LOS ANGELES, Calif. – A few hours after UCLA became the first No. 1 overall seed ever to lose its first game in an NCAA Regional, Cal Poly Baseball had an opportunity to put itself in a favorable position in the Los Angeles Regional.
The No. 3 seed Mustangs faced off against the No. 2 seed Virginia Tech Hokies for the right to play Saint Mary’s after the Gaels’ historic upset. On the back of a strong performance from starter Griffin Naess and a balanced offensive attack, the Mustangs (37-22) took down the Hokies (30-25) 6-2 in their first game of the NCAA Tournament.
Naess followed up his brilliance from last week’s Big West tournament opener with a sharp outing against the Hokies. The right-hander went seven innings, striking out nine, and only allowing one earned run. After throwing 129 pitches against UC San Diego last time out, Naess threw 117 more on Friday night, saving the bullpen from working too hard.
Naess has built a reputation as a “big game” pitcher over the last two seasons with strong starts in conference tournament and regional play. Seeing his family in the stands provides a boost on the mound, along with trust in the Mustangs’ offense.
“All I have to do is just go out there and pitch my game, and if I pitch my game, then we’re gonna win the game, because our offense is gonna put some runs on the board,” Naess said.
Nick Bonn recorded the final four outs of the win and picked up his 16th save of the year, which leads the nation. Bonn struck out three of the five batters he faced, including the final batter of the game on a painted slider inside.
The Big West Defensive Player of the Year, center fielder Casey Murray Jr., has a good view when Bonn pitches, and he and the rest of the team feel at ease when their closer is in.
“When he goes in the game, we feel like the game is over,” Murray Jr. said.
Murray Jr. paced the offense with a 4-5 day at the plate on a day where the Mustangs tallied 13 hits and five walks. Dante Vachini went 3-4 with an RBI, while Cam Hoiland took on the opposite field with a solo home run in the third.
Cal Poly left 15 runners on base, which is typically not a number an offense wants to see. Head Coach Larry Lee says the figure was not a point of emphasis postgame, but rather a credit to the opportunities the team created each inning.
“It’s fine, as long as you get in a situation where you’re hitting with runners in scoring position,” Lee said. “That’s all that matters to me.”
Instead of facing the number one team in the country on Saturday, Cal Poly will enter the winners’ bracket as the higher seed, not something that many saw coming. When UCSD knocked off UC Santa Barbara to advance to the Big West title game last week, Lee told the team that they shouldn’t be relieved they don’t have to face UCSB. Lee hopes this mindset remains with the players as they dodge the Bruins.
“I think the message was sent last week, and we understand it,” Lee said. “We understood [who we played] if we could win this game, but the message to the team [was]: ‘it doesn’t matter, right?’”
Carson Turnquist will likely get the start against Saint Mary’s in a game that sends the winner to the regional final. The Gaels are playing good baseball at the right time and boast a powerful offense to go along with a pitching staff that held UCLA to two runs in the regional opener. The matchup won’t be easy, but the Mustangs can put themselves in the driver’s seat of the regional if they replicate how they played on Friday.
The first pitch against the Gaels will come at 6 p.m. on Saturday.