Cal Poly baseball rally falls short in loss to No. 14 UCLA

A young Cal Poly baseball team showed some encouraging resiliency Friday night.

Facing defending Pac-12 Conference champion UCLA in the opener of the three-game series, the Mustangs rallied back from an early five-run deficit and gave the visiting Bruins all they could handle.

The late surge wasn’t quite enough, however, as Cal Poly lost its first game of the season 7-6 in front of 2,471 spectators inside Baggett Stadium. It was the largest crowd to attend a Cal Poly baseball game since the 2014 NCAA Tournament regional round.

“Offensively, we weren’t ready to compete from pitch one,” head coach Larry Lee said. “Defensively, we gave them some extra opportunities. We didn’t take care of some pretty routine plays and it’s going to cost you against good teams.”

How it happened:

UCLA (2-3) struck first against Cal Poly starter Kyle Smith with a three-run second inning, needing three infield singles and a sacrifice bunt to pull ahead. The Bruins added two more runs in the third, thanks in part to a pair of Mustang fielding errors.

UCLA starter Grant Dyer pitched only two innings before being pulled going into the third. The move seemed unusual after Dyer, a veteran right-hander, had little trouble with the Mustangs’ lineup through the first two innings.

The Bruins went on to use eight pitchers in the opener of a three-game series.

“We just need to compete better early in the ballgame,” Lee said. “Those are the type of pitchers and games that you have to match up against and have to find ways to compete.”

Mustangs rally:

Cal Poly right fielder John Schuknecht helped spark the Mustangs comeback with a three-run home run during a five-run fifth inning. The 10th home run of Schuknecht’s career went sailing over the fence in left field, pulling Cal Poly within 5-4.

Four batters later, junior shortstop Alec Smith tied the score with an RBI single through the left side.

UCLA answered with two runs in the seventh, getting a pair of RBI singles from Kort Peterson and Brett Urabe.

In the bottom of the frame, freshman catcher Nick Meyer drove in Kyle Marinconz with an RBI single to pull within 7-6. The Mustangs (4-1) loaded the bases with two outs in the inning, but were unable to push across another run.

“I just don’t think we were ready to play the first third of the ballgame,” Lee said. “But to our credit, we didn’t panic and got back in it and had the one good inning.”

Who stood out:

Kyle Smith (1-1) turned in another sharp outing, but the two errors and a handful of infield singles proved too much to overcome. The sophomore left-hander scattered 10 hits and gave up seven runs (five earned) while striking out six and walking one in more than six innings.

Marinconz, a true freshman second baseman, went 3-for-3 with two walks and scored twice. Third baseman Michael Sanderson also had three hits to lead Cal Poly offensively.

Up next:

Cal Poly is scheduled to play a doubleheader beginning at noon Saturday against No. 19-ranked Michigan (5-0). The Mustangs will then face UCLA in the second game of the series at 6 p.m. inside Baggett Stadium.

Lee said Cal Poly will start freshman Cam Schneider against the Wolverines and junior Slater Lee against the Bruins.

“It’s good to play quality programs outside the west,” Lee said. “We’ll see how resilient we are.”

This story was originally published February 26, 2016 at 10:54 PM with the headline "Cal Poly baseball rally falls short in loss to No. 14 UCLA."