Mustang News Staff Report
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After losing just five times in its opening 41 games en route to a No. 1 ranking by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper this past week, the Cal Poly baseball team has now lost its three most recent games.
In Tuesday’s outing, the Mustangs conceded 18 hits and dropped an 11-4 decision at No. 17 Pepperdine. With the loss, Cal Poly extended its season-long three-game slide and dropped to 36-8 on the year.
Cal Poly’s top offensive threat, sophomore second baseman Mark Mathias, didn’t play against the Waves after suffering a leg injury in this past Sunday’s loss against Long Beach State.
Without Mathias, the Mustangs shook up the batting order to try and spark an offense that scored just five total runs in three games against the Dirtbags during the weekend, but it was Pepperdine that found its rhythm instead.
The Waves knocked Cal Poly’s freshman starting pitcher Slater Lee (3-2) out of the game in the second inning as the right-hander allowed four runs on four hits. Pepperdine scored seven runs in the first three frames alone to pull away early from the Mustangs.
Senior third baseman Jimmy Allen hit his second home run of the year for Cal Poly as he went deep to left field in the eighth inning. Allen and junior first baseman Tommy Pluschkell led the Mustangs with two hits each.
On a warm and blustery day in Malibu where winds reached up to 30 miles per hour, Cal Poly and Pepperdine committed three errors apiece.
Cal Poly will end its seven-game road trip with a three-game series at UC Riverside this weekend.
Stephan Teodosescu contributed to this report.