Senior Tim Wise collected three hits, including a triple, to help lead the Mustangs past Wagner 7-2 on Sunday.
Rafael Salinas
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A warm, sun-soaked Sunday afternoon was the setting for No. 8 Cal Poly’s seventh straight victory. Freshman Justin Calomeni pitched 5 1/3 innings and surrendered two runs on four hits to lead the Mustangs past Wagner 7-2 at Baggett Stadium. He finished with five strikeouts and four walks.
In the second inning, the Mustangs got the scoring going with a string of doubles. Senior third baseman Jimmy Allen led off by lacing a lead-off double to the gap in left-center. Sophomore second baseman Mark Mathias followed by dropping a base hit just out of reach of the diving center fielder for an RBI double to put the Mustangs ahead early.
Senior catcher Chris Hoo then sent a frozen rope over the shortstop into left center to bring Mathias home and give Calomeni a lead to protect. Hoo finished the day 2 for 4 with two RBIs.
The Mustangs kept the pressure on in the third inning. Junior right fielder Nick Torres pushed a single through the right side of the infield and sophomore designated hitter Brian Mundell got on after an error by the third baseman. That set the table for Allen, who put a single in the same direction as his previous double to bring Torres around.
The Seahawks rallied in the top of the fourth innings to bring the score to 3-1.
Wagner then employed some small ball tactics by having catcher Jason Gordon lay down a sacrifice bunt that drove in the second run. Wagner then attempted a steal of home, but Hoo received a fastball from Calomeni, tagged the runner out and ended the Wagner threat.
“No one’s done that (stole home), it’s a little weird because there’s two strikes, but the ball was down the middle,” Hoo said. “It could have been strike three and I was going for the tag anyways.
Junior reliever Danny Zandona inherited runners on first and second in the top of the sixth with one out, but preserved the lead despite a Wagner threat.
“We’re trying to play solid defense for all nine innings, that’s our main focus, we want to be the best defensive team in the nation,” Hoo said.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Mustangs extended their lead. Junior outfielder Zack Zehner got on after an error by the Seahawks’ shortstop and eventually scored on Hoo’s RBI single.
“Defensively that’s probably the strongpoint of our team, the majority of players we have out there are very good defensively, we’re very strong up the middle,” head coach Larry Lee said. “We can always be consistent in that aspect.”
Freshman Slater Lee rounded out the weekend sweep by pitching a scoreless ninth inning.
Cal Poly’s defense has been integral to their success this season. The Mustangs have made just 15 errors in 20 games and have won the close ones. Cal Poly (17-3) is now off to its second-best 20-game start in Division I history, but Larry Lee still sees room for improvement.
“We need to get better in a lot of different areas, pitching wise there’s a big gap between our guys who have been successful and our other guys,” Lee said. “We have great numbers, but it’s a little deceiving, we need to shore up that end.”
The Mustangs carry their strong play into a four-game series against California starting on March 21 at Baggett Stadium.