brennan angelCal Poly baseball opened its season with a sweep of No. 21 Fresno State with a dramatic walk-off home run in Sunday’s 9-8 win.
The Mustangs trailed early in Sunday’s game against the Bulldogs, but took the lead 7-5 with an offensive flurry in the seventh inning. However, Fresno State struck back in the top-half of the ninth inning to take an 8-7 lead.
In the bottom of the ninth, Jimmy Van Ostrand walked and Josh Lansford blasted a home run to secure the Mustangs’ win.
Cal Poly 4, Fresno State 1
Junior catcher Matt Canepa drove in the go-ahead run with a sixth-inning single and junior right-hander Bud Norris allowed one run in seven innings as Cal Poly defeated No. 21 Fresno State 4-1 in the second game of a season-opening three-game non-conference baseball series Saturday afternoon.
Norris struck out one, did not walk a batter and scattered six hits as the Mustangs improved to 2-0 on the season. Casey Fien pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Rocky Roquet picked up save No. 2, allowing no runs and one hit in the ninth inning.
Sophomore center fielder Grant Desme hit a two-out solo home run to left-center field in the first inning, giving Cal Poly a 1-0 lead. Fresno State answered with a run in the third on Eric Wetzel’s RBI single up the middle.
In the Mustang sixth, Matt Cooper drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on Jimmy Gardiner’s sacrifice bunt and came home on Canepa’s single through the right side of the Fresno State infield. Canepa, who took second on the throw to the plate, came home on a single to left-center field by Brent Walker.
Cal Poly added an insurance run in the eighth as Jacob Luque singled with one out and eventually scored on an error in the Bulldog outfield.
Canepa finished with three singles and an RBI for the Mustangs. No Fresno State player collected more than one hit, though Steve Susdorf notched a double.
Bulldog southpaw Eddie Romero allowed three runs and seven hits in 5.2 innings for the loss. He struck out six and walked four.
Cal Poly 6, Fresno State 3
Senior first baseman Jimmy Van Ostrand belted a third-inning grand slam and junior right-hander Gary Daley Jr. allowed one earned run and seven hits in 6.1 innings to lead Cal Poly to a season-opening 6-3 victory over No. 21 Fresno State in a non-conference baseball game Friday night before 2,049 in Baggett Stadium.
Van Ostrand’s shot to left field wiped out an early 2-0 Fresno State lead and the Mustangs never turned back, giving head coach Larry Lee a victory in the season opener for the fourth straight year.
It was Cal Poly’s first grand slam since Chalon Tietje hit one in March 2004 at Nevada and the first grand slam ever hit by a Mustang in six-year-old Baggett Stadium.
Daley struck out a career-high eight Bulldogs and walked just two en route to his 10th career win. He outdueled Fresno State senior right-hander Doug Fister, who allowed six runs and three hits in five innings.