Cal Poly Rallies to Upset No. 12/13 Fresno State, 5-4

Tuesday, April 19

6 pm

16-16

Fresno State

25-6

Fresno State

Cal Poly

Cal Poly Rallies to Upset No. 12/13 Fresno State, 5-4

4/19/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Freshman catcher Chris Hoo drilled a single to center field with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, scoring two runs to cap a four-run rally and lift Cal Poly to a come-from-behind 5-4 victory over No. 12/13 Fresno State in a non-conference baseball game Tuesday night in Baggett Stadium.

Trailing 4-0 after Fresno State (25-6) scored twice in both the third and sixth innings, Cal Poly (16-16) scored a run in the seventh and tallied four unearned runs in the eighth to even its record for the first time since losing its first six games of the season.

Senior southpaw Frankie Reed (1-2) earned his second career win by securing the final five outs.

Reed relieved Eugene Wright with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth and induced Jordan Ribera to hit into a force play at the plate and struck out Aaron Judge to end the inning.

After Cal Poly erased the 4-1 deficit with four runs in the bottom of the eighth, Reed retired the Bulldog side in order in the ninth on two fly balls to right field sandwiched around a strikeout.

Mustang starter Kyle Anderson allowed four runs (three earned) and five hits in 6 1/3 innings with one walk and six strikeouts, throwing 100 pitches.

The loss went to Charlie Robertson (0-2), the last of six Fresno State pitchers used in the game. Robertson was summoned from the bullpen after Cody Kendall issued two walks to open the frame.

After a strikeout for the first out of the inning, Mitch Haniger walked to load the bases. J.J. Thompson's grounder to the left of the mound was bobbled by Robertson for an error, allowing the first run to score in the frame.

Pinch-hitter Elliot Stewart's sacrifice fly to right cut Fresno State's lead to 4-3 and, after Evan Busby walked to reload the bases, Hoo lined a 2-2 pitch from Robertson to center field, scoring both Haniger and Thompson and giving Cal Poly the lead for the first time in the game.

With the win, Cal Poly sweeps the season series, two games to none. The Mustangs, who earned an 11-4 victory at Beiden Field on March 1, have now beaten Fresno State 18 times in the last 22 meetings between the two Central California rivals.

Thompson doubled twice to spark Cal Poly's eight-hit offensive attack, giving him 13 multiple-hit games in his last 20 starts, lifting his average to .350 – he was hitting .158 seven games into the season – and extending his hitting streak to 10 games.

Hoo (pictured above), a late-inning replacement behind the plate, added two singles, including Cal Poly's fifth hit of the season in 31 at-bats with the bases loaded.

Fresno State scored its first two runs in the third inning on Danny Muno's RBI single and a Cal Poly throwing error on a stolen base attempt of third base by Muno. Right fielder Dusty Robinson hit a two-run home run, his ninth of the year, in the sixth inning to give the Bulldogs a 4-0 advantage.

Cal Poly tallied its first run in the seventh on Thompson's RBI double to center field, but the Mustangs squandered chances to score more in the inning due to a pair of baserunning mistakes. Another baserunning blunder in the second inning may have cost Cal Poly another run.

The crowd of 1,578 was the largest in two seasons at Baggett Stadium. The Mustangs drew 1,632 in the final home game of the 2009 campaign against UC Riverside.

Tuesday's game was played under sunny skies in the first four innings before a fog bank moved in.

Reed's only other career win as a Mustang was against Loyola Marymount on May 25, 2010, when he allowed one run and four hits in six innings. He missed the 2008 and 2009 seasons due to Tommy John surgery.

Matt Jensen, who missed the last 21 games with a wrist injury, started at first base for the first time in his Mustang career and went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run. Tim Wise, who has missed most of the last six weeks with a hamstring injury, also returned to the lineup Tuesday and went 1-for-3 as well.

Cal Poly, which has won five straight games for the second time this season, hosts No. 5/8 Cal State Fullerton (27-9) for a three-game Big West Conference series Thursday through Saturday in Baggett Stadium. The Mustangs, 6-3 in conference games, tied for second place with UC Irvine, trail the Titans (8-1) by two games.