Cal Poly Opens Big West Series Against UC Irvine With 9-1 Victory

Friday, May 13

6 pm

27-21, 8-8

UC Irvine

27-20, 7-9

UC Irvine

Cal Poly

Cal Poly Opens Big West Series Against UC Irvine With 9-1 Victory

5/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Freshman left fielder Alex McKenna hit his sixth home run of the season, drove in five runs, and redshirt freshman right-hander Spencer Howard earned his third victory of the season in his first collegiate start, lifting Cal Poly to a 9-1 triumph over UC Irvine in the opener of a three-game Big West Conference baseball series Friday night before 1,121 inside Baggett Stadium.

McKenna broke up a scoreless pitchers' duel with a three-run home run to left field in the fourth inning and added a two-run double to left-center field highlighting a five-run seventh-inning rally for the Mustangs, who snapped a four-game losing streak and improved to 27-21 for the year and 8-8 in Big West games.

UC Irvine fell to 27-20 and 7-9.

McKenna, who missed three weeks with a leg injury and went 0-for-4 in his first game back Tuesday at Fresno State, sparked a Cal Poly offense that had averaged just 2.9 runs and 7.2 hits in its last 10 contests, losing eight of them. The Mustangs exploded for nine runs on 13 hits Friday night.

McKenna went 2-for-4 with his double and home run. His five RBI are a team high this season.

Freshman catcher Nick Meyer and junior second baseman Brett Binning each added three singles while junior center fielder Brett Barbier and junior first baseman Alec Smith each contributed a single and double for Cal Poly.

Howard (3-1) (pictured above) faced the minimum nine batters over the first three innings – Meyer helped out by throwing out his 19th and 20th would-be base stealers of the season – and finished his six-inning stint on the mound with one walk, five strikeouts and one run scored on five hits.

Junior right-hander Slater Lee picked up his first save with three scoreless innings of work on the mound in relief of Howard, scattering four hits with two walks and one strikeout.

The loss went to UC Irvine southpaw Elliot Surrey (3-5) as he allowed four runs (three earned) and seven hits over 5 1/3 innings with three walks and five strikeouts. He was the first of five Anteaters on the mound.

UC Irvine's nine hits included a double by center fielder Adam Alcantara and eight singles by eight other hitters.

With Friday's win, Cal Poly is now 20-6 at home this season. The Mustangs had lost their last eight games on the road and six consecutive Big West contests. UC Irvine has now lost six of its last eight games.

Prior to the game, Cal Poly and Dignity Health announced their partnership on the Baggett Stadium Enhancement Project, which includes a two-story clubhouse and permanent seating which will raise the capacity of the 16-year-old facility to between 3,250 and 3,500 seats.

French Hospital Medical Center President and CEO Alan Iftiniuk and Dignity Health Central Coast Vice President/Chief Strategy Officer Joe Diefenderfer were on hand for the ceremonial first pitch.

Second game of the series will be played Saturday night at 6 with freshman right-hander Craig Colen (0-0, 2.79 ERA) of Cal Poly to face UC Irvine sophomore right-hander Alonzo Garcia (4-4, 4.33 ERA).