Cal Poly Baseball clinched their critical three-game series against the University of Hawai’i by a final score of 5-2 on Sunday at Baggett Stadium.
The Mustangs (25-9, 14-1 Big West) entered Sunday’s contest on top of the Big West standings with red-hot UC Irvine just one game behind. With Irvine winning on Sunday, the Mustangs series win over the Rainbow Warriors (24-10, 10-8 Big West) looms large.
“We read the reports… there’s been a lot of people saying we haven’t played the best [teams] in the Big West yet,” third basemen Alejandro Garza said. “To pull [out] a win after a tough Friday night loss, it’s awesome.”
Garza notched two hits in the win, which was a team-high. Every Mustang in the lineup recorded a hit, a balanced effort that was ultimately the deciding factor in the win.
Only two Mustang pitchers made appearances, with sophomore right-hander Ethan Marmie getting the start. Marmie was untouchable through the first three innings but ran into trouble in the fourth and fifth and, after allowing two runs, was pulled in favor of lefty Jake Torres.
Torres took over with two outs in the fifth and took it the distance from there. Torres has been a reliable option out of the bullpen ever since he transferred from Sierra College before the 2024 season.
Balanced and timely
The Mustangs entered the game hitting .297 with two-outs and runners-in-scoring-position and continued their clutch batting in the win. In the bottom of the fifth inning, trailing 2-0, consecutive two-out RBI singles from Jake Downing, Dante Vachini, and Ryan Fenn gave the Mustangs a lead they would not give back.
“We’re never out of the fight with two outs,” Garza said. “They still got to get one more out, and that leaves us [the] opportunity to score some more runs.”
The other theme offensively was the aforementioned balanced attack that the Mustang lineup displayed. Having dangerous hitters at the bottom of the lineup gives the opposing pitching staff no easy outs.
“That’s awesome that everyone got a hit today,” Garza said. “That can [happen] any night.”
Marmie and Torres deal
When Torres took over for Marmie in the fifth, his mindset was simple: pitch as long as you can. With shutout inning after shutout inning, Head Coach Larry Lee had no choice but to leave the redshirt senior on the mound.
“I’m not sure really what the plan was… you want to go as long as possible,” Torres said. “I was rolling today.”
The defense behind Marmie and Torres was outstanding all game long, with standout plays from Downing, shortstop Nate Castellon, and centerfielder Casey Murray Jr. With the Mustang defense being airtight, it made pitching look that much easier.
“There’s nothing like [having a good defense] because you can use more of the plate, you can give up hits, but as long as you got guys there, you trust those guys, you can get outs,” Torres said.
The dazzling defense and timely hitting of the Mustangs will be put to the test by Santa Clara University for a mid-week game on Tuesday, April 15, at 5 p.m. at Baggett Stadium.