Collin Villegas hit four doubles, a triple and knocked in eight runs during the Dixie State series this weekend. He has lifted his average 100 points to .316 over his last 12 contests.
Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics
Three-Run Homer by Brooks Lee Powers Cal Poly to Series Sweep
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Brooks Lee smashed a three-run home run in the fifth inning and Joe Yorke added three singles and an RBI as Cal Poly completed a sweep of its four-game non-conference baseball series against Dixie State and capped a 5-0 week with a 5-3 victory on Sunday inside Baggett Stadium.
Lee's blast, his sixth of the year and lifting his RBI total for the season to 35, extended Cal Poly's lead from 2-1 to 5-1 as the Mustangs earned their sixth straight win and 11 in their last 12 games, improving to 18-10 for the year. Dixie State fell to 13-14.
Brooks Lee donned the home run chain twice
during the Dixie State series over the weekend.Lee extended his hitting streak to 17 games with a first-inning double and scored on Yorke's single up the middle.Villegas doubled down the left-field line in the third to make it 2-0 and Lee's home run following two walks completed Cal Poly's scoring.
"He's the heartbeat of our team, an alpha male, and he brings a lot of energy and emotion to the game," said his father and Cal Poly head coach, Larry Lee. "We're trying to get he and a couple other guys in those high-leverage situations. We want to live and die with those type of players.
"I enjoy watching him play," he added. "I'm not nervous for him, but there's emotion on my end of it. When he's struggling, it eats at me and, when he's successful, I am like a fan out there. I enjoy what he brings to the game and he will continue to develop and get better and better. I'm just trying to enjoy the time we have together on a daily basis."
Dixie State tallied single runs in the seventh and eighth frames and brought the potential game-tying run to the plate in both the eighth and ninth frames. Jason Franks secured a strikeout and fly ball to the outfield to end the eighth and induced Tyson Hollow to line out to Lee at shortstop in the ninth to earn his third save.
Mustang starter Dylan Villalobos allowed one run and three hits over three innings while Zach Button (4-0) earned the victory with three scoreless frames and a pair of strikeouts. Franks secured the final five outs and struck out two.
The loss was charged to Dixie State starter Ryan Hardman (2-1), who surrendered four runs and five hits over three innings with four walks and three strikeouts.
Despite the loss, Dixie State outhit Cal Poly 9-8, led by Hollow and Shane Taylor, each with two singles.
Yorke went 3-for-4 and Lee added a double and home run, scoring twice, for Cal Poly.
Last time the Mustangs went 5-0 or better in a week was during their Big West championship season in 2014 when Cal Poly won all six games over six days -- three-game series versus Northern Illinois and Wagner.
During the first 10 games of the season, the Mustangs held the lead or were tied after six innings or later, but had a 5-5 mark to show for it. Cal Poly was 7-9 before opening Big West play three weeks ago.
"Early on in the season, we found ways to lose games," said Larry Lee. "We would be ahead after six innings, and innings seven through nine we would find ways to give games away. We've been able to learn how to win baseball games.
"Guys who feel comfortable, either ahead or behind late in games, are able to figure out how to win. We've come up with enough players who have that mentality and mindset. We're still looking for other players to add on to the group we already have. We're not a complete team yet and that's what we're striving for," Lee added.
Zach Button tossed three scoreless innings for his
fourth win Sunday. He has yet to allow a run all season.For the series, Villegas was 7-for-13 with four doubles, a triple, four runs scored and eight RBIs. In five games this week he was 9-for-17 (.529) with five doubles, a triple, six runs scored and 10 RBIs.
"Collin has been great," said Larry Lee. "Between the two catchers, Ryan Stafford and Collin, one catches and one of them plays left field because they both have the ability to swing the bat."
Villegas snapped an 0-for-16 slump with a two-run double in the Big West opener against CSUN and has gone 16-for-39 (.410) with nine doubles, one triple, 12 runs scored and 18 RBIs in his last 12 games.
"Collin early on was kinda slumping a little bit from an offensive standpoint, but he's the one player who can handle hitting in the four hole. That's his mindset, 'I want to hit here,' and because he hits behind Stafford and Brooks, there's always guys on base. Those three guys have a ton of doubles and Villegas was really really good this week. He had a ton of opportunities and he cashed in with 10 runs batted in in a five-game week.
"You need players in your offensive lineup to carry you during different portions of the schedule because you're not going to have all nine guys swing the bat," Lee said. "When guys struggle, you need enough other guys in the lineup to pick up the slack and carry the team."
Yorke was 7-for-16 with five RBIs in the Dixie State series while Lee and Tate Samuelson both collected six hits -- Lee knocking in six runs and Samuelson five. Cal Poly hit .326 in the series.
Freshman southpaw Noah Larkin earned two victories for the week with six strikeouts over 11 1/3 innings and a 0.79 ERA while junior Travis Weston, another left-hander, pitched 10 innings with nine strikeouts, including a complete-game two-hitter in Saturday's 9-0 triumph over Dixie State. The Mustang pitching staff compiled a 3.00 ERA for the week.
Cal Poly is eight games above the .500 mark for the first time since opening the 2016 campaign 10-2.
"We just hope to continue to get better," Larry Lee said. "We have some holes and some flaws offensively and we just need to continue to work hard and try to get better and turn those flaws into production."
Cal Poly makes its second visit to Cal on Tuesday -- the Mustangs earned a 14-4 victory two weeks ago -- before returning to Big West play with a three-game weekend series against preseason conference favorite Long Beach State at Baggett Stadium.
