With a 4-3 lead in the top of the ninth with two outs, redshirt sophomore reliever Tanner Sagouspe had to get himself together with runners on second and third.
Sagouspe recorded the first two outs of the innings with ease, striking out both batters, but he had since given up a single and a double to put runners in scoring position.
The Madera, Calif. native looked down at his sign sheet on his wrist, then up at junior catcher Ryan Stafford, took a deep breath and delivered a curveball down in the zone that the batter hit up into the air towards deep right field.
Stafford and Sagouspe held their breaths before the fly ball began its descent as junior outfielder Casey Murray Jr. settled under it and squeezed his glove to record the final out of the game and escape the jam to secure Cal Poly Baseball’s 4-3 win over Pepperdine.
“We had a lot of trust [Sagouspe] would just go out there and get the job done regardless of the situation,” Stafford said.
The Mustangs (4-7) have won back-to-back games for the first time this season doing just enough offensively to overcome the Waves (3-10).
A Stafford RBI double in the bottom of the first put the Mustangs on the board first in an inning that saw the Mustangs score two more runs off of a bases-loaded error to take a 3-0 lead.
Pepperdine put the pressure on as they came within one run after an RBI in the second inning and a home run in the top of the third.
The difference in the game was an RBI double in the sixth inning from Stafford to score freshman third baseman Alejandro Garza.
Stafford started the season off rather slow, hitting to the tune of a .178 batting average through the first seven games of the season. He’s hitting a much improved .533 average through the last four games, crediting his ability to remain confident through those cold streaks.
“I just [remind myself] there’s a whole lot worse things you can be doing than playing baseball,” Stafford said. “No reason to really stress about it. Just keep playing the game.”
True freshman southpaw Josh Volmerding drew the start but it was another freshman in right-handed pitcher Griffin Naess who stole the show for Cal Poly.
Naess pitched 3 2/3 innings only allowing one run on two hits and two walks while striking out five in his third outing this season.
“He came out and didn’t have his best stuff at the start, but he just continued to work through it,” Stafford said. “He gave us a really good chance to win.”
Cal Poly struggled once again with runners in scoring position just garnering one hit in 13 at-bats and it’s something Stafford says the offense will keep working at.
“The opportunities are going to keep coming and we’re going to end up cashing in,” Stafford said.
The Mustangs will continue their homestand as they host the Ohio State Buckeyes in a four-game set starting Friday, March 8 at 6 p.m. at Baggett Stadium.