Cal Poly starting pitcher Kyle Brueggeman went eight scoreless innings, gave up two hits and allowed base runners in only the third inning as the Mustangs defeated San Diego State 7-0 in the second half of a double-header on Saturday.
“The last few weeks I’ve been struggling a bit,” Brueggeman said. “Today, I went back to the basics: committing on every pitch and going right at them. This team has a lot of potential; we have barely begun to scratch that potential. When we begin to play well at all facets of the game, we can really be a dangerous team.”
It was the third win against the Aztecs in two days for the Mustangs as the team split a double-header on Friday, and a complete game by pitcher Kyle Anderson secured a victory on Saturday afternoon. With three straight wins under their belt, the Mustangs moved to 16-8 overall and begin conference play on Friday.
Offensively, Cal Poly started the game with a double down the third base line by shortstop Mike Miller. Mitch Haniger extended his hit streak to nine games when he drove in Miller with a single to left field.
In the second frame, David Armendariz doubled with a blooper down the first base line putting himself into scoring position. Tommy Pluschkell drove a ball to center for a single to score Armendariz.
Brueggeman had nine strikeouts on the night and only had runners in scoring position once throughout his eight innings pitched. In the third, he gave up back-to-back singles to Matt Munoz and Greg Allen. Head coach Larry Lee was extremely happy with Brueggeman’s performance.
“I’m very happy with the way we performed this weekend,” he said. “We haven’t performed well over the past few weeks. We have found a lineup that we like. Brueggeman threw extremely well.”
Cal Poly broke the game open in the fifth with the help of Tommy Pluschkell who doubled down the left field line against San Diego State’s starting pitcher Travis Pitcher. True freshmen Alex Michaels singled on a hit-and-run to drive in Pluschkell.
San Diego State put in reliever TJ Kendzora in the sixth and was greeted by singles from Chris Hoo and Armendariz . Pluschkell drove in Hoo and a sacrifice fly to center by Miller drove in Armendariz.
“It’s good to see younger guys like Pluschkell succeed; they are really hard workers,” Haniger said. “Everyone is pulling for each other; we really like to see each other succeed.”
Closer Nick Grim, a Monterey Peninsula transfer, pitched a scoreless ninth inning, striking out one.
“Grim needed innings,” Lee said. “He hadn’t thrown since last week. We needed to keep him fresh; he is a valuable part of our bullpen.”
Though Brueggeman would have preferred to finish the ninth inning for a complete game, he was happy for his teammate to get more game experience.
“As a competitor you always want to go the distance, that’s what your mindset is,” he said. “But I’m also a teammate, and Grim needed some work.”
The game was originally scheduled for Sunday, but due to expected poor weather conditions, it was rescheduled for Saturday. Lee said doubleheaders can be physically and mentally demanding but also how satisfied he was with his team.
“It’s a grind, you rarely if ever play that much,” Lee said. “It shows you how fragile the game of baseball is … It was a good shot in the arm for us and some really good performances.”
Cal Poly starts conference play on Friday when they face Long Beach State with first pitch coming at 6 p.m.