Cal Poly Drops 6-4 Decision to UC Riverside in Series Opener

Friday, May 20

Riverside, CA

6 pm

29-23, 9-10

UC Riverside

23-27, 9-10

Cal Poly

UC Riverside

Cal Poly Drops 6-4 Decision to UC Riverside in Series Opener

5/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Two home runs by Aaron Cisneros and another by Colby Schultz powered UC Riverside to a 6-4 victory over Cal Poly in the opener of a three-game Big West Conference baseball series Friday night at the Riverside Sports Complex.

Cal Poly erased an early 3-0 deficit with three runs in the fifth inning, but the host Highlanders regained the upper hand with a run in the fifth and two more in the sixth for the win, improving to 23-27 for the season and 9-10 in the Big West.

Cal Poly slipped to 29-23 and 9-10, falling into a sixth-place tie with the Highlanders.

Cisneros now has eight home runs this season, one shy of the Big West lead, with a two-run home run in the first inning and a solo shot which snapped a 3-3 tie in the fifth. Schultz hit his fourth round-tripper of the year, a solo blast, in the second frame to give the Highlanders a 3-0 lead.

Cal Poly tied the game with three singles, a hit batter, an error and a sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Kevin Morgan came to the plate with runners at first and second with nobody out and laid down a bunt. Morgan beat the throw to first base for an infield single and the throw sailed down the right-field line, allowing both runners to score and Morgan to take third. A sacrifice fly by Brett Binning scored Morgan and tied the game at 3-3.

Cisneros broke the deadlock with his second home run of the game in the bottom of the fifth and UC Riverside added two insurance runs in the sixth on a run-scoring double by Austin Colvin and an RBI single by Vince Fernandez.

Cal Poly got one run back in the eighth on two walks and an RBI single by Michael Sanderson.

Southpaw Austin Sodders (6-4) earned the win, allowing three runs (two earned) and seven hits in six-plus innings with one walk and one strikeout. Ryan Lillie secured the final five outs for his seventh save.

The loss was charged to Mustang left-hander Kyle Smith (5-6) as he surrendered five runs and seven hits in five-plus innings with three walks and five strikeouts. Smith is 0-4 in four Big West starts on the road this season.

UC Riverside outhit Cal Poly 11-8, led by Cisneros with two home runs and three RBI. Colvin, Schultz and Mark Contreras each added two hits, with both of Contreras' hits doubles.

Sanderson, Morgan and Nick Meyer all had two hits for Cal Poly and Brett Barbier (pictured above) extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a first-inning double.

Second game of the series will be played Saturday night at 6 with sophomore right-hander Erich Uelmen (5-1, 3.18 ERA) of Cal Poly to face UC Riverside junior right-hander Richard Delgado (0-7, 5.02 ERA).

The series finale is set for Sunday at 1 o'clock.