The Cal Poly baseball team is no stranger to being in a conference with multiple teams ranked in the top 25.
What the Mustangs aren’t accustomed to is being among those teams themselves. But that is exactly where Cal Poly (6-1) finds itself after being ranked No. 17 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Top 25 poll.
Cal Poly joins Big West powers Cal State Fullerton (sixth) and UC Irvine (eighth) in the polls, giving the conference three of the top 20 teams in the nation.
The ranking is the highest Cal Poly has ever obtained at the Division I level. Head coach Larry Lee said he is happy the team is being recognized, but that they have a long way to go this season.
“We don’t want to read too much into it,” Lee said. “We like the limelight but we don’t want to feel like we’re any better than we are.”
Cal Poly will step back into the spotlight tonight when they take on San Jose State (6-0), a team that has had early season success akin to the Mustangs, in the first game of an eight-game road trip.
“It’s a good time to go on the road,” Lee said. “We’re playing well, we’re playing with confidence. We tell our players that you have to win on the road to be a quality college baseball program.”
Prior to last weekend’s series against Sacramento State over the weekend, Lee told his team that a dominant performance would put them on the bubble for a slot in the polls.
The Mustangs would go on to sweep the Hornets. The sweep coupled with a series win against then-No. 3 Rice and a midweek win against defending national champion Fresno State put Cal Poly over the top.
“It’s something that is important for Cal Poly to get that name recognition out there and you never know what non-conference wins early in the season are going to get you that extra vote to get you into postseason competition,” Lee said.
If anyone knows the importance of earning extra votes to get into the postseason, it’s Lee’s Mustangs.
Despite several strong showings, including a second-place Big West finish in 2005, the Mustangs have yet to reach regional competition at the Division I level.
If the early season success is any indication, Cal Poly should be well on its way.
The Spartans provide another early season test for the Mustangs with a pitching staff that carries a stingy 2.83 ERA into tonight’s contest.
Cal Poly will spend the majority of the next two weeks on the road. After San Jose State, the Mustangs will spend the weekend in Texas to take on Houston, followed by a weekday game against Pepperdine and a three-game set against Cal next weekend.
Still, Lee said that being on the road will have its positives and that his team is up for the task.
“There’s less distractions on the road,” he said. “It’s a good atmosphere for us. It’s something we’re looking forward to.”