IRVINE, Calif. – Since the Big West brought back a postseason tournament in 2025 after 25 years without it, there has only been one champion: the Cal Poly Mustangs.
For the second straight season, Cal Poly has captured the conference title, doing so with a 4-3 win over No. 3 seed UC San Diego on Sunday.
WATCH NOW: Cal Poly Baseball wins second straight Big West Championship title, punches ticket to NCAA Regional
The title is the program’s ninth overall, and the first back-to-back conference championship since 1993-94. The Mustangs have punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament and await their regional destination, which will be aired on ESPN2 at 9 a.m. on Monday. This marks the fifth time Cal Poly has made the tournament, and they will now begin their quest to Omaha.
After enduring a crushing loss on Saturday night, the Mustangs found themselves in a familiar position with their backs against the wall. With their pitching spread thin and needing to cover innings, head coach Larry Lee turned to freshman Corden Pettey for the start. Pettey’s last start came three weeks ago on the day, as he missed his last two starts due to injury.
“We got together last night, and we were trying to figure out who was going to start and came up with Corden,” Lee said. “When [pitching coach] Moir told him he was going to get the start, you could see it in his body language and emotions that he wanted it, and so that’s exactly what we needed.”
Pettey took the opportunity and ran with it. The 6’2” right-hander turned in a dazzling start, giving a depleted pitching staff five scoreless innings. Pettey struck out seven and allowed only three hits and two walks.
“He was back to his normal self,” Lee said. “We just didn’t know after being off for three weeks, but we got a pretty good idea right away based on how their hitters reacted.”
After throwing 54 pitches in Saturday night’s game, Chris Downs appeared out of the bullpen again on Sunday, needing just 37 pitches to maneuver through three innings. Downs allowed one run on one hit before handing it off to Nick Bonn to record the one-out save.
The save was the 15th of the season for Bonn, the single-season Cal Poly program record. The senior transfer from Dallas Baptist wasn’t sure of his role going into the season, but is grateful for how things have transpired.
“I’ve had some rough years in the past, so I was like, I’ll get a good degree, work my hardest, and we’ll see what happens,” Bonn said. “[To get the] save season record, I can’t believe it. Super grateful to be here.”
Three of Cal Poly’s four runs came on one swing. In the bottom of the fifth, right fielder Dylan Kordic came up with two runners on and took a left-on-left slider over the wall in right field to give the Mustangs a 4-0 lead.
“I knew I was gonna get something up, and I was trying to elevate it,” Kordic said.
The elevation was followed by celebration, and Kordic’s blast would prove to be the difference in the win.
Kordic was one of six players honored on senior day and is approaching his last few games with the program. With the experience he and many others on the roster have, the regional isn’t unfamiliar territory.
“We know what it feels like to be there, so the visualization is a lot easier,” Kordic said. “It’s just another game at the end of the day; we do it all year. Just because the game has a title, it doesn’t make the moment any bigger.”
The NCAA announced the 16 regional hosts shortly after the game’s conclusion. West Coast teams typically remain in the western half of the bracket, but a limited number of nearby host sites could force the Mustangs to travel farther than usual.
Cal Poly took care of business once again in the Big West tournament, and now they will adjust their aim higher.