Cal Poly’s season is on the line after blowout loss to UC Irvine

UC Irvine, which swept Cal Poly during the regular season, once again had the Mustangs’ number on Friday, handing them a 15-3 loss in the Big West Championships semifinal at Cal State Fullerton.

And the game didn’t even go the full nine innings, ending in the seventh inning due to the Big West’s 10-run mercy rule.

UC Irvine has been the only team to truly rattle Cal Poly this season, and Friday’s result reinforced the matchup problems the Anteaters have posed all year.

After Griffin Naess carried the Mustangs in Thursday’s win with his dominant pitching, the Mustangs switched up their rotation and led off with left-hander Josh Volmerding.

Volmerding pitched 3⅔ innings, allowing nine runs before handing the ball to freshman Troy Cooper. The Mustangs cycled through four pitchers in total, searching for any relief against the Anteaters’ offensive onslaught.

“You need to be able to mix a lot,” Head Coach Larry Lee said after the game. “You need to be able to limit the amount of leadoff hitters that get on base and limit the amount of free passes. We didn’t do that today.”

UC Irvine racked up 15 runs on 15 hits. The fifth inning proved especially damaging, with the Anteaters scoring five runs on five hits, including a bases-clearing double. The Mustangs’ pitching staff struggled to find a rhythm against a lineup that has consistently pressured them this season.

Offensively, Cal Poly was quiet through the first five innings, recording just two hits heading into the fourth. The breakthrough finally came in the sixth inning, when the Mustangs scored all three of their runs, highlighted by an RBI single from Alejandro Garza to score Ryan Fenn followed by a pair of run-scoring groundouts to break the shutout.

Though the Mustangs came up short, the double-elimination format gives them another shot to stay alive.

Resting Naess is a strategic move, especially with the potential of playing two elimination games on Saturday as Cal Poly fights to keep its NCAA tournament hopes alive.

Cal Poly now enters Saturday needing two wins, one in the morning to stay alive, and another that evening to claim a spot in the NCAA Regionals with a Big West Championship title. It’s a tall order, but one the team has been preparing for all season long.

“We’re not thinking ahead, we are just thinking about the 3 o’clock game tomorrow,” Lee said.

With their top arm Naess rested, Cal Poly has the flexibility to use him strategically, whether in the elimination game or a potential finals matchup later that evening.

Cal Poly will face Hawaii, which stayed alive by pummeling Cal State Fullerton 16-4 in the Friday night game. The winner of that game then faces UC Irvine Saturday night in another elimination game.

If the Mustangs win there, they would force a winner-take-all final against the Anteaters on Sunday.

What sets this postseason apart from past years is the opportunity itself.

For the first time since the Big West reinstated its championship format this year, Cal Poly doesn’t have to rely on an at-large bid for a shot at the NCAA Regionals.

Winning out would give them a direct path, but even a deep run could strengthen their case.