The Cal Poly baseball team played in Santa Clara on Tuesday after losing two straight home games, marking their final game before Big West Conference play. The Broncos outdid the Mustangs, 10-1.
The Mustangs, who are 14-1 on the season when scoring first, had an early score in the top of the first from freshman shortstop Kyle Marinconz. After junior first baseman Brett Barbier drew a walk, junior third baseman Michael Sanderson cracked a single down the right-field line, recording the Mustangs’ first run as Marinconz crossed the plate. Unfortunately, that would be the only highlight for the Mustangs.
Santa Clara replaced starting pitcher Mitchell White at the top of the second with Freddie Erlandson. Erlandson proceeded to halt the Mustangs for all of his six innings on the mound, allowing no runs and only two hits.
Santa Clara evened the game with its first run in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the Broncos weren’t finished yet.
The Broncos opened up on the Mustangs in the fifth, scoring six runs on six hits and a Mustangs error. Santa Clara then rattled off three more runs in the bottom of the eighth, completing its 10-1 victory on home turf.
Though it was not the best performance for Cal Poly this season, catcher Nick Meyer managed to pick off two Santa Clara runners, giving him eight total on the season, good for first in the Big West Conference.
After Tuesday’s game, Santa Clara improved its record to 13-14, while the Mustangs fell to 17-10. The Mustangs open up Big West Conference play Friday night at 6 p.m. in Baggett Stadium to face defending conference champion Cal State Fullerton.