Cal Poly Baseball Alumni Game Scheduled for Saturday Afternoon
2/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Major Leaguer Baseball pitcher Bud Norris headlines a list of about 30 former Mustang players expected to participate in the 2016 Cal Poly Alumni Game on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Baggett Stadium.
Norris inked a one-year deal with the Atlanta Braves in November. The 30-year-old was 3-11 with a 6.72 ERA in 11 starts and 27 relief appearances last season for Baltimore and San Diego. In 2014, he had the best season of his career at 15-8 with 3.65 ERA for the Orioles. He started his career with the Houston Astros.
The righty has combined to make 196 career appearances (166 starts) with the Astros, Orioles and Padres and enters the 2016 season with a 4.23 ERA. In the process, he had allowed a .258 batting average and .352 on-base percentage.
Norris was drafted in the sixth round in 2006 by the Astros. He pitched at Cal Poly from 2004-06, compiling a career 14-6 record and 4.47 ERA.
The early roster for Saturday's annual preseason game also includes outfielder Tom Beyers, who was inducted into the Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame last September.
Beyers was Cal Poly's leading hitter in all three seasons in which he played at Cal Poly before he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 15th round and signed in 1979. He played five seasons in the minors before embarked on a long coaching career that has reached 32 seasons, all in the minor leagues and including nine seasons as a manager — two with the Salem Dodgers, three with the Bakersfield Dodgers, one with the San Antonio Missions and three with the Boise Hawks.
Beyers, who completed his 16th season with the Cubs organization in 2015, still holds the Cal Poly record for career batting average (.368) and is No. 6 in career hits, No. 7 in career triples and No. 6 in career steals. Even more remarkable is the fact he struck out just 21 times in 654 career plate appearances, an average of striking out once every 31.1 times he comes to the plate.
Saturday's alumni roster also includes nine players from the 2015 Mustang squad: Casey Bloomquist, Danny Zandona, Peter Van Gansen, Brian Mundell, Mark Mathias, Zack Zehner, Tommy Pluschkell, Taylor Chris and Jordan Ellis.
Also on the roster are outfielders Mitch Haniger and Nick Torres, infielders Adam Buschini, Jimmy Allen and Michael Hoo, catchers Chris Hoo, Elliot Stewart and Doug Noce and pitchers Kyle Anderson, Joey Wagman, Steven Fischback, Brian Grening and Matt Imhof.
Noce played at Cal Poly in the late 1980s. Others from Cal Poly's pre-Division I days expected to play Saturday include Doug Kopcha, Will Clemens and Gerald Rucker.
Last year's Alumni Game was rained out. The former and current Mustangs battled to a 2-2 draw in 2014.
Cal Poly officially opens its 2016 season Feb. 19-21 with a four-game series against former Big West Conference rival Pacific in Baggett Stadium. Game times are 6 p.m. Friday, a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday and a 1 o'clock series finale Sunday.
Coach Larry Lee's Mustangs are scheduled to play their first 12 games of the year at home, including UCLA on Feb. 26-28, Michigan on Feb. 27, Pepperdine on March 1 and San Francisco on March 4-6.
Photo above of Bud Norris and Cal Poly President Jeff Armstrong, taken during 2014 Alumni Game, courtesy of Ray Ambler | RA Photos
