Cal Poly to Host No. 17 Cal on Tuesday Afternoon to Close Home Stand
4/11/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
WEEKLY NOTES: CAL POLY | CAL | BIG WEST
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly (19-11, 2-1 Big West), which won 10 of its first 12 games for the second time in three years and opened Big West Conference play with a series win over defending conference champion and 2015 College World Series participant Cal State Fullerton, will host No. 17 Cal (19-9, 8-4 Pac-12) for a single non-conference game Tuesday afternoon inside Baggett Stadium (cap.: 2,800).
First pitch is set for 5 p.m. and 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 has won five of eight weekend series, including victories over No. 14 UCLA and No. 19 Michigan, and is eight games above the .500 mark for the fifth time this season. After dropping the opener against Cal State Fullerton 2-1 on Friday, the Mustangs bounced back with 1-0 and 6-3 victories.
Cal opened its season by losing two of three games at Duke, then earned series sweeps over Purdue and Texas. The Bears opened Pac-12 play by losing a series at USC, but swept Oregon State and UCLA at home before losing two of three games at Oregon last weekend. Cal has lost three of its last four contests after an 18-6 start.
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.
Cal returned 17 letter winners, including five starting position players and nine pitchers, off a team which finished 36-21 a year ago, finished third in the Pac-12 with an 18-12 mark and went 2-2 in the College Station Regional.
Top returnees include designated hitter Devin Pearson (.355, 12 doubles, four home runs, 22 RBI in 2015), center fielder Aaron Knapp (.310, 23 RBI, 12 steals) and right fielder Brian Celsi (.278, 31 RBI). Top returning pitchers include right-handers Jeff Bain (6-2, 2.52 ERA in 2015) and Daulton Jefferies (6-5, 2.92 ERA) and southpaw Matt Ladrech (7-4, 2.67 ERA).
Coached by David Esquer (17th season, 487-426-2, Stanford '87), Cal sports a .293 team batting average, led by catcher Brett Cumberland (.393, 10 home runs, 29 RBI), third baseman Mitchell Kranson (.327, 11 doubles, four home runs, 18 RBI) and first baseman Nick Halamandaris (.310, nine doubles, 20 RBI). The Bears have compiled a 3.24 staff ERA under first-year pitching coach Thomas Eager -- an assistant at Cal Poly from 2013-15, director of baseball operations from 2011-12 and a pitcher for the Mustangs in 2006-07 -- and have committed 28 errors in 28 games for a .974 fielding percentage.
Freshman right-hander Tanner Dodson (0-2, 4.22 ERA) will start Tuesday's game for Cal, facing Cal Poly freshman right-hander Cam Schneider (1-1, 6.50 ERA) (pictured above).
Cal placed fifth in the 2011 NCAA College World Series, claimed CWS titles in 1947 and 1957, has appeared in the NCAA postseason 13 times, has reached the College World Series six times and last won a conference title in 1980.
Cal made an initial decision in September 2010 to discontinue the baseball program due to pressure on the university's budget. Following a fundraising effort that generated approximately $10 million in commitment, Golden Bear baseball was reinstated April 8, 2011.
Cal Poly and Cal have met 49 times on the baseball field since the series began in 1948. The Bears hold a 34-15 advantage, though Cal Poly won three of four games in a 2014 series at Baggett Stadium. The two teams did not meet in 2015. Cal Poly is 8-6 against Cal since the Mustangs moved to Division I prior to the 1995 season.
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 only two returning starting position players.
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 in mid-March, 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 in early March 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 30 games, Barbier is Cal Poly's top hitter with a .390 average and 15 RBI, followed by freshman middle infielder Kyle Marinconz (.305, eight doubles, 14 RBI) and junior third baseman Michael Sanderson (.297, six doubles, 14 RBI). Near the .300 mark are sophomore left fielder Josh George (.295, five doubles, 12 RBI) and Schuknecht (.284, nine doubles, two triples, three home runs, 27 RBI).
Both freshman center fielder Alex McKenna (Pacific series) and Schuknecht (San Francisco series) have earned Big West Field Player of the Week honors this season while Uelmen was named Big West Pitcher of the Week for his performance in the Sacramento State series. McKenna went 8-for-14 and hit for the cycle in the San Jose State series, bumping his average up 41 points.
Cal Poly owns a .273 team batting average, has stolen 15 of 24 bases, sports a .960 fielding percentage with 47 errors in 30 games and has compiled a 3.88 staff ERA.
Cal Poly has produced 12 winning seasons since 2000. The Mustangs were 17-11 at home last season and have won 127 of their last 167 home games for a winning percentage of 76 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 (442-322-2), 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.
Following Tuesday's game against Cal, Cal Poly will travel to Hawai'i for a Big West series Friday through Sunday.
