After a sluggish start to the 2026 season in their season opener on Friday, Cal Poly Baseball was able to turn things around in a Saturday doubleheader, taking both games from Campbell University to get their first series win of 2026 on the road.
READ MORE: “Cal Poly Baseball opens 2026 season with loss to Campbell University”
The Mustangs (2-1) looked strong on day two of the series, leaning on their offense, who scored a combined 21 runs across the two games. This was a much needed uptick from their Friday game, where they were able to score just two runs and found themselves with a losing record to start the year.
The rotation got by with solid performances across the board. The Mustangs’ staff is largely led by returning names from the 2025 season and will look to build on a solid year that saw them near the middle of the pack in the Big West conference.
Offensive explodes for 16 runs on Friday
Cal Poly picked up their first win of the new season Saturday, cruising past Campbell 16-5 in the first game of a doubleheader. The Mustangs’ bats came alive after being held to just two runs in the series opener.
The team recorded 14 hits with nine different players collecting at least one knock. Third baseman Alejandro Garza continued his hot start to the season, going 3-5 with two RBI. Casey Murray Jr., Braxton Thomas, and Jake Downing all had multi-hit games, while catcher Ryan Tayman cranked the first home run of the year for Cal Poly.
The Mustangs did all of their scoring in three separate innings. A five-run first inning gave Cal Poly a comfortable lead, but they were held scoreless until the seventh, allowing the Camels to chip away and tie the game.
Three runs in the seventh and eight more in the ninth put the game out of reach, enabling coach Larry Lee to make some offensive substitutions. Freshman infielder
Gavin Spiridonoff registered his first collegiate hit with a pinch-hit single.
Junior lefty Josh Volmerding toed the rubber for the Mustangs, allowing four runs (three earned) over four innings. Volmerding struggled with command, issuing two walks and hitting two batters. The southpaw’s command is often indicative of his effectiveness, flashing dominance when he stays around the zone consistently.
Only two pitchers were needed to cover the remaining five innings. Left-hander Josh Morano went two 2/3 innings and was relieved by senior righty Nick Bonn to take it the distance and earn the save. Bonn, a transfer from Dallas Baptist, will start the year in the closer role, according to Lee.
Bonn did not allow a hit and struck out five in 2 1/3 innings, showcasing the elite stuff that the Mustangs will lean on in leverage situations this season. After losing two of their back-end relievers from last year in Jake Torres and Tanner Sagouspe, Bonn will be an important pickup in the transfer portal.
Cal Poly completes doubleheader sweep Saturday to collect series win
Three newcomers to the Cal Poly pitching staff propelled the Mustangs to a 5-4 victory in the finale of the three game set against Campbell.
Riding the momentum of a 16-run game in the opener of the doubleheader, Cal Poly jumped out to an early 2-0 lead against the Fighting Camels.
Garza got things started with an RBI groundout in the first, then an RBI single in the third.
Right hander Laif Palmer got the start and shined through his first four innings in a Mustang uniform.
Trouble arrived in the fifth, when Palmer balked in one run with runners on second and third before an RBI double by Campbell tied the game at 2-2.
An RBI single by Murray Jr. in the next frame restored the Mustang advantage, as right hander Sean McGrath made his debut.
It was a rocky sixth inning with Campbell loading the bases, but McGrath was able to work his way out of it with a strikeout and fly out to end the inning.
Then it was right hander Corden Pettey’s turn to toe the rubber for the Mustangs. Shutting down the Fighting Camels in the seventh and eighth inning, Pettey got an insurance run on a Downing sacrifice fly.
It was much-needed insurance for Cal Poly, as Campbell scratched one run across on a two out single but Pettey induced the game-ending groundball to collect the three inning save 4-3.
Taking two of three games on the road from a solid Campbell squad is a good start to the Mustang’s 2026 campaign.
The question heading into the season, and the question every college team in baseball asks themselves, was how would Cal Poly replace the arms and bats that departed after last season.
Although a small sample size is at play, so far Downing and Tayman have acquitted themselves nicely on the offensive side of the ball.
Pitching wise Nick Bonn, Palmer, McGrath and Pettey all had solid outings as newcomers to the Mustang staff.
Cal Poly will head back to San Luis Obispo for their home opener against Washington State after their midweek matchup against San Jose State was postponed. Game one of the four game slate will kick off at Baggett Stadium at 6:05 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 20.
