tom sandersMatt Canepa’s two-run single up the middle sparked Cal Poly’s three-run rally and the Mustangs came from behind for the 12th time this season for the 6-4 victory over UC Davis, in a non-conference baseball game Sunday afternoon at Dobbins Stadium.
Canepa’s single as a pinch hitter tied the game at 4-4 and Gilbert Gil blooped a single to right field to score Canepa with the go-ahead run as Cal Poly won the series, two games to one, and improved to 27-23 on the season.
UC Davis fell to 15-32 on the season.
Rocky Roquet pitched 1.2 innings for his ninth save, striking out three. The win went to senior right-hander Casey Fien (5-3), who allowed four runs and 11 hits in six innings with two strikeouts and no walks.
Cal Poly’s top hitters were Van Ostrand with three doubles and Canepa with a pair of hits. Canepa did not start Sunday’s game due to a sore ankle suffered when a UC Davis batter fouled a ball off the right ankle on Saturday.
Cal Poly earned its 10th series win of the season.
Cal Poly returns to Big West Conference play next weekend, visiting first-place Cal State Fullerton for a three-game series starting Friday night at 7. The Mustangs, third in the Big West with an 8-7 mark, close out the regular season in two weeks hosting UC Santa Barbara for a three-game Big West series in Baggett Stadium.
Cal Poly 8, UC Davis 5
Junior designated hitter Bryan Kepner singled four times, drove in a run and Gary Daley allowed three runs in six innings as Cal Poly pounded out 19 hits and defeated UC Davis 8-5 in a non-conference baseball game Saturday afternoon.
Cal Poly scored the first five runs of Saturday’s game and held on to snap a three-game losing streak.
Daley (6-7) struck out only one hitter and walked three, scattering six hits for the win. Freshman Thomas Eager pitched two innings in relief of Daley before Roquet closed the door in the ninth.
All nine Cal Poly starters collected at least one hit. In addition to Kepner’s four singles, Jimmy Gardiner, Grant Desme, Josh Lansford, Jimmy Van Ostrand, Canepa and Pat Pezet each notched a pair of hits. Both of Desme’s hits were doubles.
UC Davis 6, Cal Poly 5
Third baseman Daniel Descalso singled down the right-field line to drive home pinch runner Ryan Royster in the ninth inning as UC Davis edged Cal Poly 6-5 in a non-conference baseball game Friday afternoon at Dobbins Stadium.
Cal Poly led 4-0 after scoring three runs in the top of the seventh inning and junior right-hander Bud Norris was working on a four-hit shutout.
But designated hitter Jimmy Goetz belted a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh and, after Cal Poly scored a run in the eighth, center fielder Michael Hernandez tied the game in the bottom of the eighth with a three-run shot for the Aggies, setting the stage for Descalso’s walk-off RBI single in the ninth.
Lansford hit a solo home run in the first inning for Cal Poly, his seventh of the year, and Cal Poly added three runs in the seventh for a 4-0 advantage.
But the Aggies scored six times in the final three frames to turn the game around.
Norris allowed five runs and nine hits in 7.2 innings, walking one and striking out three. The loss went to Casey Fien (4-3), who secured the final out of the eighth inning after Goetz’s home run but surrendered the game-winning run in the ninth.
UC Davis starter Michael Potter struck out a career-high 11 Mustangs in seven innings, allowing four runs on nine hits. The win went to closer Nik Aurora (3-4), who came into the game trailing by three runs but secured the final four outs and became the pitcher of record after Hernandez’s three-run home run in the eighth.
Cal Poly’s top hitters were Gardiner, Lansford and Grant Desme, each with two of the Mustangs’ 10 hits. UC Davis collected 11 hits, including two each by Hernandez, Tyler LaTorre, Aaron Hanke and Jacob Jefferies.
Lansford extended his hitting streak to 14 games with his two hits while Gardiner has hit in six straight.