In a season of ups and downs, the Santa Clara baseball team is currently on an up.
After a stretch in which they lost 10 straight games, the Broncos (13-17) have now won three straight and are trying to turn their season around.
Cal Poly (24-8) stands in the way and will travel to play Santa Clara tonight at 6 p.m. in Stephen Schott Field.
The Mustangs, currently ranked as high as No. 14, are coming off a weekend in which they took two of three at Pacific and have moved into a three-way tie for second place in the Big West Conference, three games behind UC Irvine.
Freshman right-hander Jeff Johnson (0-1, 7.88 ERA) will make his third start for Cal Poly this year opposite Santa Clara right-hander Steve Kalush (1-3, 6.75 ERA).
Catcher Geoff Klein, who is batting .371 on the season with 15 doubles and 37 RBI, leads the Broncos in hitting this season.
The Mustangs may have redemption on their minds after losing two of three at home to Santa Clara last season, but this is a different team than the one that finished 24-32 a year ago.
Cal Poly’s offense is lead by freshman second baseman Matt Jensen, who is just one of seven Mustangs hitting above .350 this season. He also leads the team in doubles, walks, homeruns and RBI.
The Cal Poly offensive attack has delivered against one of the nations toughest schedules. College baseball websites Boydsworld.com and WarrenNolan.com have the Mustangs playing among the 20 most difficult schedules this year.
After the Tuesday game, Cal Poly will host Big West Conference foe UC Davis starting Friday at Baggett Stadium.