Cal State Fullerton hands Cal Poly a 2-1 defeat in Big West baseball opener

Another sharp outing from sophomore Kyle Smith wasn’t quite enough for the Cal Poly baseball team Friday night.

The Mustang offense was held to one hit through the first six innings and a late rally came up short in a 2-1 loss against Cal State Fullerton in the Big West Conference opener inside Baggett Stadium.

A crowd of 1,141 looked on as Cal Poly’s offense struggled to figure out Titans’ starter Connor Seabold. A five-hit performance led to the Mustangs’ fourth consecutive setback, while defending conference champion Cal State Fullerton (18-11, 4-0 Big West) extended its winning streak to six straight contests.

“Once you get into conference play, mistakes are magnified and the opportunities you get, you need to be able to cash in,” head coach Larry Lee said. “We gave them an unearned run because we couldn’t take care of the ball.”

How it happened:

Seabold was nearly unhittable through the first six innings, and it wasn’t until the bottom of the seventh that Cal Poly (17-11, 0-1 Big West) was able to manufacture its first run.

Josh George and Michael Sanderson opened the frame with consecutive singles, and pinch hitter Dylan Doherty moved the runners over with a sacrifice bunt. Two batters later, pinch hitter Kevin Morgan drove an RBI single through the left side to pull Cal Poly within 2-1.

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Seabold struck out six against two walks and scattered three hits in a strong all-around performance. After Brett Barbier’s first-inning single, Seabold didn’t allow another hit until George’s leadoff single in the seventh.

Smith steady again:

Despite another efficient effort, Smith (4-2) was credited with his first loss since a Feb. 26 setback against UCLA.

The 5-10, 185-pound sophomore scattered six singles over 6 1/3 innings and one of the two runs he allowed was unearned. Smith’s six strikeouts brought his team-leading total to 48 this season.

With conference play beginning, Smith said the Mustangs hope to “hit the reset button, just trying to forget about everything that’s been before this.

“It’s a clean slate,” he added. “Anything can happen.”

Redshirt freshman Spencer Howard and junior Justin Calomeni held Cal State Fullerton scoreless over the final 2 2/3 innings.

Up next:

Cal Poly and Cal State Fullerton are scheduled to meet in the second game of the series at 6 p.m. Saturday inside Baggett Stadium.

Sophomore Erich Uelmen (4-0) will start on the mound for the Mustangs, and the Titans will counter with freshman standout Colton Eastman (5-2).

“We’ll roll out a slightly different lineup tomorrow,” Lee said, “and see if we can put something together.”

The third and final game is set for 1 p.m. Sunday.

This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 10:59 PM with the headline "Cal State Fullerton hands Cal Poly a 2-1 defeat in Big West baseball opener."