The Mustangs have become all too familiar with the trainer’s room over the last couple of seasons.
Cal Poly lost some depth on the mound in 2009 and in the follow-up year to its NCAA regional playoff berth last season, injuries crippled the Mustangs’ chances at competing for another postseason berth.
This season, it’s happened again.
The Mustangs’ injury woes have transferred from the mound to the batter’s box. Cal Poly has had player after player go down, most being key players like second baseman Matt Jensen and freshman Tim Wise.
Head coach Larry Lee, who is in his ninth season with the team, said the volume of injuries the past two seasons has aggravated the team and prevented it from reaching its full potential.
“It’s just frustrating,” Lee said. “You like to go to the games playing fully loaded and we haven’t been for quite some time and it’s very evident that it’s hurting us.”
Some are starting to get back, like shortstop Mike Miller, who was inserted back into the lineup this weekend and played all three games against UC Riverside.
Miller, who just rebounded from a wrist injury, currently leads the team with a .386 batting average, with 12 RBIs.
The team is still without what could be an integral part of a Big West Championship run.
Jensen, 2009 Big West Freshman of the Year and first-team All-Big West performer, has missed 13 games so far this season with an injured wrist. He hit .375 his freshman year, to go with his nine home runs and 53 RBIs.
Wise is doing his best to get back onto the field. He saw playing time in the Mustangs’ loss to Pepperdine on March 29, but struck out swinging with runners in scoring in position. He is batting .313 for the season.
Lee said the players are day-to-day and it is still up in the air whether they will get to make their return in the team’s Big West debut this weekend.
“Hopefully we can get at least a couple of them back and have them make a difference,” Lee said. “We’ll see, it’s going to be a day-to-day decision and not quite sure if we’re going to get any of them back (soon).”
But for once, the Mustangs are managing to stay healthy on the mound.
With the return of Mason Radeke and Steven Fischback to Cal Poly’s pitching lineup, the Mustangs are pitching some of the best games in years. The team has seen a drop in its 6.75 team ERA to 4.08 this season.
But the Mustangs have been unable to synch their success on the mound with their success in the batter’s box.
Starting pitcher Joey Wagman said the team knows both pitching and hitting are going to need to step up to fill the gap left by the injured players.
“(Coach Lee) challenges us to pick up our game,” Wagman said. “That’s the way things got to be done. Everyone knows we need to pick up our game. It starts with staying in our routines … and being mentally prepared every game.”
Junior center fielder Bobby Crocker has met that challenge, connecting on 15 hits in his last 35 at-bats, raising his average 58 points to .341.
But it’s a different story for the rest of the team, which was 2 of 16 with runners in scoring position in the Mustangs’ win against UC Riverside Sunday.
Unsure of how long his teammates will be injured, Crocker said the Mustangs will have to rely on their secondary players to become an asset to the team.
“We have to have confidence in our secondary guys who are our starters and have confidence for whoever is on the field,” Crocker said. “Really, all we can do is accept it and continue playing.”