last season filling in at first base for Zach Daudet when he was injured. This season he has split time as the starting second and first basemen, but has started off slow.
At the end of a near five hour battle between the Mustangs and the Rainbow Warriors, Downing dug in with the bases loaded and two outs. Facing a 2-2 count, he ripped a ball into the left center gap and flipped on the jets for a bases clearing triple.
After Friday night series opening win, Cal Poly Baseball looked to continue their momentum and collect the series win against Hawai’i
For seven innings, it looked like that would be the case. Cal Poly jumped ahead early on back-to-back RBI doubles from Cam Hoiland and Ryan Tayman.
Leif Palmer took the ball for his second start as the Saturday starter, but it was cut short after just four batters. Palmer fractured his ankle fielding an infield hit, and the game was delayed for 30 minutes.
His injury is a major blow to the Mustang’s rotation, as he was set to take up a lot of innings for the team after transferring from Oregon last offseason.
Instead, the bulk of the game went to the freshman Corden Pettey. Pettey escaped the jam, and turned in scoreless inning after inning.
Meanwhile, the Cal Poly offense got to work. Scoring runs in the second and third innings extended the Mustang lead to 4-1, and Garza continued his strong start with a two-run double in the sixth to make it 6-2.
But it wasn’t easy to close out Hawai’i, and why would it be? The Rainbow Warriors already had three wins where they scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning or later.
The trouble did start in the eighth, when Hawai’i got to Pettey with the first three Rainbow Warriors all collecting hits. It ended his night, having gone 6 2/3 innings with 10 strikeouts and three runs given up.
Josh Morano came on in relief, looking to both stave off a Hawai’i threat and put his season back on track. Morano was a hero during the Mustangs’ run to the Big West Championship, ending Hawai’i’s season with 6 1/3 scoreless innings, but this season has been knocked around by all three weekend opponents.
The Rainbow Warriors got some revenge for Morano ending their season. Morano was tagged with two hits and two walks, giving up two runs to tie the game.
With runners on first and second, head coach Larry Lee again went to the bullpen, this time summoning Downs.
Downs got the third out of the inning on a ground ball back to the pitcher, and sent the heart of the Mustang order out to break the tie in the ninth inning.
Murray Jr. led off the frame with a triple, and was brought in on a sacrifice fly by Braxton Thomas.
Still, Hawai’i would not go quietly. A leadoff single was followed by two quick outs, but the runner advanced to second on a wild pitch.
With two strikes, Downs uncorked another wild pitch. The runner wheeled all the way around from second base and Hawai’i yet again found a way to tie the game. A walk and single chased Downs for Brady Estes, the starter against Pepperdine on Tuesday, who got a groundout to send it to extra innings.
It took until the 11th frame, where Downing broke the ice with the bases clearing triple. Estes completed his hitless outing with two strikeouts to earn the win.
Hoiland continued his hot return to the lineup, with a pair of doubles on Saturday to make it five hits in two games.
Sunday: Mustangs clinch series sweep
After a thrilling extra-inning win on Saturday, Cal Poly completed a sweep of Hawai’i on Sunday by a score of 7-3.
The Mustangs’ offense has looked more like themselves during their win streak, and the series finale was no exception. Since shortstop Nate Castellon has moved to the leadoff spot in the order, Cal Poly has averaged over eight runs per game, a number representative of their offensive potential. Castellon tallied two hits in Sunday’s win, adding a walk and an RBI.
Cal Poly recorded nine hits as a team, including multi-hit games from Spiridonoff and graduate student Dylan Kordic. Spiridonoff has become a regular starter for coach Larry Lee, and has three multi-hit games in his last four appearances.
After being sidelined due to a hamstring injury, Hoiland played all three games in the series and totaled seven hits. Hoiland’s bat is crucial to the Mustang’s lineup and his return should continue to bode well for offensive production.
Josh Volmerding made his return to the rotation after nursing an injury, but struggled with command, hitting two batters and walking one. Volmerding was pulled after 1 2/3 innings and was piggybacked by Carson Turnquist. Turnquist was outstanding, giving the team 5 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out three. He made starts in the two prior series’, and could see a return to the rotation after Palmer’s injury.
Bonn recorded a two-inning save, continuing to be a trustworthy high-leverage arm for Lee. Bonn has a lively fastball, and does not rely on the strikeout, though the stuff is certainly there.
Center fielder Murray Jr. swatted his second home run of the season in the win, and has hits of three bases or more in four straight contests.
Cal Poly will return to Baggett Stadium to take on Fresno State in a midweek game on Tuesday.
