Cal Poly Hits the Road Again for Weekend Big West Series at CSUN

Friday, April 21

Northridge, CA

3 p.m.

CSUN

Third baseman Ryan Fenn has lifted his batting average 126 points in his last 17 games and will take an eight-game hitting streak and .318 mark to CSUN this weekend.

Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics

Cal Poly Hits the Road Again for Weekend Big West Series at CSUN

4/19/2023 6:36:00 PM | Baseball

WEEKLY NOTES: CAL POLY | CSUN | BIG WEST
VIDEO STREAM: FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY
AUDIO STREAM: FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY
LIVE STATS: FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly (13-21, 7-8 Big West), which has won 10 of its last 18 games after a 3-13 start and earned two wins against San Jose State after losing a Big West series at CSU Bakersfield, returns to Big West play this weekend by visiting CSUN (21-10, 8-4 Big West) for three games at Matador Field (cap.: 1,000).

First pitches are set for 3 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. All three games of the series will be broadcast on ESPN Radio (1280 AM and 101.7 FM) with Zachary Anderson-Yoxsimer calling the play-by-play. The series will be video streamed on ESPN+ as well. Links for audio and video streams as well as for live stats are available on the baseball schedule page at www.GoPoly.com.

After opening with two wins in three games versus Missouri State, Cal Poly led San Jose State 11-10 before play was halted after eight innings due to darkness on Feb. 20. That game was completed April 18 in San Luis Obispo. The Mustangs then lost all three games in Berkeley — two to Cal and one to UConn, which won 50 games a year ago — won just once in four contests against No. 18 Oregon State, dropped three more games — one to Xavier and two against UC Santa Barbara — dropped the first two games of its Big West-opening series against Hawai'i before earning a 10-3 triumph in the finale, then won two of three versus UC Irvine before falling three times at Long Beach State and sweeping UC Riverside.

Last weekend, the Mustangs earned just one win in three games at CSU Bakersfield, taking the opener 12-4 before dropping a pair of one-run decisions — 5-4 in 10 innings and 4-3 — both walk-offs by the Roadrunners. Collin Villegas hit a school-record four doubles, Ryan Fenn drove in three runs and Aaron Casillas had three hits in Friday's opener, Cal Poly erased a 4-0 deficit before giving up Jacob Ruley's single to left field on an 0-2 pitch in the 10th inning Saturday and Cody Hendriks singled to center field with one out and the bases loaded in the ninth inning Sunday, driving in the winning run and clinching the series for the Roadrunners.

Cal Poly won the suspended game against San Jose State 12-10 and Joe Yorke's double into the right-field corner gave the Mustangs a walk-off 6-5 triumph in the regularly scheduled contest Tuesday.

CSUN won its first four games, including a three-game sweep of Stony Brooks, and has been above the .500 mark all season. The Matadors were 13 games above the .500 mark after winning the first two games at Long Beach State last weekend, clinching a series win at Blair Field for the first time since 2001, but lost the series finale and dropped an 8-5 decision at USC on Tuesday.A year ago, the Mustangs claimed second place in the Big?West for the fourth time in the last five full seasons, winning 22 of 30 games and nine of the 10 series.

Cal Poly returned just three position starters — first baseman Joe Yorke and catchers Ryan Stafford and Collin Villegas, one of whom plays left field when not behind the plate — off last year's 37-21 club. Yorke hit .353 with 51 RBIs and committed just two errors in 475 fielding chances while Stafford compiled a .321 average with 16 doubles and 33 RBIs, throwing out 11 would-be base stealers and picking off four others. Villegas hit .290 with 20 doubles and 40 RBIs. Yorke and Stafford were first-team All-Big West selections while Villegas landed on the second unit.

Pitching could be a strength of the club with a dozen returnees, including Travis Weston, Cal Poly's Saturday starter the last two years. Bryce Warrecker, who had a strong summer in the Cape Cod League, and Derek True, a 20th-round draft pick of the Oakland Athletics last July, also return.

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 won 13 straight games, the longest in a single season for the program before losing the season finale at Hawai'i.

CSUN returned 15 lettermen, including five starting position players and six pitchers, off a squad that finished 32-22 in 2022 and tied for fourth in the Big West at 17-13 in Dave Serrano's final season at the helm. Top returnees include right fielder Andrew Sojka (.338, eight home runs, 39 RBIs, seven steals in 2022), third baseman Mason Le (.248, five home runs, 22 RBIs) and first baseman Joey Kramer (.250, five home runs, 27 RBIs. The pitching staff is headed by Lucas Braun (7-4, 2.91 ERA in 2022), Ryan Wentz (2-3, 3.74 ERA) and Xavier Martinez (2-0, one save, 3.03 ERA), all right-handers.

Thirty-one games into the 2023 season, center fielder Jakob Simons is third in the Big West with his .368 average, eight doubles, 10 home runs and 36 RBIs with 10 steals in 10 attempts, while shortstop Ali Camarillo sports a .362 average with eight doubles and 28 RBIs. Catcher Grayson Tarlow is hitting .350, left fielder Kevin Fitzer .337 and second baseman Shunsuke Sakaino .333 as seven Matador regulars are hitting above the .300 mark.

On the mound, Friday starter Braun owns a 3-4 record and 4.07 ERA while Saturday starter Thomas Bainton is 5-1 with a 3.93 ERA. Ryan Wentz made his third start of the year last Sunday and is 2-1 with a 5.26 ERA. Kenji Pallares, who has made eight starts, is 4-3 with a 6.69 ERA. Wentz and Pallares are right-handers as well.

Picked by the head coaches to finish seventh in the Big West this season, CSUN leads the Big West with its .313 team batting average with 68 doubles, nine triples, 30 home runs and 49 steals in 61 attempts. The Matadors' pitching staff has compiled a 4.62 ERA with 245 strikeouts over 265 innings and CSUN has committed just 28 errors in 31 games for a .975 fielding percentage.

CSUN claimed its lone Big West title in 2002, and captured the Western Athletic Conference crown in 1996, both under Mike Batesole, who went on to be head coach at Fresno State for 20 seasons before retiring last December. CSUN captured NCAA Division II national titles in 1970 and 1984 under Bob Hiegert.

Former Matadors who played in the Major Leagues include Jason Thompson, Adam Kennedy, Robert Fick, Lyman Bostock and Kameron Loe.

Cal Poly and CSUN have met 239 times on the baseball field since the series began when both teams were California Collegiate Athletic Association members back in 1959. The Matadors hold a 125-114 advantage, though the Mustangs swept CSUN by scores of 6-4, 8-4 and 6-4 a year ago in Baggett Stadium and won three of four games in 2021 at Northridge. Cal Poly has won 10 of the last 11 meetings against the Matadors. In 2014, Cal Poly swept the Matadors at Matador Field to clinch the Big West title. Cal Poly is 49-34 against CSUN since the Mustangs moved to Division I prior to the 1995 season.

Larry Lee is 42-21 against CSUN while first-year head coach Eddie Cornejo is 0-0 against Cal Poly.

An assistant coach at CSUN for three seasons, Cornejo was announced as Serrano's successor on April 27, 2022. A nationally-recognized recruiter, Cornejo spent one season as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at San Jose State in 2019 and served as the recruiting coordinator at UC Santa Barbara from 2012-18 where he helped recruit five nationally-ranked classes. Cornejo helped coach the Gauchos to the 2013 and 2015 NCAA Regionals and team's first-ever College World Series berth in 2016.

Cornejo also worked as an assistant coach at UC Riverside in 2011 and was interim head coach at Riverside City College in 2010. He was an All-American shortstop at Riverside City College, where he helped the Tigers win two straight state titles in 2000 and 2001, and went on to play two seasons at Oklahoma, earning All-Midwest Region and All-Big 12 Conference honors as a second baseman in 2003.Cornejo was selected in the 13th round of the 2003 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Oakland Athletics. He went on to play six professional seasons in the Oakland and Colorado Rockies organizations, eventually advancing to the Triple-A ranks in 2008.

Cal Poly's first full practice session of 2023 on Jan. 27 featured 18 newcomers and a completely new staff of assistant coaches under 21st-year head coach Larry Lee. Pitching coach Seth Moir, an assistant at San Jose State the last two seasons, outfielder coach and associate head coach/recruiting coordinator Matt Fonteno, who has served as an assistant coach at USC, UC Santa Barbara, Saint Mary's and Nevada the last 10 years, and Logan Denholm, a catcher at UC Davis and Sacramento State and most recently a volunteer assistant coach at San Jose State, were hired last summer.

The staff had the unenviable task of finding replacements for a pair of multiple All-Americans — Drew Thorpe and shortstop Brooks Lee, both drafted last July by the New York Yankees (second round) and Minnesota Twins (eighth overall selection), respectively. Lee hit .342 in 2021 and .357 last spring, combining for 25 home runs and 112 RBIs in the two seasons en route to a pair of Big West Conference Field Player of the Year awards. Thorpe was 10-1 with a 2.32 ERA and a school-record 149 strikeouts, which led the nation at the conclusion of the 2022 regular season, on his way to Big West Pitcher of the Year honors.
With their departure, Lee and his new coaching staff were faced with finding and developing replacements for three infield positions, two in the outfield and the designated hitter along with two starters in the weekend pitching rotation.

"It's a total rebuild, especially on the position player side where we only return three regulars from last year's squad," said Lee. "Individually you're not going to replace guys like Brooks and Drew, two players who were as good as anyone in the country. Not only did they put up incredible numbers, they took on the responsibility of having the bull's-eyes on their backs and allowing all of their teammates to stay within themselves and not think that they had to do anything special."

The preseason depth chart had two transfers topping the middle infield candidates — Ryan Fenn of Cuesta College at second base and Aaron Casillas of CSU Bakersfield at shortstop. A third transfer, Jake Steels of Hancock College, is the starter in center field. True freshman Tate Shimao, redshirt freshman Tanner Sagouspe and either Matthias Haas (who transfered to Cal Poly from Brown two years ago) or true freshman Evan Cloyd are expected to start at third base, right field and designated hitter, respectively.

The Mustangs' weekend rotation on the mound in the first four weeks featured Warrecker on Friday, Travis Weston for the third straight year on Saturday and College of San Mateo transfer Ryan Baum (4-1, 1.62 ERA last spring) on Sunday. Weston was 7-3 with a 3.91 ERA a year ago and has five career complete games as a Mustang, including three shutouts. Warrecker missed the first half of the 2022 season due to injury and finished 2-0 with a 5.81 ERA before earning the Cape Cod League's most outstanding pitcher award while pitching for the Orleans Firebirds.

Other potential starters include Kaden Sheedy (3-2, 5.23 ERA), Steven Brooks (0-2, 5.33 ERA) and newcomer Freddy Rodriguez (River City HS), all right-handers. Top candidates in the bullpen are True (1-1, 4.79 ERA), Kyle Scott (0-3, 6.26 ERA, three saves) and Carlo Lopiccolo, among others. Scott produced seven saves and two wins in 2021.

The Mustangs opened their 2023 season with a robust .336 batting average in their three-game series against Missouri State, including eight doubles, a triple and three home runs, but hit just .224 in three losses at Berkeley — two to Cal and one to UConn — .188 in the four-game series versus Oregon State, .224 in three games versus Xavier and UCSB four weeks ago and .262 against Hawai'i before turning things around with a .290 mark versus UC Irvine, 15 runs on 18 hits at Fresno State, a .274 average in three games at Long Beach State, a .327 mark in a sweep over UC?Riverside and .332 in the CSU Bakersfield series. Ryan Fenn was 6-for-12 with four RBIs while Ryan Stafford was 7-for-15 with two doubles against the Roadrunners. Aaron Casillas and Jake Steels both were 6-for-15 while Collin Villegas had five hits, all doubles. .

Steels sported a team-leading .438 batting average with a home run and three RBIs before he was sidelined two weeks with an injury. Yorke also was out with an injury for two weeks after hitting .308 with eight RBIs. Both returned to the lineup in mid-March. Stafford is hitting .331 to date with 11 doubles and 24 RBIs while Casillas sports a .324 mark with a 14-game hitting streak, 10 doubles and 21 RBIs. Fenn owns a .318 mark, Steels .315 and Yorke .299 while Villegas, the team's home run leader with seven to go with 25 RBIs, is hitting .280.

Over its last 17 games, Cal Poly has lifted its team batting average 27 points, going 183-for-604 (.303) at the plate with 39 doubles, nine double-digit hit games and averages of 6.8 runs and 10.8 hits a contest.

During his 14-game hitting streak, Casillas is 25-for-63 (.397), lifting his average 71 points. Fenn has hit in eight straight games, going 13-for-30 (.433), and is 23-for-62 (.371) in his last 17 games, bumping the average up 126 points. Stafford is 34-for-94 (.362) in his last 23 games, lifting his average 64 points and producing multiple-hit games in seven of his last nine contests.

In addition, Steels is 10-for-26 in his last six games, moving his average up 21 points, while Yorke has gone 19-for-58 (.328) in his last 13 games, including a pair of four-hit performances, bumping his average up 24 points. Villegas is 22-for-70 (.314) at the plate in his last 17 games, which included a nine-game hitting streak, his average going up 38 points. Villegas had no doubles in his first 17 games this season but has doubled 12 times in his last 17 contests.

The Mustangs are hitting .276 as a team, sixth in the 11-team Big West, and the staff ERA is at 5.84, ninth in the conference. Cal Poly has committed 34 errors in 34 games for a .973 fielding percentage and has stolen 16 bases in 27 attempts.

Next week, Cal Poly plays four more games, visiting Santa Clara on Tuesday before hosting UC San Diego for a three-game Big West series Friday through Sunday.