Pacific
Cal Poly Completes Four-Game Sweep Against Pacific With 19-2 Victory
2/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Utilizing 14 players — nine freshmen, two redshirt freshmen and three community college transfers — in a Cal Poly uniform for the first time this weekend, the Mustangs completed a four-game sweep of Pacific with a 19-2 victory Sunday before 1,162 inside Baggett Stadium.
"A good start to the season," said 14th-year Mustang head coach Larry Lee. "I was very pleased with some of the performances, especially on the pitching end of it. We need to continue to get better on a daily basis."
Veterans Josh George and Brett Barbier both had three hits and two RBI while John Schuknecht knocked in four runs with a bases-loaded double and run-scoring single as Cal Poly swept a four-game series for the first time since 2012 at Loyola Marymount.
Sophomore Erich Uelmen pitched six strong innings, allowing two runs (one earned) and three hits with one walk and six strikeouts. Uelmen (1-0) retired the first nine Pacific batters of the game and didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning.
Spencer Howard, Cameron Cotton and Craig Colen all tossed one scoreless inning in relief.
For the series, Cal Poly's pitching staff compiled a 2.92 ERA with 37 strikeouts and only seven walks in 37 innings.
"We added a number of pitchers into the equation as a result of their performances this weekend," said Lee. "We were not quite sure going into the series how our pitchers would respond."
Barbier doubled to knock in a run in the first inning and Cal Poly added five runs in the third and eight in the fifth to break the game open. Schuknecht's three-run double came in the third inning while freshmen Nick Meyer and Kyle Marinconz sparked the fifth-inning uprising with two-run doubles.
George doubled to knock in two more runs in a four-run eighth-inning rally.
Pacific scored its two runs in the sixth on a two-run home run by Jimmy Brusa.
Alex McKenna, yet another freshman, hit a two-run home run in the third frame, his second of the year, and went 6-for-12 (.500) with a triple, two home runs and five RBI in the series as Cal Poly's leadoff hitter.
Barbier was 8-for-14 (.571) in the series with three doubles and three RBI while George was 8-for-17 (.471) with two doubles, a triple and seven RBI.
"Position player-wise, Barbier and George had very good weekends," said Lee, "and I was very impressed with McKenna and Meyer, how advanced they are as freshmen, Meyer from a catcher's standpoint and McKenna about how professional he is as a hitter and center fielder."
McKenna walked seven times and produced a .650 on-base percentage in the series. Meyer knocked in the winning run in the 10th inning of Saturday's opener with a walk-off single to right field and knocked in four runs in the series.
Cal Poly's 19-run outburst is the most since a 21-0 triumph over Pacific in 2011.
The Tigers used seven pitchers Sunday, the loss going to Bryce Lombardi as he gave up six runs and six hits in two-plus innings with two walks and no strikeouts.
The four-game series drew 3,994 fans.
The 14 players in a Mustang uniform for the first time this weekend included six freshman pitchers (two who redshirted last season), five freshman position players and three transfers from community colleges.
"The series was good for building their confidence," said Lee. "We got to open at home and we came out of the series with four wins. Our team now sees what is possible, but they also saw how fragile this game really is."
Cal Poly, which is opening the 2016 season with a 12-game home stand, plays four more games next weekend with a three-game series against UCLA on Friday through Sunday and a noon single contest against Michigan on Saturday.
Photo above of Erich Uelmen courtesy of Owen Main | www.fansmanship.com
