Despite strong record, Cal Poly baseball team not satisfied with Big West play on the horizon
Cal Poly head baseball coach Larry Lee didn’t mince words when speaking about the Mustangs’ progress through the first two months of the season in the moments following their nonconference win Tuesday night against Cal State Bakersfield.
“Terrible, pathetic, just lackluster,” Lee said when asked for his thoughts on his team’s energy in its first home game in more than three weeks.
Having played its previous 10 games on the road, Cal Poly overcame a sluggish start to defeat the visiting Roadrunners 8-4 and improve to 16-7 overall, including an 11-2 mark inside Baggett Stadium. A seemingly resilient effort was overshadowed by three errors defensively, part of an unsettling trend that has Lee concerned with Big West Conference play looming.
“It’s discouraging because, you know, at this point in the season guys should be getting a lot better,” said Lee, now in his 14th season at Cal Poly. “A lot of, I’m sure, negative thoughts are creeping in mentally, and even though we’re winning it’s not a good feeling as a coach because you know that it’s going to catch up to you pretty soon.”
In total, nine position players and eight pitchers have made their Mustang debuts this season, part of a major youth movement within the program.
Six freshmen were in the starting lineup Tuesday and many of them in key positions defensively: center fielder Alex McKenna, second baseman Kyle Marinconz, shortstop Dylan Doherty, catcher Nick Meyer, along with designated hitter Cooper Moore and starting pitcher Cam Schneider.
The Mustangs have committed a Big West-leading 34 errors this season. Allowing conference powerhouse opponents Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State extra opportunities offensively is something the Mustangs can’t afford with a relatively thin pitching staff.
But there have been some positives.
Lee pointed to Cal Poly’s on-base percentage (.382) and number of walks allowed (a Big West-low 62) as two encouraging areas of consistency.
“When you don’t have dominant offenses and dominant pitching staffs,” Lee said, “you better do a few things really well, and those are two things we do well.”
Veterans John Schuknecht and Brett Barbier have proven to be Cal Poly’s offensive leaders.
A fourth-year junior and the anchor of the Mustangs’ defense at first base, Barbier is hitting a team-best .395, the third-highest mark in the conference. He leads Cal Poly with 32 hits and holds an on-base percentage of .524.
Yet, no player has been in a better rhythm than Schuknecht in recent weeks.
After going 3 for 5 with a two-run triple against Cal State Bakersfield, Schuknecht’s average improved to .330 with his third consecutive multi-hit game. The 27 runs he’s driven in are the most among Big West competitors and three more than he totaled in 49 games last season.
Schuknecht led a players-only meeting after Tuesday’s contest, reminding his younger teammates that the collective effort and execution needs to improve.
“We’ve had high points, and we’ve had low points so far this year,” Schuknecht said. “So as long as pitching and defense keeps us in the game, we’ll find a way to win.”
The third piece of Cal Poly’s equation — pitching — is still being ironed out.
Lee said sophomores Kyle Smith (3-1) and Erich Uelmen (4-0) have established themselves as the top two starters in the weekend rotation. Schneider has made four starts with mixed results, and junior Slater Lee was the Saturday starter early in the year but hasn’t made a start since March 4.
Templeton High graduate Spencer Howard has carved out an important role in middle relief. The freshman right-hander earned his second victory Tuesday after throwing 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. He’s allowed one run over the past 14 1/3 innings.
“We’ve seen high points in every area,” Howard said. “… If we just manage to bring it all together, I think we’ll have a lot of success in conference.”
Junior Justin Calomani has gained Lee’s trust out of the bullpen as well.
He’s allowed three runs on nine hits in six appearances, tallying 17 strikeouts against four walks. Calomani, who went 8-2 as a true freshman in 2014, showed electric stuff in striking out five of the final six batters to close out Cal State Bakersfield.
“We feel pretty good for two of the three games on the weekend,” Lee said.
The Mustangs begin their final nonconference series against San Jose State at 6 p.m. Friday, marking their last chance to make adjustments before hosting four-time national champion Cal State Fullerton the following weekend.
“We’re not good enough to just show up and roll over people,” Lee said. “Every win that we get this year, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing against, it’s very difficult to win.”
This story was originally published March 30, 2016 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Despite strong record, Cal Poly baseball team not satisfied with Big West play on the horizon."