Jacob Lauing
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The No. 8 Cal Poly baseball team — which plays six games in six days this week and 18 straight at home — notched a 4-2 win over Northern Illinois Tuesday night.
The Mustangs saw offensive contributions across the board against the Huskies, with RBIs from junior outfielder Nick Torres, junior outfielder Zack Zehner, sophomore second baseman Mark Mathias and senior catcher Chris Hoo.
Freshman right-hander Justin Calomeni gave Cal Poly a solid 6 1/3 innings. Though he walked three, Calomeni struck out nine and allowed one earned run.
“A little bit high of a pitch count … but he’s been real good for us and he’s been our Tuesday starter all year,” head coach Larry Lee said. “It’s very important to have a quality Tuesday guy. Not all teams have that luxury. It’s good to feel like you’re the better team on those mid-week games.”
First baseman Tim Wise sparked Cal Poly’s offense with two hits and one run scored. He touched on preparing for the upcoming five games in five days for Cal Poly.
“Mostly just stay healthy, keep our energy up,” Wise said. “Try to rest as much as possible, so we can go in to every game and have as much energy and do well as well as we can do.”
Junior reliever Reed Reilly took over pitching duties in the seventh and made quick work of Northern Illinois, allowing one baserunner in 2 2/3 innings pitched.
“You want him on the mound when the game’s on the line,” Lee said. “It doesn’t matter if its the seventh, eighth or ninth inning. He’s your best option.”
Junior right-hander Danny Zandona will toe the rubber against Northern Illinois on Wednesday, followed by freshman Slater Lee on Thursday, Larry Lee said. Cal Poly hosts Wagner in a three-game set this weekend, with junior southpaw Matt Imhof, sophomore righty Casey Bloomquist and Calomeni starting on the hill Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The Mustangs improved to 12-3 on the year with the win, while Northern Illinois dropped to 1-13-1.