Cal Poly to Conclude 12-Game Home Stand by Hosting San Francisco
3/2/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
WEEKLY NOTES: CAL POLY | USF | BIG WEST
AUDIO STREAM: FRIDAY 1 | FRIDAY 2 | SUNDAY
LIVE STATS: FRIDAY 1 | FRIDAY 2 | SUNDAY
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly (7-2, 0-0 Big West), which opened its 2016 season with its first four-game series sweep since 2012, split four games last weekend against nationally ranked teams and earned a walk-off win against Pepperdine on Tuesday, concludes its 12-game home stand by hosting another West Coast Conference team this weekend in Baggett Stadium (cap.: 2,800).
Coach Larry Lee's Mustangs entertain the University of San Francisco (2-8, 0-0 West Coast) for a three-game non-conference series Friday and Sunday. The schedule has been adjusted due to a forecast for heavy rain the next few days.
Cal Poly and the Dons will play a 1 p.m. doubleheader Friday followed by a 1 p.m. single game Sunday. All three games of the non-conference contest will be aired live on ESPN Radio 1280 with Dave Grant providing the play-by-play. Links for live stats as well as audio and video streams are available on the baseball schedule page at www.GoPoly.com.
Cal Poly returned 16 lettermen (two position starters and eight pitchers (four with six or more starts in 2015), but more than two-thirds of the 34-man roster are freshmen or sophomores. The nine returning position players, starters and reserves, hit a combined .230 a year ago and, while eight of last year's 13 pitchers return, their win-loss record combined was 15-18 with an 8.70 ERA.
Despite all the youth, Cal Poly swept Pacific two weeks ago and split four games against a pair of nationally ranked teams last weekend. The Mustangs defeated No. 19 Michigan 5-1 and earned a 6-2 win over No. 14 UCLA in the finale of a three-game series. On Tuesday, Cal Poly let a 3-1 lead slip away in the late innings, but defeated Pepperdine 6-5 on Kevin Morgan's two-out single to right field, scoring Kyle Marinconz from second base.
San Francisco opened its season by dropping all four games of a series against UC Santa Barbara and winning one of three versus Hawai'i. The Dons also lost to Utah Valley and California in midweek games but earned their second win Tuesday with a quick 2-1 decision at UC Davis.
Cal Poly opened the 2015 season 1-6 and was eight games under the .500 mark before turning things around. The Mustangs hit .303 over their final 23 games, improved their defense by fielding at a .980 clip, won 17 of their final 26 games (including 13 of 15 at home) and made a run for the Big West title.
San Francisco returned 14 letter winners, including three starting position players and five pitchers, off a team which finished 23-31 a year ago and placed fifth in the West Coast Conference at 15-12.
Top returnees include utility player Matt Sinatro (.198, six RBI in 2015), shortstop Nick Giarratano (.237, 16 RBI) and catcher Dominic Miroglio (.340, three home runs, 38 RBI). Top pitcher on the staff is Anthony Shew, who was 7-5 with a 3.64 ERA in 2014 and did not play in 2015 due to injury.
Coached by Nino Giarratano (18th season, 482-492-1, William Jewell '85), the Dons have made three appearances in the NCAA regionals -- 2006, 2011 and 2013 -- and have won two West Coast Conference titles (2006 and 2011). Giarratano became USF's all-time winningest baseball coach in 2013. He guided Trinidad State Junior College from 1989-94, leading the Trojans to five College World Series appearances in six seasons and compiling a 233-86 (.730) mark. He also spent two seasons (1995-96) as the head coach at Yavapai Community College in Prescott, Arizona, posting a 77-36 (.681) record, and was hitting instructor, offensive coordinator and third base coach for two seasons at Arizona State (1997-98).
As a team, USF is hitting .265 and has stolen eight of 13 bases. The pitching staff has compiled a 6.49 staff ERA and the team has a .968 fielding percentage with 12 errors in 10 games.
Cal Poly and San Francisco have met 42 times on the baseball field since the series began in 1950. The Mustangs swept a three-game series opening the 2013 season in San Francisco and hold a 28-14 advantage. Cal Poly is 16-10 against the Dons since the Mustangs moved to Division I prior to the 1995 season. Larry Lee is 10-6 against San Francisco while Giarratano is 8-13 against Cal Poly.
Cal Poly's 2016 roster is led by catcher/first baseman Brett Barbier (.253, nine doubles, four triples, three home runs, 34 RBI in 2015) and outfielder John Schuknecht (.237, six home runs, 24 RBI). The Mustangs' lineup in the Pacific series included 11 freshmen (nine true freshmen and a pair of redshirts) as well as three community college transfers. Five of the freshmen were pitchers while the other six frosh and all three transfers were position players.
The starters in a Cal Poly uniform for the first time in the Pacific series were Michael Sanderson (Feather River College) at third base, Kyle Marinconz (Valley Christian High School of San Jose) at second base, Cooper Moore (Huntington Beach High School) at first base, Alex McKenna (Alemany High School) in center field, Nick Meyer (Santa Margarita Catholic High School) behind the plate and Jake Mavropoulos (Oxnard College) as designated hitter along with pitcher Cam Schneider (El Toro High School).
In addition to Schneider, Cal Poly's pitching staff is led by sophomore southpaw Kyle Smith (5-7, 3.95 ERA in 2015), sophomore righty Erich Uelmen (0-1, 7.08 ERA) and junior right-hander Slater Lee (1-1, 6.27 ERA). Also challenging for a spot in the starting rotation is junior right-hander Justin Calomeni (1-3, 5.00 ERA) once he recovers from an injury.
Topping the list of relievers are freshman southpaws Thomas Triantos (Livermore High School) and Justin Bruihl (Casa Grande High School in Petaluma) along with sophomore right-hander Andrew Bernstein (3-3, 5.01 ERA) and redshirt freshman Austin Dondanville.
Through nine games, catcher/first baseman Brett Barbier is Cal Poly's top hitter with a .433 average and five RBI, followed by freshman center fielder Alex McKenna (.400, two home runs, seven RBI), the Big West Field Player of the Week following the Pacific series, and left fielder Josh George (.351, eight RBI).
Cal Poly owns a .286 team batting average, has stolen five of nine bases, sports a .956 fielding percentage with 16 errors in nine games and has compiled a 3.95 staff ERA.
Cal Poly has produced 12 winning seasons since 2000. The Mustangs were 17-11 at home last season and have won 117 of their last 152 home games for a winning percentage of 77.0 percent. Cal Poly won each of its four Big West series at home in 2015, compiling a 10-2 mark, but lost all four conference road series, two games to one, despite winning the opener each time.
Cal Poly has finished fourth or higher in the Big West 12 times in its last 14 seasons and has posted ten 30-victory campaigns since 2000. The Mustangs have produced 13 non-losing seasons in the last 16 years.
Lee (428-311-2), in his 14th season with the Mustangs, has guided Cal Poly to 11 finishes in the upper half of the Big West standings in the last 13 years. He earned his 400th win March 7, 2015, at Pacific and surpassed Berdy Harr (297-249-6 from 1973-83) as Cal Poly's winningest head baseball coach during the Pacific series in 2011.
Cal Poly hits the road for the first time next Tuesday, visiting Pepperdine for a single game at 2 p.m. The Mustangs then head to Phoenix for a three-game weekend set against Grand Canyon.
