After sweeping their third straight Big West series against UC Davis and ending a red-hot March with a victory over Fresno State, Cal Poly starts their longest homestand of the season against UC San Diego Friday, April 4 to Sunday, April 6 at Baggett Stadium
The Mustangs (19-8, 9-0 Big West) still hold the conference lead in the Big West and received votes in both the USA Today and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 25 polls.
The Tritons (14-13, 5-4 Big West) snapped a five-game losing streak in their series finale against non-conference Santa Clara and currently sit fourth in the Big West.
Cal Poly Marches into April
Cal Poly Baseball had a very successful month of March, going 16-3 and having their best start to the Big West season in program history. Cal Poly hit 26 home runs in their 19 games in March, scored 8.52 runs per game and hit at a .344 clip.
Junior catcher Jack Collins is currently tied for the Big West lead in home runs (11), 12th in the nation in doubles (13) and was named to the D1Baseball top 50 catchers list.
On the pitching side, starters combined for a 9-2 record and had a team ERA of 3.75. All three weekend series starters had one start of at least seven innings of shutout ball.
Redshirt junior reliever Tanner Sagouspe, also named to the D1baseball top 100 relievers list, gave up just two runs in 12 innings of work and sophomore Chris Downs gave up just one run in 22 innings.
Probable starters
Friday: RHP Griffin Naess (3-2, 3.75 ERA) vs RHP Matthew Dalquist (3-1, 2.72 ERA)
Saturday: LHP Josh Volmerding (3-1, 5.70 ERA) vs RHP Nic Gregson (5 starts, 5.87 ERA)
Sunday: RHP Ethan Marmie (4-2, 3.86 ERA) vs RHP Steele Murdock (0-2, 5.71 ERA)
Friday night has a Big West top-10 duel between sophomore Griffin Naess and Matthew Dalquist. Dalquist won Big West Pitcher of the Week in March after throwing 7 and ⅔ scoreless innings against CSU Bakersfield and is the only traditional starter in the San Diego rotation.
Saturday will have reigning Big West Pitcher of the Week sophomore Josh Volmerding, most likely facing bullpen games from the Tritons. Bullpen games ask a plethora of pitchers to cover nine innings instead of a traditional starting pitcher taking up the bulk of those innings.
These types of games were a staple of the Tampa Bay Rays and have seen more recent usage with the Detroit Tigers in the 2024 playoffs. Nic Gregson has made five starts out of his six appearances and has only pitched 7 ⅔ innings this season. In both his Big West starts, six other pitchers came in relief.
Getaway day should feature sophomore Ethan Marmie against what could possibly be the second bullpen game in a row for the Tritons. Murdock has started the last two weekends and has gone at least three innings in both of those starts.
Out of the pen, Jake Villar has thrown 11 ⅔ innings of scoreless conference play, giving up just eight hits and collecting two saves during that time.
Scouting the Tritons’ lineup
Offensively, the Tritons like to elevate the baseball. They are tied for the Big West lead in home runs with 39. Four hitters have five or more home runs in their starting lineup.
Michael Crossland and Gabe Camacho are both fixtures at the top of the lineup and both hold OPS of over 1.000. Crossland has 10 home runs this season in 106 at-bats, while Camacho gets on base at almost a .500 mark, with 29 hits to go along with 29 walks and hit by pitches.
As a team, San Diego ranks fourth in slugging percentage while being ninth in batting average, more than likely, they will not string together three or more hits to score runs but have plenty of power potential to get balls into the gap and take extra bases on doubles.
Cal Poly looks to defend its home field and keep its Big West winning streak alive as it hosts UC San Diego starting Friday, March 4, at 6 p.m. at Baggett Stadium.
