Cal Poly salvaged their trip to College Station, upsetting No. 1 Texas A&M 3-2 on Sunday, Feb. 23 at Blue Bell Park.
This is the third time that the Mustangs (2-5) have beaten the No.1 team in the nation. Most recently, Cal Poly defeated Vanderbilt in 2020; prior to that was a home matchup against the reigning national champions Cal State Fullerton in 2005.
The loss was the Aggies’ (5-1) first non-conference loss since a mid-week loss to Sam Houston in 2023.
Sophomore right-hander Ethan Marmie turned in his best start to date against last year’s runners-up in the national championship.
The only spot of bother for the Mustangs came in the third, where a walk and two singles turned into two runs for the Aggies, staking them to an early 2-0 lead. After the third inning, it was smooth sailing for the righty, facing the minimum 12 remaining batters for the rest of his start.
Marmie ended the day with seven innings, with two runs on five hits and three walks.
On the offensive side of the ball, Aggies starter Myles Patton stymied the Mustangs. Keeping the offense stuck on ice over seven innings, giving up just four hits.
An error in the eighth spelled the end of Patton’s day, but Brad Rudis was able to navigate a scoreless eighth.
Redshirt junior righty Tanner Sagouspe was called into action for the second straight game and pitched a scoreless eighth to keep the deficit at two runs heading into the top of the ninth.
Redshirt senior second-baseman Ryan Fenn continued his hitting ways with a single to lead off the inning. Junior catcher Jack Collins, who has started the season on a torrid pace, ambushed the very next pitch over the left field wall to tie the game at 2-2.
Senior Casey Murray Jr. reached on an error and was promptly bunted over to second base. A wild pitch advanced Murray to third.
Then sophomore designated hitter Braxton Thomas grounded a ball to the third baseman, who threw home just late as Murray gave the Mustangs a 3-2 lead.
Sagouspe came back out for the ninth and shut down the Aggies offense, getting a weak grounder back to the mound to collect the win.
Cal Poly won the game on six hits, taking advantage of the Aggies’ error in the ninth. The team’s batting average has sunk below the Mendoza Line, sitting at .193 on the year.
While that number could be the product of a small sample size, if the team wants to start winning consistently, that number has to rise.
The Mustangs will look to take their momentum into the first home series of the season, facing the Seton Hall Pirates for four games from Friday, Feb. 28 to Sunday, March 2 with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 1.
