Cal Poly to Host UC San Diego for Three-Game Big West Series

Friday, April 28

San Luis Obispo, CA

6 p.m.

UC San Diego

Aaron Casillas stretches to catch ball for force play at second base.

Cal Poly shortstop Aaron Casillas stretches to receive throw for a force play at second base against UC Riverside three weeks ago. The Mustangs host UC San Diego this weekend.

Cal Poly to Host UC San Diego for Three-Game Big West Series

4/27/2023 11:57:00 AM | Baseball

WEEKLY NOTES: CAL POLY | UC SAN DIEGO | BIG WEST
AUDIO STREAM: FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY
LIVE STATS: FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY
VIDEO STREAM (SUNDAY) | TICKETS | GAME PROGRAM

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly (14-24, 8-10 Big West), which has split its last 22 games after a 3-13 start, returns to Big West play this weekend by hosting UC San Diego (22-16, 11-7 Big West) for three games inside Baggett Stadium (cap.: 3,138).

First pitches are set for 6 p.m. Friday, 4 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 final game of the series will be video streamed on ESPN+ as well with Chris Sylvester on the mic. 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, sweeping UC Riverside and losing two of three at CSU Bakersfield.

Last weekend, the Mustangs earned just one win in three games at CSUN, taking the finale 4-2 after dropping 12-10 and 10-6 decisions. The Matadors scored seven runs in the eighth inning to overcome a 10-5 deficit in the opener and tallied six runs in the eighth to snap a 4-4 tie in the second game. Collin Villegas belted a solo home run to break a 2-2 tie in the seventh inning of the finale and the Mustangs added an insurance run in the ninth.

On Tuesday, Santa Clara overcame 3-0, 4-3, 9-6 and 10-9 deficits with two runs in the bottom of the 10th inning for an 11-10 non-conference win at Stephen Schott Stadium, hitting three home runs and taking advantage of eight walks and five hit batters.

UC San Diego lost four of its first six games against six different opponents and also lost two of three games to Santa Clara, then turned a 5-6 mark around by sweeping a series against Northern Colorado and sprinting to a 7-0 start in Big West play with sweeps against Long Beach State and CSU Bakersfield and a win in the opener of a series at UC Irvine. The Tritons eventually lost that series, two games to one, before sweeping UC Davis. In the last two weeks, UC San Diego lost two of three at Hawai'i and was swept by defending Big West champion UC Santa Barbara by scores of 4-2, 10-3 and 11-5 at Triton Ballpark. 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 was considered 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.

UC San Diego returned 26 lettermen, including seven starting position players and 13 pitchers, off a squad that finished 24-32 in 2022 and eighth in the Big West at 13-17. Top returnees include catcher Emiliano Gonzalez (.312, 18 RBIs in 2022), center fielder Jalen Smith (.305, seven home runs, 34 RBIs) and second baseman/right fielder Michael Fuhrman (.266, six home runs, 27 RBIs). The pitching staff is headed by right-handers Zack Ernisse (4-3, 6.58 ERA in 2022) and Aren Alvarez (3-4, 4.32 ERA, two saves) and southpaw Izaak Martinez (3-2, 3.09 ERA, two saves).

Thirty-eight games into the 2023 season, third baseman Matt Halbach leads all Triton hitters with a .331 average, four home runs and 31 RBIs, followed by outfielder Patrick Hackworth (.330, 12 RBIs), designated hitter Brandon Larson (.308, five home runs, 33 RBIs) and first baseman Doyle Kane (.303, nine doubles, 27 RBIs). On the mound, the Tritons have used 10 different starters, led by right-handers Michael Mitchell (2-0, 1.71 ERA) and Anthony Eyanson (2-0, 3.65 ERA).

Picked by the head coaches to finish eighth in the Big West this season, UC San Diego sports a .284 team batting average with 78 doubles, 16 triples, 26 home runs and 34 steals in 46 attempts. The Tritons' pitching staff has compiled a 4.57 ERA with 349 strikeouts over 335 innings and UC San Diego has committed 41 errors in 38 games for a .970 fielding percentage.

In its third year of transition to Division I and third season in the Big West, UC San Diego has a long history of success in the lower divisions. As a Division III independent from 1980 through 2000, the Tritons earned five NCAA regional playoff berths, including trips to the College World Series in 1987 and 1994. As a Division II member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association from 2001-19, UC San Diego made five College World Series appearances, including runner-up finishes in 2010 and 2017, and earned regional playoff berths 13 times. The Tritons were CCAA tournament champions six times and claimed the CCAA regular season title four times.

Cal Poly and UC San Diego are meeting in baseball for only the third year this weekend. The Mustangs won two of three games at Triton Ballpark a year ago after the Tritons claimed three of four contests at Baggett Stadium in 2021. Drew Thorpe tied a school Division record with 15 strikeouts in the 2022 series opener and combined with Jason Franks on the 7-0 shutout and 20 strikeouts. The Mustangs won the 2021 finale 6-2 as then-freshman right-hander Bryce Warrecker earned his first collegiate victory with three strikeouts, two walks and three hits over five innings. He retired 12 of the final 13 batters of his stint on the mound after giving up two runs on three hits and a Mustang error in the first inning.

The Tritons own a 4-3 advantage in the brief series.

Triton head coach Eric Newman (12th season, 379-238, Texas Tech '97) took over the Triton baseball program when Dan O'Brien, head coach at UC San Diego for 14 seasons from 1998-2011, became head coach at Santa Clara in 2012. Newman is a three-time ABCA/Diamond West Region Coach of the Year and twice earned CCAA Coach of the Year honors.

Newman has compiled 40-win seasons three times (2017-19) and each of his first nine campaigns with the Tritons resulted in winning records. Prior to arriving at La Jolla, Newman was the pitching coach at Nebraska (2008-11) and served as associate or head coach at Dallas Baptist (2002-07). A draft selection of the San Diego Padres, he played eight seasons of professional baseball. Newman played two seasons at Fresno State before finishing his collegiate career at Texas Tech. He earned a master's degree in higher education from Dallas Baptist in 2004 and received a bachelor's degree in family studies at Texas Tech in 1997.

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 five 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, .332 in the CSU Bakersfield series and 330 at CSUN. Against the Matadors, Ryan Stafford was 6-for-13 with three RBIs while Ryan Fenn was 6-for-14. Joe Yorke had five hits and three RBIs. Cal Poly has hit .308, averaging 6.9 runs and 11.1 hits, over its last 21 games.

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 .335 to date with 11 doubles, five home runs and 28 RBIs while Fenn is hitting .343 with a 12-game hitting streak, six doubles and 10 RBIs. Casillas sports a .329 mark with an 18-game hitting streak, 10 doubles and 24 RBIs. Steels is hitting .310 and Yorke .308 while Villegas, the team's home run leader with nine to go with 12 doubles and 27 RBIs, is hitting .275.

The Mustangs are hitting .282 as a team, fifth in the 11-team Big West, and the staff ERA is at 5.99, ninth in the conference. Cal Poly has committed 39 errors in 38 games for a .972 fielding percentage and has stolen 20 bases in 34 attempts.

Lee (21st season, 628-500-2, Pepperdine '83) reached the 600-victory milestone April 22, 2022, 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 1,088-741-5 record over 36-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 plays four more games, all on the road, visiting Pepperdine on Tuesday before traveling to UC Davis for a three-game Big West series Friday through Sunday.

Photo by Kayla Stuart