Stephan Teodosescu
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While the men’s basketball team put Cal Poly sports on the national radar with an improbable run to the NCAA Tournament, other athletic programs across campus made a splash as students were on spring break. Here’s a roundup of what you missed in Cal Poly Athletics this past week.
Baseball continues hot streak
The No. 5 Cal Poly baseball team swept its Big West Conference-opening series against UC Davis at Baggett Stadium over the weekend to continue one of its strongest starts to a season in program history. The Mustangs improved to 23-4 overall (3-0 Big West) with the win and have won 13 of their last 14 games, including five straight victories.
Cal Poly is 16-1 at home this season and has won 23 of its last 24 games at Baggett Stadium.
“It’s good, especially playing at home, to make sure you win the series or create an opportunity where we can sweep,” head coach Larry Lee said. “Going 3-0 against Davis was just what we needed and just what our players expected.”
The Mustangs are ranked in the top 10 in all five major Division I polls for the second straight week headlined by a No.5-billing by Perfect Game and Baseball America. Cal Poly was slated No. 6 by the National College Baseball Writers Association, and No. 7 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll.
“It’s pretty impossible not to think about it; it’s always out in front of our eyes,” senior third baseman Jimmy Allen said about the rankings. “We embrace it for a little bit, but then kind of let it go and focus on the game. We enjoy it and use it as encouragement to be playing better.”
Freshman pitcher Slater Lee will take the mound for a mid-week game against Cal State Bakersfield on Tuesday night before opening a three-game series at home against UC Santa Barbara this weekend.
Hyland earns historic Big West honor
Freshman softball pitching standout Sierra Hyland garnered Big West Pitcher of the Week accolades for a program-record fourth time this season, which was announced Monday.
Hyland (17-5) threw a perfect game against Cal State Northridge on Saturday and struck out 21 batters in 26 innings of work in the Big West opening series throughout the weekend. It was her second no-hitter this season.
She ranks No. 6 in the nation in terms of strikeouts (180) and seventh in victories with 17.
With the conference accolade, she surpassed Anna Cahn (2008-11) for most Big West weekly honors in a single season by a Mustang.
“It feels great as a freshman to have the coach’s confidence in you,” Hyland said. “It really boosts my confidence and feels good.”
Cal Poly softball is currently 20-12 (2-1 Big West) and will head south for a three-game series against UC Santa Barbara this weekend.
Fierro garners All-America Honorable Mention
By finishing 15th in the 1,650-yard freestyle, sophomore swimmer Sonny Fierro broke his own school record and became an All-America Honorable Mention on Saturday at the NCAA Men’s Swimming Championships.
He finished in a time of 14 minutes, 56.01 seconds — nearly four seconds faster than his record set at the Pac-12 championships this season.
“It means so much to me,” Fierro said. “I’m just so happy and excited for next year because what I’ve done this year is going to inspire more people on the team to go as far as I have. So I think that’s going to build a good swim program.”
Fierro is Cal Poly’s first men’s swimmer to earn at least All-America Honorable Mention status in men’s swimming since 1962. The top-8 finishers are All-Americas, while ninth through 16th are Honorable Mentions.
Track and field sweeps home invite
The Cal Poly men’s and women’s track and field teams swept the Cal Poly/ShareSLO.com Track and Field Invitational on Saturday afternoon.
Freshman Jess Rasmussen and junior Walter Finney won multiple events, while senior David Williams moved into second place on the all-time records list in the 110-meter hurdles, to highlight the meet for the Mustangs.
In all, three upperclassmen established personal records and four individuals posted times or marks ranking in the top 10 in program history.
Notable alumni, including Olympians Sharon Day-Monroe and Stephanie Brown Tafton, also won events in Saturday’s meet.