Friday, May 21
Davis, CA
2:30 p.m.
at
UC Davis
Nick Marinconz and Sam Biller greet Taison Corio at the plate last weekend. Cal Poly swept Cal State Fullerton for just the second time in 48 years.
Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics
Cal Poly Plays Final Road Series of 2021 Season at UC Davis
5/18/2021 10:05:00 AM | Baseball
WEEKLY NOTES: CAL POLY | UC DAVIS | BIG WEST
AUDIO STREAM | VIDEO STREAM | LIVE STATS
BROOKS LEE EARNS THIRD BIG WEST FIELD PLAYER OF WEEK AWARD
INFORMATION FOR FANS ATTENDING UC DAVIS EVENTS
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Coming off its second series sweep against Cal State Fullerton in 48 years, Cal Poly (24-24 overall, 14-18 Big West) plays its final road series of the 2021 baseball season this weekend, visiting UC Davis (13-36 overall, 7-25 Big West) for a four-game set inside Phil Swimley Field at Dobbins Stadium (cap.: 3,500).
Coach Larry Lee's Mustangs and the Aggies of 10th-year head coach Matt Vaughn clash Friday at 2:30 p.m. followed by a noon doubleheader Saturday and the finale Sunday at 1 o'clock.
All four 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.
After a 1-3 start, Cal Poly won 10 of 13 games, including series wins over USC and then-No. 6 UCLA. The Mustangs also opened Big West play March 20-22 by taking three of four games at CSUN, improving to 11-6 overall. Over the next seven weeks, Cal Poly lost 18 of 27 contests, losing conference series against UC San Diego, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and CSU Bakersfield and splitting four-game series versus Long Beach State and UC Riverside.
The Mustangs ended the slide with a bang last weekend, sweeping four games from 30-time conference champion Cal State Fullerton by 5-1, 13-3, 10-0 and 9-1 scores. In hitting .425 for the series, Cal Poly dropped the Titans to 19-28 and, with eight games remaining on its schedule, Cal State Fullerton will finish with a losing record for the first time in 46 Division I seasons.
It was Cal Poly's first sweep of a series against the Titans since the Mustangs 2-14 Big West championship campaign and the second since 1973. Shortstop Brooks Lee earned Big West Field Player of the Week honors for the third time this season by going 9-for-18 with four doubles, a grand slam and seven RBIs while catcher Myles Emmerson was 10-for-19 with four RBIs and center fielder Cole Cabrera 9-for-19 with a double, home run and two RBIs.
Coming off a 9-7 performance in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 campaign, UC Davis returned 27 of 32 letter winners, including nine position starters and 13 pitchers. Top returnees are first baseman Spencer Gedestad (.417, eight RBIs in 2020) and shortstop Kyler Arenado (.241, five RBIs, four steals). The pitching staff is paced by Brett Erwin (2-0, 2.14 ERA in 2020), Jake Spillane (2-2, 3.81 ERA) and Nolan Meredith (1-1, 2.95 ERA), all right-handers.
UC Davis opened its 2021 season by losing 19 of its first 24 games, winning one series against Portland. The Aggies then put together a four-game winning streak — two wins each against UC Riverside and CSU Bakersfield — but have lost 17 of their last 21 contests. After winning the opener at UC San Diego 5-2 last weekend, UC Davis fell 8-3, 18-3 and 4-6 to the Tritons and will bring a 13-36 overall mark and 7-25 Big West record into this weekend's series against Cal Poly.
More than halfway through its 56-game schedule this season, Cal Poly fell below the .500 mark in Big West games by dropping three of four games to UC Irvine five weeks ago, splitting four games with UC Riverside, a 3-1 series loss at UC Santa Barbara and the sweep by CSU Bakersfield two weeks ago. Prior to last week's sweep over Cal State Fullerton, the Mustangs' lone Big West series win was at CSUN during the opening weekend of conference play.
The Mustangs outhit the Titans 62-24 and outscored them 37-5. Cal Poly averaged 3.9 runs and hit .223 during a 27-game stretch after its 11-6 start before erupting for a pair of run-rule victories and a .425 team batting average versus Cal State Fullerton. The Mustangs struck out just 12 times in four games, outscored the Titans 18-1 in the first three innings, outhit the Titans in all four games, made just one error and compiled a 1.36 staff ERA. Emmerson produced multiple hits in all four contests and was one of six Mustangs to collect at least one hit in each of the four games of the series.
UC Davis' top hitters 49 games into its season are third baseman Jalen Smith (.314, 12 doubles, three triples, four home runs, 17 RBIs, 15 of 19 steals), Gedestad (.302, four home runs, 21 RBIs) and designated hitter/right fielder Jake Brandel (.292, eight doubles, 27 RBIs). The pitching staff has been paced by Spillane (3-7, 5.60 ERA), Kaden Riccomini (2-5, 4.89 ERA), Erwin (1-3, 4.91 ERA) and Tim Wieser (2-6, 5.96 ERA), all right-handers.
Coached by Vaughn (10th season, 196-299-1, UC Davis '92), UC Davis has a .250 team batting average. The Aggies have stolen 57 of 79 bases, sport a 5.96 staff ERA with opponents hitting .303 and have compiled a .967 fielding percentage with 60 errors in 49 games.
UC Davis is ranked No. 6 nationally in batters hit by pitch (83) and 22nd in sacrifice bunts (31). Spillane is No. 4 in starts on the mound (13) while Kaden Riccomini is 24th in walks allowed per nine innings (1.35). Jake Brandel is 38th with five sacrifice flies while Cooper Morrison is No. 33 having been hit by pitches 14 times.
UC Davis has appeared in one NCAA Division I regional (2008) and seven in Division II, making two appearances in the Division II College World Series (1995, 2003). The Aggies won the California Collegiate Athletic Association regular-season title in 2004 and nine Northern California Athletic Conference championships.
Cal Poly and UC Davis have met 51 times on the baseball field since the series began in 1951. All but six of those meetings are over the last 15 seasons after the Aggies announced their intention to move to Division I, a transfer that was completed in time for the 2008 season. The Mustangs hold a 39-12 advantage in the series after sweeping the Aggies in Davis two years ago.
Cal Poly had won eight consecutive series against UC Davis before the Aggies took two of three games in 2012 in Davis. Cal Poly is 34-11 against UC Davis, including a 21-3 mark in Baggett Stadium, since the Mustangs moved to Division I prior to the 1995 season. Larry Lee is 34-11 against UC Davis while Matt Vaughn is 7-17 against Cal Poly.
Vaughn was an assistant at UC Davis for 19 seasons before he was elevated to head coach after the 2011 season. Vaughn pitched for the Aggies from 1989-92, starting 26 games and winning nine. He earned honorable mention All-Northern California Athletic Conference honors as a senior.
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.
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.
Leading the squad's hitters 48 games into the season is Lopez at .341 with eight doubles and 26 RBIs (he is sidelined the rest of the 2021 season due to a knee injury). Brooks Lee is hitting .337 with 21 doubles, three triples, eight home runs and 46 RBIs. Lee 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, and earned his third last week after the Cal State Fullerton series. He had a nine-game hitting streak halted by CSUN and a 12-game streak stopped by UC Irvine. Emmerson sports a .310 mark with 12 doubles, a triple and 20 RBIs.
Drew Thorpe (5-5, 3.77 ERA), Travis Weston (5-6, 3.19 ERA) and Andrew Alvarez (6-3, 4.44 ERA) remain anchored in the starting rotation while Bryan Woo (out the rest of the year due to elbow injury), Bryce Warrecker and Kyle Scott (five saves) 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 their 56 games inside Baggett Stadium, opening the season with 25 of their first 36 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 its first 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 204 of their last 299 home games for a 68.2 winning percentage.
Lee (570-454-2) 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 1,030-695-5 record over 34-plus seasons as a head coach and coached his 1,000th game as Cal Poly's head coach on April 1, a 10-1 win over UC San Diego.
Next week, Cal Poly closes out the 2021 season by hosting Hawai'i for a four-game Big West series inside Baggett Stadium. First pitches with the Rainbow Warriors are set for 5 p.m. Friday, a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday and a 1 o'clock finale Sunday.
AUDIO STREAM | VIDEO STREAM | LIVE STATS
BROOKS LEE EARNS THIRD BIG WEST FIELD PLAYER OF WEEK AWARD
INFORMATION FOR FANS ATTENDING UC DAVIS EVENTS
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Coming off its second series sweep against Cal State Fullerton in 48 years, Cal Poly (24-24 overall, 14-18 Big West) plays its final road series of the 2021 baseball season this weekend, visiting UC Davis (13-36 overall, 7-25 Big West) for a four-game set inside Phil Swimley Field at Dobbins Stadium (cap.: 3,500).
Coach Larry Lee's Mustangs and the Aggies of 10th-year head coach Matt Vaughn clash Friday at 2:30 p.m. followed by a noon doubleheader Saturday and the finale Sunday at 1 o'clock.
All four 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.
After a 1-3 start, Cal Poly won 10 of 13 games, including series wins over USC and then-No. 6 UCLA. The Mustangs also opened Big West play March 20-22 by taking three of four games at CSUN, improving to 11-6 overall. Over the next seven weeks, Cal Poly lost 18 of 27 contests, losing conference series against UC San Diego, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and CSU Bakersfield and splitting four-game series versus Long Beach State and UC Riverside.
The Mustangs ended the slide with a bang last weekend, sweeping four games from 30-time conference champion Cal State Fullerton by 5-1, 13-3, 10-0 and 9-1 scores. In hitting .425 for the series, Cal Poly dropped the Titans to 19-28 and, with eight games remaining on its schedule, Cal State Fullerton will finish with a losing record for the first time in 46 Division I seasons.
It was Cal Poly's first sweep of a series against the Titans since the Mustangs 2-14 Big West championship campaign and the second since 1973. Shortstop Brooks Lee earned Big West Field Player of the Week honors for the third time this season by going 9-for-18 with four doubles, a grand slam and seven RBIs while catcher Myles Emmerson was 10-for-19 with four RBIs and center fielder Cole Cabrera 9-for-19 with a double, home run and two RBIs.
Coming off a 9-7 performance in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 campaign, UC Davis returned 27 of 32 letter winners, including nine position starters and 13 pitchers. Top returnees are first baseman Spencer Gedestad (.417, eight RBIs in 2020) and shortstop Kyler Arenado (.241, five RBIs, four steals). The pitching staff is paced by Brett Erwin (2-0, 2.14 ERA in 2020), Jake Spillane (2-2, 3.81 ERA) and Nolan Meredith (1-1, 2.95 ERA), all right-handers.
UC Davis opened its 2021 season by losing 19 of its first 24 games, winning one series against Portland. The Aggies then put together a four-game winning streak — two wins each against UC Riverside and CSU Bakersfield — but have lost 17 of their last 21 contests. After winning the opener at UC San Diego 5-2 last weekend, UC Davis fell 8-3, 18-3 and 4-6 to the Tritons and will bring a 13-36 overall mark and 7-25 Big West record into this weekend's series against Cal Poly.
More than halfway through its 56-game schedule this season, Cal Poly fell below the .500 mark in Big West games by dropping three of four games to UC Irvine five weeks ago, splitting four games with UC Riverside, a 3-1 series loss at UC Santa Barbara and the sweep by CSU Bakersfield two weeks ago. Prior to last week's sweep over Cal State Fullerton, the Mustangs' lone Big West series win was at CSUN during the opening weekend of conference play.
The Mustangs outhit the Titans 62-24 and outscored them 37-5. Cal Poly averaged 3.9 runs and hit .223 during a 27-game stretch after its 11-6 start before erupting for a pair of run-rule victories and a .425 team batting average versus Cal State Fullerton. The Mustangs struck out just 12 times in four games, outscored the Titans 18-1 in the first three innings, outhit the Titans in all four games, made just one error and compiled a 1.36 staff ERA. Emmerson produced multiple hits in all four contests and was one of six Mustangs to collect at least one hit in each of the four games of the series.
UC Davis' top hitters 49 games into its season are third baseman Jalen Smith (.314, 12 doubles, three triples, four home runs, 17 RBIs, 15 of 19 steals), Gedestad (.302, four home runs, 21 RBIs) and designated hitter/right fielder Jake Brandel (.292, eight doubles, 27 RBIs). The pitching staff has been paced by Spillane (3-7, 5.60 ERA), Kaden Riccomini (2-5, 4.89 ERA), Erwin (1-3, 4.91 ERA) and Tim Wieser (2-6, 5.96 ERA), all right-handers.
Coached by Vaughn (10th season, 196-299-1, UC Davis '92), UC Davis has a .250 team batting average. The Aggies have stolen 57 of 79 bases, sport a 5.96 staff ERA with opponents hitting .303 and have compiled a .967 fielding percentage with 60 errors in 49 games.
UC Davis is ranked No. 6 nationally in batters hit by pitch (83) and 22nd in sacrifice bunts (31). Spillane is No. 4 in starts on the mound (13) while Kaden Riccomini is 24th in walks allowed per nine innings (1.35). Jake Brandel is 38th with five sacrifice flies while Cooper Morrison is No. 33 having been hit by pitches 14 times.
UC Davis has appeared in one NCAA Division I regional (2008) and seven in Division II, making two appearances in the Division II College World Series (1995, 2003). The Aggies won the California Collegiate Athletic Association regular-season title in 2004 and nine Northern California Athletic Conference championships.
Cal Poly and UC Davis have met 51 times on the baseball field since the series began in 1951. All but six of those meetings are over the last 15 seasons after the Aggies announced their intention to move to Division I, a transfer that was completed in time for the 2008 season. The Mustangs hold a 39-12 advantage in the series after sweeping the Aggies in Davis two years ago.
Cal Poly had won eight consecutive series against UC Davis before the Aggies took two of three games in 2012 in Davis. Cal Poly is 34-11 against UC Davis, including a 21-3 mark in Baggett Stadium, since the Mustangs moved to Division I prior to the 1995 season. Larry Lee is 34-11 against UC Davis while Matt Vaughn is 7-17 against Cal Poly.
Vaughn was an assistant at UC Davis for 19 seasons before he was elevated to head coach after the 2011 season. Vaughn pitched for the Aggies from 1989-92, starting 26 games and winning nine. He earned honorable mention All-Northern California Athletic Conference honors as a senior.
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.
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.
Leading the squad's hitters 48 games into the season is Lopez at .341 with eight doubles and 26 RBIs (he is sidelined the rest of the 2021 season due to a knee injury). Brooks Lee is hitting .337 with 21 doubles, three triples, eight home runs and 46 RBIs. Lee 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, and earned his third last week after the Cal State Fullerton series. He had a nine-game hitting streak halted by CSUN and a 12-game streak stopped by UC Irvine. Emmerson sports a .310 mark with 12 doubles, a triple and 20 RBIs.
Drew Thorpe (5-5, 3.77 ERA), Travis Weston (5-6, 3.19 ERA) and Andrew Alvarez (6-3, 4.44 ERA) remain anchored in the starting rotation while Bryan Woo (out the rest of the year due to elbow injury), Bryce Warrecker and Kyle Scott (five saves) 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 their 56 games inside Baggett Stadium, opening the season with 25 of their first 36 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 its first 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 204 of their last 299 home games for a 68.2 winning percentage.
Lee (570-454-2) 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 1,030-695-5 record over 34-plus seasons as a head coach and coached his 1,000th game as Cal Poly's head coach on April 1, a 10-1 win over UC San Diego.
Next week, Cal Poly closes out the 2021 season by hosting Hawai'i for a four-game Big West series inside Baggett Stadium. First pitches with the Rainbow Warriors are set for 5 p.m. Friday, a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday and a 1 o'clock finale Sunday.
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