Sophomore right-handed pitcher Jarred Zill (4-3) struck out a career-high eight batters and took a shutout into the ninth inning, but it wasn’t enough to get the Cal Poly baseball team a victory on Mother’s Day. Cal State Northridge (CSUN) was able to come from behind with two-outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to win in walk-off fashion on a bases-loaded single by Dylan Alexander and sweep the three-game-series at Matador Field.
The Mustangs clung to a 1-0 lead for six innings, with freshman shortstop Kyle Marinconz scoring the Mustangs’ only run in the top of the third inning off of a single RBI by junior center fielder Brett Barbier.
Cal Poly failed to capitalize on the chances they had offensively. Even though they only struck out twice all day, the Mustangs endured six consecutive hitless innings and were unable to extend their lead while stranding five players on base.
With Zill on the mound, the Matadors faced similar struggles, mustering only three hits through eight innings. After retiring 10 batters in a row, Zill surrendered a leadoff single and a walk to the first two batters he faced in the ninth inning before junior right-handed pitcher Justin Calomeni came in to relieve him. Unfortunately for Zill and Cal Poly, the hard-throwing Calomeni was unable to shut down the Matadors’ offense, sending the Mustangs home with the loss.
Cal Poly has now lost six straight conference games, and seven straight away games. This drops the Mustangs’ record to 26-20 overall and 7-8 in conference play, leaving them tied for fourth in the Big West with UC Riverside before the two square-off next weekend at Baggett Stadium.
Contributions to this article made by Tommy Tran.