No. 30 Cal Poly takes on No. 13 UCSB in three-game homestand, dropping first 10-7
Cal Poly fought its way back twice to even the score against rival Santa Barbara on Friday — including a three-run ninth inning.
But the Mustangs fell short in 11 innings, losing 10-7 to the Gauchos to open a three-game series at home with Big West Conference title implications.
Playing against No. 13 UCSB (28-10, 17-2 Big West), the first-place team in the conference, the No. 30 Mustangs (24-17, 11-5 Big West) were looking to close the gap as the conference’s second place team.
Getting down 3-0 in the second inning, Cal Poly energized a crowd of 2,837 with a three-run sixth, which included a double down the right field line by Collin Villegas and a RBI single by Nick Marinconz that knotted the game at 3-3.
The Mustangs rallied in the bottom of the ninth, tying the game on a sharply hit grounder by senior third baseman Tate Samuelson that the UCSB third baseman booted to allow the tying run to score.
But UCSB scored three runs of off Cal Poly reliever Zach Button in the 11th inning and that gap proved insurmountable.
“We battled,” said Mustangs Coach Larry Lee. “They’re a really good ball club in all facets of the game and they swing the bats extremely well. It was a tough one. We needed this win. We’re on to tomorrow’s game to see what we can do.”
Lee said his team had some quality at bats against “high end” pitching from UCSB.
Multiple Guacho pitchers threw fastballs that peaked between 90 miles per hour and 94 miles per hour on the radar gun.
The Guachos were powered by two home runs off the bat of designated hitter Blake Klassen, who had 4 RBI. Catcher Giani Bloom was 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI.
The Mustangs take the field again versus UCSB at Baggett Stadium Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Cal Poly starting pitcher Drew Thorpe struck out five and gave up three earned runs. Thorpe entered the contest with 100 strikeouts on the season, the second-ranked strikeout total in NCAA baseball.
Villegas was 3-for-5 with a RBI and Marinconz was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI. Mark Armstrong, a Paso Robles High graduate and Cal Poly senior, was 1-for-4, hitting the ball sharply in multiple at bats.
Cal Poly shortstop Brooks Lee, a top Major League Baseball prospect, was walked three times and scored a run. Lee had a sacrifice fly RBI on an 0-for-2 night.
Paso Robles grad talks Cal Poly adjustment
“This is my fifth year in the program and from the first day I’ve felt comfortable here,” Armstrong said. “Coach Lee is a great coach and I’ve learned a ton playing for him.”
Armstrong said he looks for elevated pitches he can square up and has become more selective at the plate to pick out the pitches that he can barrel.
“We felt like we’ve been in this situation before and we’re not out of any game,” Armstrong said. “We’ll be ready from the first pitch tomorrow.”
Armstrong said it was a big step up to play at the college level from Paso Robles High, because he didn’t play much baseball outside of high school, but as the “years go on you get more at bats in fall scrimmages and you get your chance.”
“You kind of get accustomed to it, but it was definitely a big adjustment from high school to college in the beginning,” Armstrong said.
This story was originally published April 30, 2022 at 12:15 AM.
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