What happened last night?
It’s a question most college students often ponder as bits and pieces of the night flash through your head like faint pictures from a broken projector.
This is how the Mustang baseball season has been so far. The box score is there, but the final numbers often spring questions.
Cal Poly lost two of three to San Francisco? Where did Mitch Haniger come from? J.J. Thompson is playing shortstop?
What is going on?
Cal Poly is currently sitting with a 6-6 record after the first couple weeks of the season. Rolling off record-breaking season last year, the Mustangs have yet to post a winning record. Before the series victory against Northern Illinois, the Mustangs had not won a series all season.
“We are just scuffling right now,” head coach Larry Lee said at Monday’s press conference. “We are not playing to our capabilities.”
Recently, Cal Poly has turned its problems on the diamond around.
Wednesday, Cal Poly defeated Northern Illinois 12-5. The Mustangs didn’t waste time and rushed out to a 3-0 lead. After Northern Illinois responded with a three-run effort in the third, the Mustangs responded with five more runs off four hits, in the bottom half of the inning.
Down the stretch, the Mustangs added four runs in the seventh to complete the sweep.
On Tuesday, the Mustangs posted seven runs on seven hits in the first inning to rush out to a 7-0 early advantage.
In the seventh inning, sophomore Jordan Hadlock hit a triple that brought home two, bringing the score to 13-2.
Poly didn’t look back as it went on to win 13-3.
The recent success has masked early-season struggles by the Mustangs, but even with the losing record the early season schedule has brought up some surprises.
Freshman Jason Hadlock became the first player this season to record four hits in a game against Northern Illinois on Tuesday.
“It felt good to be able to string a few hits together,” Hadlock said. “I tried to hit the ball hard and stay focused.”
Hadlock was hitting .700 this season.
Freshman Mitch Haniger has also turned some heads at the plate this season. Haniger, who was drafted by the New York Mets out of high school, is hitting .381 with nine RBIs and two home runs this season.
On the mound, sophomore pitcher Mason Radeke (3-0) has headed a struggling pitching corps this season. On Tuesday, Radeke pitched four innings, allowed one run and struck out eight. This season, Radeke has compiled 23 strikeouts in just over 18 innings.
But the success the sophomore has had can’t be said about the rest of the pitching staff.
“Right now we’re a little suspect in (starting pitching), but we are also suspect in our bullpen,” Lee said. “We just don’t have, at this time, guys that are reliable.
The Mustang rotation came into the week with a 6.17 ERA.
“They are going to continue to get thrown out there. Hopefully, through the course of more games and as the season progresses, more season will be added in the mix.”
Houston’s pitching staff hasn’t faced the same obstacles.
The Cougars do not hold a pitcher with an ERA above four. Junior right-hander Chase Dempsay leads the team with a 1.29 ERA and Monday their third starter, Michael Goodnight, was named the C-USA Pitcher of the Week. Goodnight helped the cougars record a 1-0 win against No. 3 Texas last week at the Houston College Classic.
Houston has started off the season 5-5 and the cougars coming into this weekend’s series holding a team .304 batting average through 10 games. Junior Joel Ansley leads the team with a .412 batting average and a .647 slugging percentage.
A season ago, Cal Poly held one of the most potent offenses in the country; the numbers haven’t been the same this season. But with recent offensive showcases against Northern Illinois, Cal Poly may have found its groove at the plate.
“Hopefully we can start putting pieces of the puzzle together and play a better brand of baseball,” Lee said.
—Brian De Los Santos and Mikela Akuna contributed to this article.