Cal Poly baseball team heads north to Sacramento State for three-game series
As one of two seniors on the Cal Poly baseball roster this spring, John Schuknecht knew he would be counted on to produce runs and provide leadership to his younger teammates.
Through the first month of the season, the 6-foot, 200-pound right fielder seems to be doing both at a high level. Schuknecht is one of six Mustangs to start all 16 games and holds a .317 batting average, the fourth-best mark on the roster.
He leads the Big West Conference with 19 runs driven in and is five RBI away from matching his career high (24) set as a junior last season. Having hit safely in 13 of 16 games, Schuknecht has helped set a strong tone for Cal Poly offensively.
The Mustangs (11-5) are looking to bounce back from a series loss at Grand Canyon last week when they travel north to play Sacramento State for a three-game set this weekend. The two teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday, with the series finale tentatively set for 1 p.m. Sunday or Monday, weather permitting.
Sophomore left-hander Kyle Smith (2-1) is expected to make his fifth appearance in the series opener. Smith was superb during his last time out, when he pitched a complete-game shutout in a 7-0 win against Grand Canyon. He scattered five hits and struck out six batters to earn his second complete game this season.
Western Athletic Conference opponent Sacramento State also hopes to right the proverbial ship after getting swept at Arizona last week. The Hornets were outscored 34-6 during those three games, but they responded by defeating William Jessup to start a 13-game homestand on Tuesday.
With 17 returners from last year’s team that went 33-27 overall and finished fourth in the final WAC standings, Sacramento State has navigated a challenging nonconference schedule. It won two of three games during a season-opening series at Auburn, and then took one game off then-fifth-ranked LSU the following weekend.
Senior Chris Lewis has been among the Hornets’ most productive players offensively. Holding a .237 average, Lewis leads the team in RBI (10), doubles (five) and home runs (two), and ranks second in hits (14) and runs (nine).
Cal Poly will continue its 10-game road trip when the Mustangs play a three-game series at Wichita State beginning next Thursday.
Cal Poly softball rolls into San Diego
With less than two weeks remaining before the start of Big West Conference play, the Cal Poly softball team hopes to fit six more nonconference games into a four-day stretch.
That begins at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, when the Mustangs play Seattle in the first game of a doubleheader at the 16-team, 39-game San Diego Classic II at SDSU Softball Stadium and Sportsplex USA Santee.
Cal Poly (15-6) is then scheduled to play the host Aztecs at 7 p.m., and will close out the tournament with a doubleheader against Ohio State (9 a.m.) and San Diego (2 p.m.) on Sunday.
Junior Sierra Hyland continues to post some of the most impressive statistics in the Big West, if not the country. She leads the conference in earned run average (1.63) and strikeouts (137), is tied for second in wins (nine) and is fourth in batting average (.438).
A 21-game starter, Hyland has helped her cause in the circle with a dominant start to the season offensively. She leads the team in nearly every category, including at-bats (64), hits (28), doubles (six), home runs (three) and RBI (19).
Sophomores Stephanie Heyward and Amanda Sandoval and senior Breana West are all hitting over .380 this spring as well, helping the Mustangs get off to the best 21-game start in program history.
Cal Poly will close out nonconference play with a doubleheader at Loyola Marymount next Tuesday.
Mustangs to play seven spring matches
The Cal Poly men’s soccer team released its seven-match spring schedule Thursday afternoon.
With seven starters returning from last year’s team that qualified for the NCAA Tournament, the Mustangs will begin their spring exhibition season April 9 against Division II Fresno Pacific.
The following Saturday, Cal Poly will host Santa Clara, CSUN and San Jose State for a four-match set. The Mustangs are scheduled to play Santa Clara at 10 a.m. and San Jose State at 6 p.m.
Other opponents included on the spring schedule are Cal Poly Pomona (April 23), Taft Junior College (May 1) and Cal State Monterey Bay (May 8).
This story was originally published March 17, 2016 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Cal Poly baseball team heads north to Sacramento State for three-game series."