Cal Poly to Host CSU Bakersfield for First Home Game in Three Weeks
3/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
WEEKLY NOTES: CAL POLY | CSUB | BIG WEST
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly (15-7, 0-0 Big West), which won 10 of its first 12 games for the second time in three years and has won four of six series this season, plays its first home game since March 6, hosting Western Athletic Conference member CSU Bakersfield (5-18, 0-3 WAC) for a single game Tuesday night inside Baggett Stadium (cap.: 2,800).
First pitch is set for 6 p.m. The game 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 to open the season, split four games against a pair of nationally ranked teams -- No. 19 Michigan and No. 14 UCLA -- defeated Pepperdine 6-5 on Kevin Morgan's ninth-inning one-out single to right field, swept San Francisco and lost the rematch at Pepperdine 12-4, snapping the Mustangs' five-game winning streak. The Mustangs then lost two of three games at Grand Canyon before concluding the 10-game road trip with 2-1 series wins over Sacramento State and Wichita State.
CSU Bakersfield was swept by Seattle, 10-4, 7-3 and 6-3 in the Pacific Northwest last weekend opening Western Athletic Conference play. The Roadrunners, under first-year head coach Bob Macaluso, won their first two series of the year against CSUN and St. John's, but have lost 16 of their last 17 games since a 4-2 start. An eight-game losing streak was snapped with an 8-2 win over UC Riverside on March 13, but CSU Bakersfield has lost eight consecutive games since that victory.
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.
CSU Bakersfield returned 14 players, including five position starters and seven pitchers, off a team which finished 37-24-1 a year ago and placed third in the Western Athletic Conference standings with a 17-9-1 mark. The Roadrunners won the WAC tournament title and qualified for the NCAA regional hosted by UCLA, posting a 1-2 mark.
Topping the list of returning veterans are second baseman David Metzgar (.347, 17 doubles, 42 RBI, 10 steals in 2015), first baseman Max Carter (.327, 10 doubles, 27 RBI) and designated hitter Joey Sanchez (.311, six doubles, 21 RBI). The pitching staff is led by Steven Gee (5-4, 2.55 ERA, two saves in 2015), Garrett Nimmo (4-3, 3.56 ERA, one save) and Max Carter (3-1, 3.90 ERA, two saves), all right-handers.
Coached by Bob Macaluso (first year, 5-18, Springfield College (Mass.) '87), CSU Bakersfield has a .266 team batting average through 23 games, led by center fielder Dustin Frailey (.377, six doubles), Carter (.338, 16 RBI) and left fielder Christian Deaton (.318, four doubles). The Roadrunners sport a 6.34 staff ERA and .969 fielding percentage with 27 errors in 23 games.
Coached by Bill Kernen since CSU Bakersfield launched its baseball program in 2009, the Roadrunners have been a member of the WAC since the 2013 campaign. Macaluso replaced Kernen on Aug. 31, 2015. Macaluso was an assistant at CSU Bakersfield for the 2015 season, helping the Roadrunners win a school-record 37 games, capture the WAC tournament title and secure a spot in the NCAA regional at UCLA. Macaluso was an assistant coach for seven seasons (2008-14) at UC Irvine and at Cal State Los Angeles for one season (2007) where he helped the Golden Eagles win the 2007 Division II West Regional title and advance to the Division II College World Series in Montgomery, Ala. From 1998-2006, Macaluso was the head baseball coach at Muhlenberg College (Pa.), compiling a 144-56-3 record. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Melrose High School in Melrose, Mass. and then became the head varsity coach at Weston High School (Mass.) in 1993. He also had a two-year stint from 1996-98 as an assistant coach at Springfield College.
Cal Poly and CSU Bakersfield have met 20 times on the baseball field since the series began in 2009. The Mustangs hold a 14-6 advantage in the series, winning six of the first seven and capturing a pair of midweek games in both 2013 and 2014. The two teams split last year's two meetings, Cal Poly winning 13-2 in February at home and CSU Bakersfield earning a 5-4 triumph at home in April. Larry Lee is 14-6 against CSU Bakersfield while Bob Macaluso is 0-0 against Cal Poly.
Tuesday's starting pitchers will be freshman right-hander Cam Schneider (1-1, 6.75 ERA) for Cal Poly and junior right-hander Max Carter (0-3, 9.45 ERA) for CSU Bakersfield.
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 have used nine position players and eight pitchers who are wearing a Cal Poly uniform for the first time this season. The Mustangs' lineup in the season-opening Pacific series included 11 freshmen (nine true freshmen and a pair of redshirts) as well as three community college transfers. In the second game of the Grand Canyon series last weekend, six true freshmen were in the starting lineup along with one transfer.
Cal Poly's pitching staff is led by sophomore southpaw Kyle Smith (5-7, 3.95 ERA in 2015) and sophomore righty Erich Uelmen (0-1, 7.08 ERA). Also challenging for spots in the starting rotation are junior right-hander Slater Lee (1-1, 6.27 ERA in 2015), freshman right-hander Cam Schneider and junior right-hander Justin Calomeni (1-3, 5.00 ERA), who earned two wins and a save, all in relief, in his first week of action four weeks ago following his recovery from a knee 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 freshmen Austin Dondanville and Spencer Howard.
Through 22 games, Barbier is Cal Poly's top hitter with a .397 average and 12 RBI, followed by Schuknecht (.314, nine doubles, three home runs, 25 RBI) and junior third baseman Michael Sanderson (.306, four doubles, 12 RBI). Near the .300 mark are freshman shortstop Kyle Marinconz (.286) and sophomore left fielder Josh George (.280).
Both center fielder Alex McKenna (Pacific series) and Schuknecht (San Francisco series) have earned Big West Field Player of the Week honors this season. Sophomore right-hander Erich Uelmen was named Big West Pitcher of the Week for his performance in the Sacramento State series.
Cal Poly owns a .268 team batting average, has stolen 11 of 18 bases (4-for-4 against Grand Canyon), sports a .963 fielding percentage with 31 errors in 22 games and has compiled a 3.98 staff ERA.
Cal Poly has produced 12 winning seasons since 2000. The Mustangs were 17-11 at home last season and have won 123 of their last 160 home games for a winning percentage of 76.9 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 (438-318-2), 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 and CSU Bakersfield will have their rematch May 17 in Bakersfield.
This weekend, Cal Poly hosts San Jose State for a three-game non-conference series Friday through Sunday inside Baggett Stadium.
