Cal Poly to Host UC Davis This Weekend, Wrapping Up Home Slate

Friday, May 20

San Luis Obispo, CA

6 p.m.

UC Davis

Dylan Villalobos, who has started the last nine series finales, will be one of nine Mustangs honored in a Senior Day pregame ceremony Sunday.

Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics

Cal Poly to Host UC Davis This Weekend, Wrapping Up Home Slate

5/18/2022 2:33:00 PM | Baseball

WEEKLY NOTES: CAL POLY (PDF) | UC DAVIS | BIG WEST
VIDEO STREAM: FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY
LIVE STATS: FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY
AUDIO STREAM | GAME PROGRAM | TICKETS
DREW THORPE PODCAST ON BASEBALL PROSPECT JOURNAL

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly (32-20, 17-7 Big West), which has won eight straight games with series sweeps against CSU Bakersfield and Cal State Fullerton along with a pair of midweek victories versus Pepperdine, plays its final three home games of the 2022 season this weekend, hosting UC Davis (6-29, 5-19 Big West) for a Big West Conference series inside Baggett Stadium (cap.: 3,138).

First pitches are set for 6 p.m. Friday and 1 o'clock both Saturday and Sunday. All three games will be televised on ESPN+ with Chris Sylvester doing the play-by-play. The series also will be broadcast on ESPN Radio (1280 AM and 101.7 FM) with Zachary Anderson-Yoxsimer on the mic. Links for video and audio streams as well as live stats are available on the baseball schedule page at www.GoPoly.com.

After a 7-9 start, Cal Poly put together five- and six-game winning streaks, moving 10 games above the .500 mark for the first time since the 2016 season by taking two of three games in back-to-back Big West series on the road at UC Irvine and UC Riverside.

The Mustangs slipped into third place in the Big West following 10-7 (11 innings), 8-3 and 7-3 losses to No. 13 UC Santa Barbara at home on April 29-May 1, but climbed back into second place by sweeping CSU Bakersfield at home and Cal State Fullerton on the road. The 13-4, 6-2 and 2-1 wins against the Titans marked the first time in program history that the Mustangs won a series at Goodwin Field and Cal Poly is 16-9 versus the Titans since and including the Mustangs' Big West championship season in 2014. Ryan Stafford went 7-for-14 with three RBIs and Joe Yorke 6-for-13 with eight RBIs while Brooks Lee belted a grand slam in the opener and Matt Lopez's leadoff home run in the ninth inning of the nightcap snapped a 1-1 tie.

The Mustangs, 16-4 winners over Pepperdine on May 10, also won the rematch Tuesday in Malibu, 14-6, marking the first time since 2010 that Cal Poly swept the midweek series against the Waves. Yorke, who had five hits in the first meeting, added four more Tuesday and was 9-for-11 in the two games with two doubles and four RBIs. Yorke is 24-for-42 (.571) in his last nine games with six doubles, a home run and 15 RBIs. During his current 18-game hitting streak, the Mustang first baseman is 40-for-83 (.482) with seven doubles, two home runs and 20 RBIs, lifting his average for the season 96 points from .252 to .348. Yorke, who accumulated Cal Poly's 19th game of five or more hits against CSU Bakersfield on May 6, did it again in the home game versus Pepperdine on May 10 and is the first to do it twice in the Mustangs' 28-year Division I history.

Cal Poly opened the 2022 season by dropping a pair of one-run decisions against Washington, 6-5 and 4-3, before claiming the series finale. Following an 8-4 midweek win over Fresno State, the Mustangs went out on the road and took two of three games from Missouri State in Arlington, Texas, before losing two of three contests at UNLV.

The early season slide continued as Cal Poly fell 3-1 to San Jose State and split a four-game weekend set against the Ivy League's Harvard. That series included Drew Thorpe's three-hit shutout in the opener, a grand slam by Brett Borgogno and Brooks Lee's first four-hit game as a Mustang.

On March 18, Cal Poly rallied from a 4-0 deficit with a decisive five-run eighth-inning outburst for a 6-4 Big West-opening triumph over CSUN, providing a turning point for the Mustangs as they won 11 of 12 contests. Cal Poly completed the sweep against the Matadors, earned a series win at UC San Diego highlighted by a combined 20-strikeout effort from Thorpe (school Division I record-tying 15) and Jason Franks (5), won all five games versus Santa Clara and Dixie State seven weeks ago and won Big West series against Long Beach State, defending conference champion UC Irvine and UC Riverside, all two games to one, to stay within striking distance of the first-place Gauchos.

The Mustangs are back above the .500 mark after the 0-2, 4-5, 5-7 and 7-9 starts, going 24-11 since the start of Big West play March 18.

With four new coaches and 15 new players on its 30-man roster, UC Davis lost its first 15 games of the 2022 season before defeating UC Riverside 12-8 on April 3. The Aggies won three of five games from April 3-12, then lost 11 of 12 before capturing their first Big West series win of the year against UC San Diego, bouncing back from a 15-5 loss last Friday with 6-5 and 8-5 triumphs. UC Davis dropped a 10-inning 6-5 decision at U. San Francisco on Tuesday after squandering an early 3-1 lead.

UC Davis is hitting .245 as a team with 56 doubles, seven triples and 16 home runs, scoring 163 runs in its 35 games so far. The Aggies are fourth in the Big West batters hit by their pitchers (61) but last in double plays (26), doubles (56), ERA (7.63), hits (299) and hits allowed per nine innings (11.69). The pitching staff has compiled a 7.63 ERA with 215 strikeouts over 303 innings, and the Aggies have committed 49 errors in 35 games.

UC Davis is coming off a 14-42 campaign, finishing 11th in the Big West at 8-32. The Aggies have 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). UC Davis won the California Collegiate Athletic Association regular-season title in 2004 and nine Northern California Athletic Conference championships.

Former Aggies who made it to the Major Leagues include infielder Daniel Descalso (Cardinals, Rockies, Diamondbacks, Cubs) from 2010-19, pitcher Joe Biagini (Blue Jays, Astros, Cubs) from 2016-21, second baseman/outfielder Ty Kelly (Mets, Phillies) from 2016-18, pitcher Steve Brown (Angels) from 1983-84 and pitcher Eddie Gamboa (Rays) in 2016.

Coached by Tommy Nicholson (first season, 6-29, Texas '06), the Aggies returned 15 letter winners from last year's squad, including three position starters and seven pitchers. Top returnees include shortstop Kyler Arenado (.275, 14 doubles, 24 RBIs in 2021) and right fielder Jake Brandel (.267, nine doubles, 31 RBIs) and ). Topping the list of returning pitchers are Nolan Meredith (1-5, 9.35 ERA in 2021), Nate Freeman (901, 3.49 ERA) and Nathan Peng (1-2, 3.95 ERA), all right-handers.

Center fielder Mark Wolbert tops all UC Davis hitters so far this season with a .365 average, nine doubles, three triples, two home runs, 13 RBIs), followed by third baseman James Williams III (.300, five doubles, 14 RBIs) and infielder Nick Iverson (.280, six doubles, 13 RBIs). The pitching staff is paced by right-handers Freeman (1-1, 6.40 ERA) and Kaden Riccomini (2-5, 5.75 ERA) along with southpaw Bryan Green (2-5, 5.23 ERA).

Nicholson was named the 11th head coach in program history on Dec. 16, 2021 following four years as an assistant at Stanford, where he served as the Cardinal's hitting, infield, and third base coach. Under Nicholson, Stanford led the Pac-12 in home runs in 2019 with 48 and finished Nicholson's first season in 2018 with a .978 fielding percentage, the third-highest in program history.

Prior to his time in Palo Alto Nicholson spent the 2017 season as an assistant at Sacramento State, where he helped lead the Hornets to the Stanford Regional. He also served as Sacramento State's infield coach in 2011 and 2012. Nicholson began his coaching career at his alma mater, Texas, working as a volunteer assistant from 2009-10 and then as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator from 2013-16.

Nicholson was selected in the 11th round of the 2000 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox. He spent 2000-05 with the White Sox and Rockies, reaching Triple-A. Nicholson hit .327 over his collegiate career at Texas with 147 runs scored, 223 hits, 37 doubles, four triples, nine home runs, 114 RBIs and 20 stolen bases and was the team's most valuable player in 1999 and 2000. He returned to graduate from Texas with his bachelor's degree in 2006.

Cal Poly and UC Davis have met 55 times on the baseball field since the series began in 1951. All but six of those meetings are over the last 16 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 42-13 advantage in the series after winning three of four games in Davis in 2021. Cal Poly swept the Aggies in Davis three years ago and the two schools did not play each other in 2020 due to the pandemic.

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 37-12 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 37-12 against UC Davis while Tommy Nicholson is facing Cal Poly for the first time as a head coach.

Lee welcomed back 22 lettermen off last year's squad, including seven position starters and all but three pitchers. The 2022 Mustang roster, bolstered by the addition of three transfers from Boise State and one from Washington State a year ago, added a pair of graduate students this spring in infielder Brett Borgogno (Cal State Fullerton and Louisiana-Lafayette) and outfielder John Lagattuta (Cal) along with utility player Matthias Haas, a transfer from Brown.

Topping the list of returnees is five-time 2021 All-American Brooks Lee, a preseason All-American five times as well this spring. Projected to be a top-five draft pick in July, Lee hit a team-leading .342 with 10 home runs, 57 RBIs and a school-record 27 doubles as a redshirt freshman in 2021 en route to Big West Co-Field Player of the Year and Co-Freshman Field Player of the Year honors.

The group of returnees also includes designated hitter Matt Lopez, third baseman Tate Samuelson, first baseman Joe Yorke, second baseman Nick Marinconz, utility player Taison Corio and pitchers Drew Thorpe, Travis Weston, Bryce Warrecker, Kyle Scott and Dylan Villalobos, among several others.

The entire infield is back as Yorke made 54 starts at first base, Marinconz (27) and Corio (23) combined for 50 starts at second base, Lee started 54 games at shortstop and Samuelson was in the starting lineup 53 times at third base.

As the team's designated hitter, Lopez was second on the team in hitting at .341 with 26 RBIs in 39 games.

The outfield has been a season-long work in progress with the loss of Cole Cabrera in center field, Sam Biller in left and Nick DiCarlo in right. Reagan Doss, who started 21 games in the outfield last year and hit .258 with six doubles and 13 RBIs in 37 games, replaces Cabrera in center field. A pair of catchers lead the depth chart in left field — Ryan Stafford of Folsom High School and returnee Collin Villegas — while Haas of Oakland's Bishop O'Dowd High School and Brown and Lagattuta of Davis Senior High School and Cal likely will share duties in right field. Stafford has made 39 starts behind the plate and Villegas 12 with 27 additional starts in the outfield.

On the mound Drew Thorpe was 6-1 with a 3.15 ERA in home games last spring, finishing with a 6-6 mark and 3.79 ERA. He led the squad in strikeouts with 104, which is No. 10 all-time in the Cal Poly record book, and compiled double-digit strikeouts three times in 2021. Travis Weston (5-6, 3.28 ERA) earned three complete games, the most by a Mustang pitcher since Joey Wagman also collected three complete games in 2013. Weston was a starter in Saturday doubleheaders.

Thorpe and Weston will start Friday and Saturday, respectively, for the second year in a row. Sophomore Kaden Sheedy (1-2, 5.40 ERA in 2021) got the nod for the first four Sunday games this season with freshman right-hander Steven Brooks of Cosumnes Oaks High School in Elk Grove, Calif., starting the midweek contests. Sheedy made four starts in the final six weeks of the 2021 season, including a complete-game three-hitter with six strikeouts in the series finale at UC Davis.

So far this season, Lee leads all Mustang hitters with a .364 mark, fourth in the Big West, which includes 22 doubles, a triple, 12 home runs and 48 RBIs. He is on pace to surpass his own school doubles record (27) set last year as well as his 57 total RBIs in 2021, and had a career-long 19-game hitting streak snapped by Long Beach State seven weeks ago. Yorke is hitting .348 with 11 doubles, three home runs, 42 RBIs and an 18-game hitting streak while sophomore second baseman Nick Marinconz sports a .322 average with eight doubles, a home run and 16 RBIs and freshman catcher Ryan Stafford .321 with 16 doubles, three home runs and 30 RBIs. Collin Villegas is hitting .301 with 18 doubles, two triples, four home runs and 40 RBIs.

Samuelson, a fifth-year Super Senior, has already broken school records for most games played (225) and at-bats (877) in a career and is No. 3 in hits (240) and RBIs (154) and fifth in hit by pitches (29). Hitting .249 this year, Samuelson is one home run and two walks shy of the top 10 and six RBIs short of the school record (Steve Wood with 160).

Lee (20th season, 609-475-2, Pepperdine '83) reached the 600-victory milestone April 22 with a 9-3 nod over UC Riverside. 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 1,069-715-5 record over 35-plus seasons as a head coach and coached his 1,000th game as Cal Poly's head coach on April 1, 2021, a 10-1 win over UC San Diego.

Next week, Cal Poly wraps up the 2022 season with a Big West series at Hawai'i on Thursday through Saturday.