Cal Poly to Host CSU Bakersfield for Three-Game Big West Series

Friday, May 6

San Luis Obispo, CA

6 p.m.

CSU Bakersfield

Collin Villegas collected two hits Tuesday night at Fresno State and is currently hitting .293 with 16 doubles, three home runs and 33 RBIs for Cal Poly.

Photo by: Photo by Connor Lau

Cal Poly to Host CSU Bakersfield for Three-Game Big West Series

5/4/2022 5:03:00 PM | Baseball

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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly (24-20, 11-7 Big West), which held leads or was tied late in each of its three Big West Conference games against first-place UC Santa Barbara, but was swept by the Gauchos, and suffered its sixth straight loss Tuesday night at Fresno State, resumes Big West play this weekend with a three-game home series versus CSU Bakersfield (16-24, 9-9 Big West) inside Baggett Stadium (cap.: 3,138).

First pitches are set for 6 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 o'clock Sunday. Friday's game will be video streamed on GoPoly.com with Zachary Anderson-Yoxsimer on the mic while the Saturday and Sunday contests will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Chris Sylvester providing the play-by-play. The games also will be available on ESPN Radio (1280 AM and 101.7 FM). 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. The Mustangs hit just .220 against the Gauchos with Ryan Stafford, Collin Villegas and Joe Yorke each collecting four hits. The series drew 8,250 fans, No. 2 on Cal Poly's all-time list for attendance in a series and included 3,032 for the middle game of the series, the fourth-largest crowd ever to see a game in Baggett Stadium.

Earlier this week, Cal Poly dropped a 5-3 decision at Fresno State, leaving the bases loaded in the ninth inning. Brooks Lee hit his ninth home run and drove in his 40th run of the season.

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 and Jason Franks, won all five games versus Santa Clara and Dixie State five 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 17-11 since the start of Big West play March 18.

CSU Bakersfield, which split its first six games of the season compiled a 14-15 record after claiming its series at UC Davis, two games to one, but has lost each of its last three weekend series against Hawai'i, UC San Diego and CSUN during a 2-9 slump. In addition to the Aggies, the Roadrunners also have won series versus Kansas State, UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton along with a 2-2 split against Utah Valley.

CSU Bakersfield is hitting .262 as a team with 70 doubles, four triples and 27 home runs, scoring 209 runs in its 40 games so far. The Runners are first in the Big West in batters hit by their pitchers (64) but are last in fielding percentage (.959). The pitching staff has compiled a 5.15 ERA with 336 strikeouts over 356 innings, and the Runners have committed 61 errors in 40 games.

CSU Bakersfield is coming off a 20-23 campaign, finishing seventh in the Big West at 17-19. The Roadrunners launched their baseball program in 2009 as an NCAA Division I independent before joining the Western Athletic Conference in 2013 and capturing the conference title in its first season. CSU Bakersfield won the WAC Tournament in 2015, qualifying for the NCAA's Los Angeles Regional at UCLA and posting a 1-2 mark. The Runners played their first Big West campaign in 2021.

One former Roadrunner made it to the Major Leagues — southpaw pitcher Austin Davis with the Phillies — and a total of 20 CSU Bakersfield players have been drafted — two in the top 10 rounds in right-handers Scott Vrattvet (eighth round in 2013) and Dari\us Vines (seventh round in 2019). The Roadrunners have had three head coaches in their 14-year history — Bill Kernen (2009-15), Bob Macaluso (2016) and Jeremy Beard (2017-Present).

Coached by Beard (sixth season, 116-151, Oregon State '97), the Runners returned 15 letter winners from last year's squad, including four position starters and seven pitchers. Top returnees include second baseman Nick Salas (.265, six RBIs in 2021), catcher Angel Saldivar (.262, eight RBIs) and center fielder Jashia Morrissey (.214, eight RBIs). Topping the list of returning pitchers are right-handers Cody Tucker (2-4, 6.30 ERA, two saves in 2021) and Kenny Johnson (2-0, 8.56 ERA, one save) along with southpaw Kellen O'Connor (1-2, 4.38 ERA, two saves).

Right fielder AJ Miller tops all Runner hitters so far this season with a .318 average, 12 doubles, nine home runs and 31 RBIs while Morrissey is hitting .290 with 10 doubles and 15 RBIs. Designated hitter Bailey Seeger sports a .329 average with 12 RBIs and left fielder James Bell owns a .282 mark with nine doubles, five home runs and 23 RBIs. O'Connor is 3-4 with a 3.88 ERA while Acosta has a 3-3 mark and 3.11 ERA. Closer Ryan Verdugo is 2-1 with a 4.64 ERA and three saves.

Beard, pitching coach for the Runners in 2016, took over for Macaluso in December 2016. Beard coached at Portland in 2014 and 2015 and also has coached at Central Catholic High School (1998-2001) in Portland, Ore., Columbia Basin College (Wash.) from 2001-10 and Western Nevada College in 2011 and 2012. Beard was a pitcher at Oregon State, graduating in 1996.

Cal Poly and CSU Bakersfield have met 32 times on the baseball field since the series began in 2009. The Mustangs hold a 22-10 advantage in the series, winning six of the first seven as well as claiming eight consecutive contests from 2016-19 before the Runners swept a four-game series at Hardt Field in 2021. The two teams did not meet in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cal Poly rallied from an 8-0 deficit to beat the Roadrunners 11-8 in 2018 at Hardt Field, the largest comeback in the program's Division I history. The Mustangs rallied from a 9-2 deficit for an 11-10 win over Temple in 2000 and Cal Poly also came back from an 8-1 deficit to beat Washington 9-8 in 1995.
Cal Poly head coach Larry Lee is 22-10 against CSU Bakersfield while Beard is 4-6 against Cal Poly.

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 continues to be a 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 33 starts behind the plate and Villegas 11 with 24 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 19 doubles, a triple, nine home runs and 40 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 five weeks ago. Sophomore second baseman Nick Marinconz sports a .325 average with seven doubles, a home run and 12 RBIs while Yorke is hitting .294 with 27 RBIs and a 10-game hitting streak, Villegas .293 with 16 doubles, two triples, three home runs and 33 RBIs and Stafford .280 with 13 doubles and 17 RBIs.

The Mustangs have a combined 342-284 conference record (.547 winning percentage) in 24-plus years as a member of the Big West (no conference games were played in 2020), the last 18-plus under Lee. Cal Poly has had just three losing seasons since 2000 and has reached the 30-win mark 13 times this century, including 2021. The Mustangs have won 222 of their last 328 home games for a 68.3 winning percentage.

Since and including 2011, Cal Poly is the only Big West team to have a winning or .500 overall record each year (excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 season). Also since 2011, Cal Poly is the only Big West team to finish at least fourth or higher every year, including one first place, five seconds, one third and three fourths.

Since 2011, Lee has guided the Mustangs to wins in 63 of 97 Big West series with a pair of 2-2 splits for a 65.2 winning percentage. The Mustangs won seven of eight conference series in both 2014 and 2017 and is 5-1 so far this spring. Cal Poly is the only Big West team to have a winning overall record in each full season since 2011 and the Mustangs are the lone Big West team to finish fourth place or higher every year. Since 2003, Cal Poly has finished below fourth place only twice.

Cal Poly has had 19 MLB draft picks in the top 10 rounds since and including 2011. Only Cal State Fullerton has had more with 22.  The next tier are three teams with a total of 10 in that time span. Cal Poly has had a total of 34 top-10 round MLB draft picks in the last 18 years. Since 2012, Cal Poly has had eight Division I All-Americans. Also, since 2003, Cal Poly has had 11 players make it to the Major Leagues. In the rest of the history of the program, there were nine to have made it to The Show.

Cal Poly is seventh among 25 California Division I schools and 10th in the West Region (47 schools) with 299 wins over the last nine years (2012-21, not counting 2020).

Lee (20th season, 601-475-2, Pepperdine '83) surpassed Fresno State's Bob Bennett for the Big West record for overall wins with a 2-1 series-opening win at USC in February 2021. 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 and earned win No. 600 on 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 1,061-715-5 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 hosts Pepperdine on Tuesday night before returning to Big West play over the weekend by visiting Cal State Fullerton (Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 6 and Sunday at 1).