Mustang News Staff Report
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For live updates from Sunday night’s game, click here.
Top 1st, 0-0: Cal Poly went to bat first as the official visiting team but quickly recorded two outs before junior right fielder Nick Torres reached base on an error and sophomore designated hitter Brian Mundell walked. But, Pepperdine’s Brown caught junior left fielder Zack Zehner looking with a strikeout to end the early threat.
Bottom 1st, 0-0: Bloomquist made quick work of Pepperdine’s offense to keep the score knotted at one.
Top 2nd, 1-0 Cal Poly : Senior third baseman Jimmy Allen singled to start off the inning and reached second on a fielding error before senior catcher Chris Hoo also reached on an error. Although Allen was thrown out at the plate on a fielder’s choice, the Mustangs loaded the bases later in the inning via sophomore first baseman John Schuknecht’s walk to set up sophomore second baseman Mark Mathias’ sacrfice fly that scored Hoo.
Bottom 2nd, 1-0 Cal Poly: Bloomquist registered another quick 1-2-3 inning with two flyouts and a grounder. He’s thrown only 15 pitches through two frames and has yet to give up a hit.
Top 3rd, 1-0 Cal Poly: After Torres grounded out to start the frame, Mundell singled to left field but Zehner lined into a 4-3 double play to end the inning with no damage done for the Mustangs. Pepperdine’s Brown finished the inning with 61 pitches through three.
Bottom 3rd, 1-0 Cal Poly: Bloomquist got into a little bit of trouble for the first time on the night when Pepperdine put men on second and third, but Cal Poly’s All-American used three straight pitches to strike out Austin Davidson with two outs and bring Baggett Stadium to its feet as he neutralized the threat.
Top 4th, 1-0 Cal Poly: Sophomore shortstop Peter Van Gansen earned a walk, but Waves starter Brown retired Allen, Hoo and Schuknecht to keep the Mustangs’ advantage at one.
Bottom 4th, 1-0 Cal Poly: The Waves left a runner on base after Bloomquist gave up his first walk of the night to Brad Anderson in the bottom half of the frame. Bloomquist has thrown 38 pitches to Brown’s 76 for Pepperdine headed to the fifth inning.
Top 5th, 1-0 Cal Poly: Torres hit into a double play after junior center fielder Jordan Ellis reached base on a fielders’ choice. Both teams have settled in nicely, especially the Waves who recorded three errors in the first two innings. It will be interesting to see how much longer their ace on the mound can go, though.
Bottom 5th, 1-0 Cal Poly: Manny Jefferson singled to center with two outs for Pepperdine, but Bloomquist got Brandon Caruso to ground out to end the inning.
Top 6th, 1-0 Cal Poly: The Mustangs got a leadoff single with no outs from Mundell but couldn’t cash in as they went down in order after that to end the inning. Mundell is 2 for 2 with a walk as Cal Poly’s most productive force on offense tonight.
Bottom 6th, 1-0 Cal Poly: Bloomquist is dealing. He sat Pepperdine down in order in the bottom half of the frame to keep the score 1-0 Mustangs. He’s allowed three hits, no runs and has walked one with four strikeouts.
Top 7th, 1-0 Cal Poly: Brown’s pitch count is running up, but he seems to be getting better as the game goes on. He retired Cal Poly’s 7-8-9 hitters in the inning to keep his team within one headed to the stretch.
Bottom 7th, 2-1 Pepperdine: With one out, Zehner and Ellis collided in left center tracking down a fly ball allowing Aaron Barnett to leg out a triple before Pepperdine’s next batter was able to bring him home with a ball off the right field wall. Bloomquist got the next guy swinging, but Schuknecht couldn’t make an over-the-shoulder grab on Manny Jefferson’s flare along the first baseline to score the Waves’ second run and give them their first lead of the night.
Top 8th, 2-1 Pepperdine: With two outs, Mundell reached first on a throwing error from Pepperdine’s third baseman but got caught stealing second base on the ensuing throw to end the threat. The atmosphere at Baggett has definitely changed too. Pepperdine’s bench is electric and can feel an upset in the making.
Bottom 8th, 2-1 Pepperdine: Bloomquist allowed two more hits but got out of a mini jam to give Cal Poly a chance for a comeback in the ninth inning.
Top 9th, 2-1 Pepperdine: Pepperdine’s closer Eric Karch shut the door easily with a 1-2-3 inning sending the Mustangs to the elimination game on Sunday.
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Fresh off its a victory over No. 4 Sacramento State, Cal Poly takes on No. 3 Pepperdine in the winner’s bracket of the San Luis Obispo Regional at Bagget Stadium tonight.
The Waves — who beat No. 2 Arizona State on Friday — send junior starting pitcher Aaron Brown to the hill. The left-hander owns an 11-1 record on the year to accompany his 2.24 ERA. Cal Poly has a stellar starting pitcher of its own in sophomore Casey Bloomquist, a 12-game winner during the regular season.
First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
We’ll continue to update this post throughout the game with photos, scores and tweets.