Cal Poly baseball wins opening game of Big West Championships 7-2 over Fullerton

In its first Big West Championships appearance in over 27 years, Cal Poly made an early statement, defeating Cal State Fullerton 7–2 on the Titans’ home turf at Goodwin Field.

The Mustangs came out aggressive at the plate, scoring three runs in the second inning to seize early control. Casey “Boogie” Murray Jr. launched a solo home run to left field to open the scoring, followed by RBI hits from freshman Dante Vachini and redshirt senior Ryan Fenn.

Fenn remained perfect at the plate through the first six innings, while senior Zach Daudet scored twice to help fuel the Mustangs’ offensive surge.

By the end of the night, Cal Poly had racked up 15 hits, showcasing the kind of offensive depth that allowed the Mustangs to keep the pressure on Fullerton from start to finish.

While the bats stayed hot, it was right-hander Griffin Naess who truly silenced the Fullerton crowd. The 6-foot-6 sophomore delivered a steady, composed performance in his postseason debut, tossing 6-2/3 scoreless innings. He scattered eight hits, struck out four, walked just one and worked out of several tight spots to keep the Titans off the board.

“Any type of jams he got into, he got himself out of,” Head Coach Larry Lee said. “And that’s what he’s done all season.”

Enducing a mix of groundouts and flyouts, Naess threw 97 pitches before handing the ball to left-hander Jake Torres after two two-out singles in the seventh. Torres ran into trouble in the eighth, giving up back-to-back solo home runs and the only offense Fullerton would muster all night.

“It’s easy to pitch when the whole team trusts the offense to put up runs,” Naess said.

Heading into the tournament, Lee had emphasized how critical pitching depth would be in a postseason format that demands consistency across multiple days. With arms needing to be saved and matchups intensifying, Naess gave Cal Poly exactly the kind of start it needed to keep its bullpen fresh and momentum intact.

With the win, the Mustangs advance in the winner’s bracket and will face No. 1 seed UC Irvine on Friday at 3 p.m. The Anteaters, who beat Hawaii 7-5 in Thursday’s early game, are the only team in the Big West to sweep Cal Poly this season.

The stakes are high: A win would put the Mustangs one step closer to a Big West title and their first NCAA Regional appearance since 2014.