Cal Poly Completes Series Sweep With 5-3 Triumph

Sunday, April 17

4 pm

15-16, 6-3

Cal State Northridge

17-19, 0-6

Cal State Northridge

Cal Poly

Cal Poly Completes Series Sweep With 5-3 Triumph

4/17/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Freshman right-hander Chase Johnson earned his first collegiate victory and combined with sophomore right-hander Joey Wagman on a five-hitter as Cal Poly completed a three-game Big West Conference baseball series sweep Sunday with a 5-3 triumph over Cal State Northridge before 1,114 in Baggett Stadium.

Johnson (1-2) allowed two unearned runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings for the win while Wagman struck out eight Matador batters in 3 1/3 innings for his first collegiate save.

Cal Poly has won four straight, improving to 15-16 for the season and maintaining a share of second place with UC Irvine in the Big West standings, both with 6-3 marks. Cal State Fullerton, which scored three times in the bottom of the ninth inning to edge UC Santa Barbara 5-4 on Sunday, is 8-1.

Johnson struck out one and walked three, allowing four hits during his longest stint on the mound this season. He surrendered both runs in the sixth before giving way to Wagman.

With the tying run at third base, Wagman struck out Miles Williams to end the sixth inning and, after giving up a leadoff home run to Kyle Attl in the seventh, retired nine Matadors in a row to complete the save, striking out seven of them for a total of eight, a career high.

The loss went to Matador senior right-hander Paul Tremlin (2-2), who allowed three runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings with one walk and one strikeout. Justen Gorski relieved Tremlin in the fifth and allowed two runs and four hits in 1 2/3 innings.

Cal Poly outhit Cal State Northridge 12-5, producing double-digit hits for the fourth straight game. Junior center fielder Bobby Crocker (pictured above) led the way with two singles and a double while junior shortstop Mike Miller, despite battling illness, went 3-for-4, all singles, and drove in two runs.

Senior first baseman J.J. Thompson added two singles, the 12th time in 19 starts in which he has produced multiple hits. Thompson, who was hitting .158 seven games into the season, is now hitting .343 after going 31-for-80 (.388) in his last 19 games.

Cal State Northridge's five hits included Attl's home run, a double by designated hitter Adam Barry and an RBI single by Marty Bowen.

Cal Poly scored the first two runs of the game in the fourth inning on DJ Gentile's RBI double and Elliot Stewart's groundout, then extended its lead to 3-0 in the fifth on Miller's RBI single up the middle.

After Cal State Northridge scored two unearned runs in the top of the sixth, Cal Poly restored its three-run advantage in the bottom of the sixth on RBI singles by Denver Chavez and Miller.

Attl's home run leading off the seventh inning closed the gap to 5-3, but the Matadors did not have any base runners the rest of the way.

Cal Poly entered the week five games below the .500 mark, hitting just .250 with five home runs. During their 4-0 week, the Mustangs hit .364 with 12 doubles and three home runs, collecting double-digit hits in each of the four games, while the pitching staff compiled a 1.00 ERA.

In the Cal State Northridge series, Crocker and Thompson both went 6-for-13 (.462) at the plate while Gentile was 5-for-12. Stewart, Miller, Mitch Haniger and Chavez all collected four hits in the series and Cal Poly's staff ERA in the series was 1.33.

Miller is now hitting .374 while Crocker sports a .344 average.

The Mustangs, who also swept Valparaiso in early March, have won three series this season.

Cal Poly will play four games against top-15 nationally ranked teams this week in Baggett Stadium, hosting No. 13 Fresno State (25-5) on Tuesday night at 6 and No. 8 Cal State Fullerton (27-9) for a three-game Big West series Thursday through Saturday.