IRVINE, Calif. – Cal Poly Baseball had a chance to avoid the drama and claim the Big West title for the second straight year with a win on Saturday. Instead, No. 3 seed UC San Diego took it to the Mustangs (35-22) in the teams’ second matchup of the tournament, with the Tritons (27-27) winning 12-2 in eight innings. The two teams will meet again for a winner-take-all game on Sunday at 12 p.m.
With the run-rule taking effect on their 12th run, the home-team Tritons celebrated in walk-off fashion, rushing onto the field while the Mustangs trudged off it. It was the second win of the day for UCSD, defeating No. 1 seed UC Santa Barbara just a couple of hours before the championship.
WATCH NOW: Cal Poly Baseball set for winner-take-all title game after 12-2 loss to UC San Diego
Cal Poly Head Coach Larry Lee’s message on the bus pregame was that the team “better not be relieved that Santa Barbara’s not playing” them.
“If any of your mind is thinking that, then you’re going to get beat, and you’re going to get beat bad,” Lee said.
Last season, Cal Poly was in the same position that UCSD is in now, needing to beat UC Irvine twice in a row. The Mustangs got it done, but now are hoping to defend their title and fend off the pesky Tritons. Cal Poly knows from last year’s experience how a team can play when its back is against the wall, and now the Mustangs find themselves in danger as well.
“San Diego played much better than us in all facets of the game, so we just need to be resilient,” Lee said. “Same thing happened to us last year, we got run-ruled, we were able to come back; we’ll see if this year’s team can do the same.”
Josh Volmerding started Saturday for the Mustangs and gave up four runs in four innings. All the damage came in one inning, the second. The bullpen was unable to right the ship, leading to an early ending.
Offensively, Cal Poly took good at-bats, hitting the ball hard, but didn’t have the results to show for it. Freshman Gavin Spiridonoff hit the first home run of the tournament for the Mustangs, a solo shot to left in the seventh. The Mustangs have scored just seven runs in their three games this tournament, not producing to the level they are capable of.
“When [we are] successful from an offensive standpoint, the majority of the nine guys in the lineup are kind of a synergy where everybody is doing their stuff,” Lee said. “I think we’re trying a little too hard…we’re trying to do too much.”
Lee said he posed a question before the season, asking the players if they would want an opportunity to play in a winner-take-all game with an NCAA Regional appearance on the line.
“Obviously, the answer was yes, so that’s the reality of the situation where we’re in that scenario right now,” Lee said.
The biggest challenge, as Cal Poly prepares for its fourth game in as many days, is laying out a pitching plan for the biggest game of the season. Freshman Corden Pettey has missed his last two starts due to injury and is presumably unavailable for Sunday’s contest. Given their workload over the past couple of games, Volmerding, Chris Downs, and Carson Turnquist will also most likely be sidelined. Thursday’s starter, Griffin Naess, could potentially pitch on two days’ rest, but would be strictly limited.
The bullpen will need to cover some innings on Sunday, with Brady Estes, Josh Morano, and Nick Bonn likely candidates to pitch the bulk of the game.
“The pitching is going to be stretched for both teams, so you’re trying to figure out from our end how to shorten the game, [and] how to get innings in,” Lee said.
With a back-to-back NCAA Regional appearance at stake, everything is on the table for Lee and the Mustangs. Cal Poly is searching for consecutive conference titles for the first time since 1993-94, and they’ll have a second chance at doing so back at Cicerone Field at 12 p.m. Sunday.