Baseball
Saint Mary’s 7, No. 13 Cal Poly 4
After a marathon 10-inning slugfest Tuesday night, the Mustangs (30-11) came out sluggish against the Gaels (26-11) on Wednesday afternoon at Saint Mary’s Stadium in Moraga.
Cal Poly’s bats, which exploded for 17 runs on Tuesday, were held largely in check by the Saint Mary’s pitching staff.
The Gaels jumped out to an early advantage leading 4-1 after an inning. Designated hitter Greg Ditmer’s two-run single capped the scoring for Saint Mary’s who would hold that lead through the game.
Sophomore third baseman J.J. Thompson hit a two-run homer to narrow the gap to 4-3 in the second inning but the Mustangs could not draw level.
Starter Kyle Anderson (0-1) took the loss for the Mustangs, allowing eight hits and five runs in five innings with two walks and three strikeouts.
Cal Poly returns home to host San Francisco (22-22) for a three-game series starting Friday in Baggett Stadium.
Tennis
Cal Poly junior Brittany Blalock was left out of the NCAA tournament field despite a top 100 ranking and a victory over a top 10 player earlier this season.
Blalock defeated USC’s Maria Sanchez, the No. 8 player in the nation at the time, to give Cal Poly it’s biggest singles victory in program history.
In the ITA poll released last Tuesday, following the conclusion of the Big West Championship, Blalock was ranked No. 86 while Pacific’s Jenifer Widjaja was ranked No. 96. Monday’s updated ITA rankings elevated Widjaja to No. 92 and dropped Blalock to No. 95, giving the Tigers’ sophomore the automatic bid from the Big West.
“Unfortunately for us, Widjaja moved ahead in the last ranking,” Cal Poly women’s tennis head coach Hugh Bream said in a statement. “It was a toughly contested year between the two for the Big West spot in the tournament and Widjaja’s 6-4 third set win in the match at Pacific was the deciding factor.”
Blalock ended the regular season with a 23-10 overall record and 14-6 dual mark. She received All-Big West First Team singles honors for the third time and also garnered a second-consecutive First Team doubles selection with junior Steffi Wong.