Cal Poly baseball team rallies past San Jose State for 7-4 victory
The Cal Poly baseball team overcame a shaky start defensively and rallied behind sophomore left-hander Kyle Smith to defeated San Jose State 7-4 in a nonconference matchup Friday night at Baggett Stadium.
The Mustangs continued their uneven play defensively, committing two early errors that allowed the visiting Spartans to build a 3-0 advantage. But with the steady Smith on the mound, Cal Poly cut into the deficit in the second inning and went ahead for good with a four-run outburst in the third.
Infielder Kyle Marinconz, designated hitter Alec Smith and left fielder Josh George tallied three hits apiece as the Mustangs improved to 17-7 overall.
“If we make a couple errors we grind, we grind, the pitching staff picks us up,” said George, who finished 3-for-4 with two RBI and scored twice. “We got (Kyle Smith) the lead and he starts dealing right away. He knows it’s his game.”
How it happened:
Trailing 4-1 in the third inning, the lower half of Cal Poly’s batting order came to life.
Alec Smith — batting sixth — hit a key two-out RBI triple through the gap in right center to spark the rally. George followed with an RBI double, and freshman catcher Nick Meyer gave the Mustangs their first lead, 5-4, with a sharply hit single back up the middle.
Before Friday’s contest, Alec Smith’s last at-bat came back on March 4 in a 2-1 win over San Francisco. That stretch of 13 games didn’t seem to affect the junior, who went 3-for-4 with two RBI and also scored twice.
“A lot of the game is confidence, and you can lose it very quickly,” head coach Larry Lee said. “He really produced tonight and he earned his playing time.”
Who stood out:
Kyle Smith (4-1) overcame a shaky first couple innings and settled into a nice rhythm on the mound. He retired 11 straight batters from the third through the sixth inning, allowing the Mustangs’ offense to provide some more support.
Kyle Smith scattered eight hits over 7 1/3 innings, striking out six against no walks, and three of the four runs he allowed were earned.
Junior Justin Calomeni pitched the final 1 2/3 innings to pick up his third save of the season.
Defensive woes:
Cal Poly entered Friday’s game leading the Big West in errors (34) and added to that total with two quick miscues in the first two innings.
The lack of execution prompted Lee to switch starting shortstop Dylan Doherty and Marinconz, who started at second base, midway through the second inning. Lee then pulled Doherty in the bottom half of the frame in favor of junior Brett Binning.
Lee said Marinconz will start at shortstop Saturday, and Alec Smith will get the start at second base.
Up next:
Cal Poly and San Jose State are scheduled to play again at 6 p.m. Saturday and will wrap up the series at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Sophomore right-hander Jarred Zill (1-1) will make his third start for the Mustangs on Saturday. Fellow sophomore Erich Uelmen, who is tied for the Big West lead with four victories, is scheduled start the series finale.
This story was originally published April 1, 2016 at 10:29 PM with the headline "Cal Poly baseball team rallies past San Jose State for 7-4 victory."