SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly (12-9 overall, 4-4 Big West), which won 10 of 12 games, including series wins over USC and No. 6 UCLA followed by a 3-1 Big West series triumph at CSUN, before losing three of four conference contests versus UC San Diego last week, steps away from Big West play this weekend by hosting San Jose State (2-2, 1-2 Mountain West) for a three-game non-conference set inside Baggett Stadium (cap.: 3,138).
Coach Larry Lee's Mustangs and the Spartans of fourth-year head coach Brad Sanfilippo clash Thursday and Friday at 6 p.m. and the finale Saturday at 1 o'clock. Thursday's contest will be Lee's 1,000th as head coach at Cal Poly.
All three games of the series will be broadcast on ESPN Radio (1280 AM and 101.7 FM) with Chris Sylvester providing the play-by-play. Links for live stats and audio and video streams are available on the baseball schedule page at www.GoPoly.com.
About 630 fans -- 20 percent of Baggett Stadium's capacity -- will be allowed to watch each game of the series. Tickets are available at the Cal Poly Ticket Office, located at the Performing Arts Center on campus, or by calling (805) 756-4849 or online by clicking here.
Coming off a 5-12 performance in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 campaign, San Jose State returned 25 of 37 letter winners, including six position starters and 11 pitchers. Top returnees are first baseman Ruben Ibarra (.344, eight RBIs in 2020), center fielder Jack Colette (.314, three RBIs) and outfielder James Shimashita (.250, seven RBIs). The pitching staff is paced by right-handers Jonathan Clark (1-1, 2.25 ERA in 2020) and Spencer Long (0-2, 4.79 ERA) along with southpaw Ben Polack (1-0, 2.70 ERA).
After a one-month pause due to COVID-19 protocols, San Jose State opened its 2021 season last weekend by losing two of three Mountain West Conference games at home against San Diego State. The Spartans won the nightcap of a Saturday doubleheader 12-7 while losing the opener 6-4 and the series finale 14-4. San Jose State defeated Cal 10-7 on Tuesday.
Cal Poly dropped the first three games of its four-game Big West set against UC San Diego last weekend before salvaging one win in the series Sunday, 6-1. Designated hitter Matt Lopez went 6-for-13 in the series with two RBIs and three runs scored while second baseman Taison Corio was 5-for-9 with two doubles, a triple, three RBIs and three runs scored, First baseman Joe Yorke was 5-for-15 with one double and three RBIs.
Drew Thorpe and Dylan Villalobos combined on a two-hitter in Cal Poly's season-opening 4-0 win over Nevada, but the Mustangs stranded 38 runners on the base paths in the remaining three games of the series, falling 2-1, 11-8 (10 innings) and 12-6. It was a different story at USC as Cal Poly won two of three games in late February, its first win of a three-game set against USC in 27 Division I seasons. Thorpe and Andrew Alvarez combined on a three-hitter in a 2-1 victory Friday night at Dedeaux Field and the Mustangs parlayed 16 hits into a 9-4 triumph Saturday afternoon, Samuelson, freshman shortstop Brooks Lee and junior designated hitter Matt Lopez all collecting three hits and driving in two runs. The Trojans jumped to a 6-0 lead in the first two innings Sunday and held on for a 7-6 win to salvage one victory in the series. Samuelson and Lee both hit solo home runs in the setback.
Cal Poly notched its first series sweep since April 2019 with a 3-0 whitewashing against Utah Valley four weeks ago. The Mustangs erupted for 13 runs in the fifth inning en route to a 17-3 triumph in the opener. Sophomore southpaw and Boise State transfer Travis Weston tossed a complete-game two-hitter with a career-high 11 strikeouts in a 5-1 win while Andrew Alvarez, another lefty, tossed six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and teamed with three relievers on a 6-0 shutout in the finale.
No. 6 UCLA visited San Luis Obispo three weeks ago and the Mustangs earned a series win against the Bruins for the first time since Cal Poly's Big West Conference championship season in 2014. The Mustangs won the opener 5-4, overcoming an early 3-0 deficit. The Mustangs scored an unearned run in the eighth inning to snap a 4-4 tie and three Mustang pitchers combined to strike out 14 Bruins. In the middle game, Cal Poly produced a pair of five-run rallies and a 17-hit offensive attack with Brooks Lee, Myles Emmerson and Nick DiCarlo combining for nine hits and seven RBIs, but that wasn't enough as UCLA erased an early 5-0 deficit with 11 runs in the second, third and fourth frames, then had to hold on for a 13-12 victory. Lee and Cole Cabrera belted two-run home runs and Emmerson also knocked in two runs as Cal Poly clinched the series in the finale with an 8-5 victory. Alvarez earned the victory after six innings of work on the mound. Cal Poly hit .311 in the series, led by Lee with a 7-for-14 performance at the plate, including three doubles, one triple, one home run and seven RBIs.
Cal Poly opened Big West play with a 13-10 setback in its series opener at Matador Field, but bounced back with 7-6, 12-1 and 10-8 victories. Emmerson went 10-for-18 (.556) with three consecutive three-hit games for the Mustangs. Lee knocked in 10 runs and the Mustangs received strong relief pitching from Bryan Woo (5 1/3 innings, no runs, three hits, career-high matching seven strikeouts in Saturday's first game) and Kyle Scott (five innings, one run, four hits, no walks, career-high six strikeouts in the series finale).
San Jose State's top hitters four games into the season are left fielder Robert Hamchuk (10-for-14, two doubles, seven runs scored, three RBIs), third baseman Nelson Padilla (5-for-14, one home run, seven RBIs) and Colette (6-for-15, two doubles, one triple, six RBIs, four runs scored). Shortstop Ruben Mercado is 6-for-15 and Ibarra 6-for-16 with four RBIs as the Spartans hit .314 against the Aztecs and collected 13 hits in their first win versus Cal in eight years.
Long earned the only win on the mound in the Aztec series for San Jose State, scattering nine hits over six innings with five strikeouts. The Spartan pitching staff allowed 8.31 earned runs per contest with just 12 strikeouts and 18 walks over 26 innings.
San Jose State has made four NCAA appearances, the last time in 2002 at the Stanford Regional; the Spartans earned Western Athletic Conference regular-season titles in 2000 and 2009. The Spartans' lone College World Series appearance was in 2000.
Cal Poly and San Jose State have played 97 baseball games against each other since the series began in 1947. The Spartans hold a 51-45-1 advantage after the two teams split a pair of midweek games in 2018. The last weekend series between the Mustangs and Spartans was in 2016 inside Baggett Stadium, San Jose State claiming two of the three games. Cal Poly is 22-25-1 against San Jose State since the Mustangs moved to Division I prior to the 1995 season. Larry Lee is 15-9-1 against San Jose State while Sanfilippo is 1-1 against Cal Poly.
Sanfilippo (fourth season, 54-78, UC Davis '99), a former San Jose State assistant baseball coach, was named interim baseball head coach with the Spartans in late January 2018 after then-head coach Jason Hawkins was placed on administrative leave. Hawkins submitted his resignation Feb. 12 after one season with the program. Sanfilippo was an assistant coach at San Jose State in 2013 and 2014 and also was an assistant coach at Cal for the 2010 through 2012 and the 2015 through 2017 seasons. Sanfilippo has nine-plus seasons of head coaching experience, leading Los Gatos (Calif.) High to league championships in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009.
Before the 2020 season was halted on March 11 due to COVID-19, Cal Poly won two of three games in the MLB4 Tournament at Scottsdale, Ariz., rallying for two runs on sacrifice flies in the bottom of the ninth inning for a walk-off 9-8 triumph over defending national champion Vanderbilt and also shutting out Connecticut 5-0 behind the combined two-hit pitching of Taylor Dollard and Dylan Villalobos.
The Mustangs, however, won just three of their next 13 contests to finish 5-11. One of those victories was a 10-inning 5-4 decision over No. 5 Michigan inside Baggett Stadium as Taison Corio singled with one out and the bases loaded.
Larry Lee will coach his 1,000th
game at Cal Poly on Thursday night.
Lee welcomed back 20 lettermen off last year's squad, including seven position starters. The 2021 Mustang roster also has been bolstered by the addition of three transfers from Boise State, which dropped its baseball program last summer, and one from Washington State, first baseman/designated hitter Matt Lopez.
Catcher Myles Emmerson led the squad a year ago with his .317 average, but no other Mustang starter finished above .280. Emmerson is the only one of the five seniors on last year's squad who returned this season under the NCAA rule allowing every 2020 spring sport athlete another year of eligibility due to COVID-19.
Last year's freshman class, which includes the likes of shortstop Brooks Lee, infielder Nick Marinconz and pitchers Drew Thorpe, Derek True and Kyle Scott, is considered one of Lee's strongest and the lineup also will feature the likes of veterans Cole Cabrera in center field, Taison Corio at second base and Tate Samuelson, who has moved from first base across the diamond to third base this year.
In addition to Thorpe, Scott and True, the pitching staff is led by returnees Andrew Alvarez and Bryan Woo in the starting rotation and Dylan Villalobos out of the bullpen. Thorpe is the Friday night starter, with either Alvarez or Woo on Sundays.
All three Boise State transfers figure to play prominent roles with the Mustangs this spring. Southpaw Travis Weston is Cal Poly's Saturday starter, Joe Yorke has started all but one game at first base and Reagan Doss roams the grass in the outfield.
Leading the squad's hitters 21 games into the season are Lopez with a .451 average (No. 3 in the Big West), five doubles, one home run and 18 RBIs. Lee, who claimed back-to-back Big West Player of the Week awards after going 7-for-12 against Utah Valley and 7-for-14 versus UCLA, driving in 14 runs in the two series, is hitting .376 with nine doubles, two triples, six homers and a team-leading 30 RBIs. He had a nine-game hitting streak halted by CSUN. Emmerson sports a .367 mark with five doubles, a triple and 11 RBIs while Samuelson has five doubles, a triple and three home runs within his .284 average at the plate, driving in 19 runs. He produced an eight-game hitting streak to open the season and has reached base in all 21 games played thus far.
Thorpe (2-2, 4.26 ERA), Weston (2-2, 3.26 ERA) and Alvarez (3-1, 5.74 ERA), all of whom suffered losses in the UC San Diego series, remain anchored in the starting rotation while Bryan Woo, Derek True, Kyle Scott and Dylan Villalobos have worked the most innings out of the bullpen so far.
For the second time in the last five years, Cal Poly is playing all of its games in the Golden State. The 2017 squad also played all 56 games in California, going 28-28. The Mustangs also will play 33 of its 56 games inside Baggett Stadium, opening the season with 17 of their first 23 games at home.
Cal Poly won the Big West title in 2014 and has placed second six times (including three straight from 2017-19), third four times and fourth six times since 2000, posting a combined record of 310-258 in 23 years as a member of the Big West. Cal Poly has had just three losing seasons since 2000 and has reached the 30-win mark 12 times this century. The Mustangs have won 195 of their last 284 home games for a 68.7 winning percentage.
Lee (558-439-2) surpassed Fresno State's Bob Bennett for the Big West record for overall wins with the 2-1 series-opening win at USC in late February. During the UC Davis series in 2019, Lee eclipsed Cal Poly alum and former Long Beach State head coach Dave Snow with his 219th conference win. Snow guided the Dirtbags to 218 Big West wins from 1989-2001.
Lee reached the 500-victory milestone on April 20, 2018, with a 5-4 triumph over Long Beach State. He earned 460 wins in 16 seasons at Cuesta College and notched his 460th Mustang victory on March 13, 2017 against Gonzaga and his 1,000th career victory with a 3-0 triumph at UC Santa Barbara on May 23, 2019. He currently has a 1,018-680-5 record over 34-plus seasons as a head coach.
Next week, Cal Poly returns to Big West play by traveling to Long Beach State for a four-game series April 9-11 at Blair Field. First pitches are set for 6 p.m. Friday, a noon doubleheader Saturday and a 1 p.m. finale Sunday.
