Mustang Daily Staff Report
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With the heart of the lineup at the plate for the Cal Poly baseball team, the Mustangs couldn’t take advantage, falling to Hawaii 7-6 in the final game of Cal Poly’s three-game series this weekend.
Cal Poly (23-9, 6-3 Big West), however, did take the first two games of the series, a weekend after dropping two of three to rival UC Santa Barbara last weekend.
It might have been what the Mustangs needed heading into the upcoming week. With a series win under their belt, the Mustangs will host Santa Clara on Tuesday and conference-leading Cal State Fullerton next weekend in what may be the biggest series the Mustangs will play at home all year.
A sweep, however, would have helped, as Hawaii came into this series with seven wins, but the Mustangs fell into a 5-0 deficit heading into the bottom of the third, and the lead proved to be too much for Cal Poly to overcome.
The team did make it close. A two-RBI single from Denver Chavez, a sacrifice fly from Jimmy Allen and a wild pitch cut the lead to one after the bottom of the third.
Hawaii (8-24, 3-6) added two more runs in the fourth before the Mustangs added single scores in the seventh and eighth, an RBI double from Elliot Stewart and a sacrifice fly from Brian Mundell, to make it a one-run game heading into the ninth.
But with Denver Chavez on base after getting hit by a pitch, Michael Hoo grounded out to third base to end the game.
SATURDAY:
Cal Poly 3, Hawaii 2
Visibly flustered sophomore pitcher Matt Imhof reluctantly handed head coach Larry Lee the ball for a pitching change in the eighth inning. After throwing 7 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball, Imhof found himself in some trouble with runners on and only one out, forcing Lee to give his sophomore closer Reed Reilly a chance to shut the door on visiting Hawaii.
Picking up where Imhof left off prior to his jam in the eighth, Reilly did just that, striking out two of the final three batters he faced to help the Cal Poly baseball team defeat the Rainbows on Saturday night.
“My mindset was that I’m gonna finish this game and I’m gonna get the shutout,” Imhof said. “It was just a little disappointing to get taken out. I understand (the coach’s decision) to have Reed (Reilly) coming in. But being the competitor that I am, I wanted to finish that game.”
Imhof or Reilly in the end? Either way for the Mustangs, it felt like a win-win situation.
“Imhof is looking like a veteran out there, especially after the adversity he faced (in a loss to UC Santa Barbara) last week,” Reilly said of his starter. “He really showed a lot tonight, going eight innings and keeping them off balanced.”
It’s proven to be a theme this season. No matter who has toed the rubber for Cal Poly, the opposing team has had a difficult time putting runs on the board against them, not to mention difficulties of avoiding the strikeout.
Imhof was the latest starter to give the team in the opposite dugout fits at the plate, striking out a career high tying 11 batters against the Rainbows on Saturday. The only other time he has fanned that many in a single game was March 15 against a then-No. 17 Notre Dame squad.
As a team, the Mustangs ranked No. 6 in the country in total strikeouts per nine innings on Saturday, according to NCAA.com. That’s a theme Lee is happy to see.
“It’s a philosophy that we want to strike everybody out,” Lee said. “You never really hear that, you always hear ‘pitch to contact,’ but I’m just the opposite. If the situation dictates, we want to strike everybody out.”
FRIDAY:
Cal Poly 8, Hawaii 3
Hit after hit and run after run, the Cal Poly Baseball team let its play do the talking as it cruised to a series-opening victory over Hawaii on Friday night.
After losing two of three to rival UC Santa Barbara last weekend, senior right-hander Joey Wagman tossed his second complete game of the season, and Chavez collected three hits to boost his team-leading bating average.
“It was a great team win,” Wagman said. “The mentality is: It’s a new weekend. Last weekend has no effect on us. Everyone did a great job tonight.”
Wagman had plenty of reasons to applaud his teammates. After all, the Cal Poly offense put up four runs in the first inning, thanks to a three-run home run from right fielder Nick Torres.
“When the first four guys in the order score in the first inning, that kind of sets the tone,” Lee said. “Wagman threw well and saved our bullpen, which is extremely important. It was good for us.”
It was fairly smooth sailing for Wagman, who allowed only one earned run on eight hits, struck out eight while walking none and dropped his ERA down to 2.95.
“Always a bulldog,” Chavez said. “Every time he goes out there, he gives us his best. He probably gave up a few hits today, but he battles and doesn’t get rattled.”
Junior Tim Wise made his return to the Cal Poly lineup tonight after missing a couple weeks with a pulled quad.
Wise started the game in left field, shifting Jordan Ellis into center field and a struggling David Armendariz to the bench. Freshman Mark Mathias got his seventh start of the season at first base.
“Time to give some other players some opportunities,” Lee said. “Mathias had a big game. He’s going to continue to get better and better. Ellis had some great jumps, especially on balls in.”
The fresh faces in the starting lineup cashed in at the plate, as Ellis, Wise and Mathias drove in a combined five runs. A resurgent Allen went 2 for 3 with two runs and two RBIs on the night.
Brian De Los Santos, Jacob Lauing and Stephan Teodosescu contributed to this staff report.