It’s funny how the game of baseball works.
Baseball is driven by numbers — cold hard statistics. There is only so much that can be manipulated in a players numbers to deceive someone with an untrained eye. Batting average, slugging percentage, RBIs — it’s all set in stone. But even with such concrete evidence, there are still questions that can linger.
Like how can a sub .500 team contend with UC Irvine — a post-season team a year ago? Or how can that same team defeat a team like Fresno State 7-3 in their home stadium, yet never win a weekend series?
Case in point: Cal Poly.
The Mustangs (17-30, 8-13 Big West), victors of two of three games against UC Davis (21-26, 5-13) last weekend, are taking their season and steering it away from disappointment. Their year is turning out to be fairly unpredictable. More than halfway through a schedule filled with loss, the Mustangs had yet to record a weekend series win. Now, after winning their first series against Long Beach State, the Mustangs have another to hang their hat on — a three game conference series against UC Davis.
It all started with sophomore right fielder Bobby Crocker’s two-run single up the middle past a drawn-in infield that lifted Cal Poly to a 6-4 victory over UC Davis Friday afternoon in 12 innings.
Cal Poly tied the game at 1-1 in the sixth inning designated hitter Mitch Haniger’s sacrifice fly scored Center fielder Adam Melker.
The Mustangs knotted the score at 3-3 in the eighth. Catcher Ross Brayton singled and Jordan Hadlock drew a walk. After J.J. Thompson’s sacrifice bunt moved the two runners into scoring position, Matt Lewis, the closer for UC Davis, threw a pair of wild pitches to allow both runners to score.
In the ninth, outfielder Luke Yoder drew a walk and took third on a Melker single. Yoder came home on Crocker’s grounder to shortstop to tie the game.
In the bottom of the 12th, two walks and a wild pitch put runners at second and third with nobody out. Crocker scored both runners with his single up the middle.
The late hit masked Cal Poly’s struggles at the plate later during the game. The Mustangs stranded 12 runners on base between the sixth and 11th innings. For the game, the Mustangs stranded a season-high 18 runners.
Junior southpaw Matt Leonard allowed four runs and eight hits in 7 1/3 innings with no walks and five strikeouts. He received a no decision. Sophomore right-hander Jeff Johnson (3-3) tossed 4 2/3 scoreless innings, his longest stint as a Mustang, in relief of Leonard for his third win. Johnson struck out one, walked two and allowed just two hits.
UC Davis starter Dayne Quist allowed the one run and four hits in seven innings with five walks and four strikeouts. The loss went to CJ Blom (1-3), the fourth of five Aggie pitchers used in the game. Blom allowed the two runners to reach base in the 12th prior to Crocker’s hit off Scott Heinig.
Saturday, Melker singled to left-center field, scoring the tying and go-ahead runs with two outs in the ninth inning, as Cal Poly rallied to beat UC Davis 5-4.
Cal Poly scored four times in the ninth inning for the come-from-behind win.
Haniger led off with a single, stole second and came home on David Van Ostrand’s second run-scoring single of the game. The Mustangs went on to load the bases and, with two outs, Luke Yoder drew a walk to cut the deficit to 4-3.
On a full-count, Melker fouled off one pitch before lining a single to left-center field to score two runs and give Cal Poly its first lead of the game at 5-4.
Senior right-hander DJ Mauldin, despite throwing 114 pitches in the first eight innings went out for the ninth inning and finished the complete-game performance with a season-high 131 pitches.
Mauldin (5-2) allowed four runs and nine hits with two walks and three strikeouts for his third career complete game and his third win in the last three weeks.
The first Mustang run of the game came in the fourth inning as Melker singled, took second on a passed ball and scored on Van Ostrand’s RBI single to left field.
That cut UC Davis’ lead to 3-1. Designated hitter David Popkins hit his third home run of the season, a solo shot in the fifth inning, to give the Aggies a 4-1 cushion and it stayed that way until the ninth.
UC Davis senior southpaw Sean Watson came within three outs of his first complete game of the season. He entered the game with a 6.38 ERA but scattered six hits with one walk and four strikeouts, allowing two earned runs.
Sunday, the Aggies rallied to back to win the final game of the series 8-2.
Cal Poly briefly led 1-0 on Van Ostrand’s RBI infield single in the first inning, but UC Davis countered with four runs in the bottom of the first and never looked back — adding four more runs in the fourth for an 8-1 cushion.
The Mustangs tallied their second run in the fifth as Van Ostrand reached base on an infield hit, allowing Melker to score from third base, but the Mustangs would be held scoreless for the rest of the game.
The loss went to Mustang junior right-hander Eugene Wright (1-5), who gave up four runs and five hits in 1 1/3 innings. Frankie Reed pitched three scoreless innings in relief, throwing just 21 pitches, and Mark DeVincenzi pitched one scoreless frame.
The Mustangs will return to the field Tuesday as they will return home to play Pepperdine at 6 p.m.