Friday, March 14
Long Beach, CA
7:30 PM
11-6, 4-0
3
at
1
Long Beach State
6-11, 1-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Cal Poly
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
3
6
0
Long Beach State
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
5
1
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Naess, Griffin (2-1)
L: Montgomery, Kellan (4-1)
S: Sagouspe, Tanner (3)
Batting:
2B: Murray Jr., Casey 1
HR: Collins, Jack 1
RBI: Collins, Jack 2 ; Downing, Jake 1
SH: Fenn, Ryan 1 ; Kordic, Dylan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Fenn, Ryan 1 ; Collins, Jack 1 ; Murray Jr., Casey 1
SB: Fenn, Ryan 1
CS: Daudet, Zach 1
HBP: Fenn, Ryan 1
Batting:
SH: Briseno, Armando 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Stewart, Conner 1
SB: Ashworth, Kyle 1 ; Cadena, Nathan 2 ; Stewart, Conner 1
HBP: Champagne, Alex 1 ; Charpiot, Connor 1 ; Stewart, Conner 1 ; Elliot, Easton 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
INF
/ BaseballC
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics
Mustangs Extend to Six Straight Wins in 3-1 Pitcher's Duel
3/15/2025 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Catcher Jack Collins smashed a two-run home run, designated hitter Jake Downing added an RBI single, and four Cal Poly pitchers combined to limit Long Beach State to one run and five hits as the Mustangs extended their winning streak to six with a 3-1 Big West victory Friday night at Blair Field.
Collins' fifth blast of the season, a 420-foot shot with an exit speed of 104 mph in the ballpark he called home last year, gave Cal Poly a 2-0 lead and Downing capped the three-run fourth-inning outburst with his run-scoring single to right-center field.
Those three runs held up as starter Griffin Naess (2-1) and three relievers earned a combined nine strikeouts and held the .233-hitting Dirtbags quiet except for a single run in the seventh.
Cal Poly (11-6, 4-0 Big West) has won its first four conference games for the first time in three years. The Mustangs will try to make it five -- they haven't done that since joining the Big West in 1997 -- Saturday night.
After a 90-minute delay at the start due to a misty rain that finally moved out of the area, Cal Poly won for the 10th time in its last 11 games since a 1-5 start. Long Beach State (6-11, 1-3 Big West) suffered its fourth straight loss and seven in its last eight contests.
With second baseman Ryan Fenn, who missed five games due to a rib injury, and shortstop Nate Castellon, who was out one contest with a knee sprain, back in the lineup Friday, Cal Poly jumped on then-undefeated Dirtbag starter Kellan Montgomery (4-1) for three runs in the fourth frame.
Fenn opened with a single and, one out later, Collins put Cal Poly on the scoreboard first with his two-run blast, notching his 25th and 26th RBIs of the season. Collins, who had his 14-game hitting streak snapped last weekend, has reached base safely in all 17 Mustang games.
Casey Murray Jr. singled up the middle, moved to second on Dylan Kordic's sacrifice bunt and, after a Dirtbag error that would have ended the inning, Downing singled on an 0-2 pitch to drive home Murray.
Naess (2-1) held Long Beach State at bay through his six scoreless innings of work, striking out four, walking two, and scattering four hits.
Troy Cooper secured one out, Jake Torres struck out four consecutive batters during his 1 2/3 innings of work on the mound, and Tanner Sagouspe earned all three outs via strikeout for his third save.
Long Beach State loaded the bases with one out in the third inning, but Naess induced Dylan Lina to ground into a 6-4-3 double play. The Dirtbags also loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh. A balk tallied the run but Torres closed the door with an infield fly and a full-count called third strike.
Naess turned in the defensive play of the game for Cal Poly. With two outs and Dirtbag runners at second and third, the sophomore from Laguna Beach High School turned 180 degrees and snagged a hot comebacker off the bat of Easton Elliot back-handed before throwing to first base to quell a Long Beach State rally.
Murray finished with two of Cal Poly's six hits. The Mustangs' string of four straight games with double-digit runs and a streak of eight of nine games with double-digit hits both came to an end.
The second game of the series will be played Saturday at 6 p.m. with sophomore southpaw Josh Volmerding (1-1, 9.33 ERA) on the mound for Cal Poly.
Sunday's series finale begins at 1 o'clock.
Collins' fifth blast of the season, a 420-foot shot with an exit speed of 104 mph in the ballpark he called home last year, gave Cal Poly a 2-0 lead and Downing capped the three-run fourth-inning outburst with his run-scoring single to right-center field.
Those three runs held up as starter Griffin Naess (2-1) and three relievers earned a combined nine strikeouts and held the .233-hitting Dirtbags quiet except for a single run in the seventh.
Cal Poly (11-6, 4-0 Big West) has won its first four conference games for the first time in three years. The Mustangs will try to make it five -- they haven't done that since joining the Big West in 1997 -- Saturday night.
After a 90-minute delay at the start due to a misty rain that finally moved out of the area, Cal Poly won for the 10th time in its last 11 games since a 1-5 start. Long Beach State (6-11, 1-3 Big West) suffered its fourth straight loss and seven in its last eight contests.
With second baseman Ryan Fenn, who missed five games due to a rib injury, and shortstop Nate Castellon, who was out one contest with a knee sprain, back in the lineup Friday, Cal Poly jumped on then-undefeated Dirtbag starter Kellan Montgomery (4-1) for three runs in the fourth frame.
Fenn opened with a single and, one out later, Collins put Cal Poly on the scoreboard first with his two-run blast, notching his 25th and 26th RBIs of the season. Collins, who had his 14-game hitting streak snapped last weekend, has reached base safely in all 17 Mustang games.
Casey Murray Jr. singled up the middle, moved to second on Dylan Kordic's sacrifice bunt and, after a Dirtbag error that would have ended the inning, Downing singled on an 0-2 pitch to drive home Murray.
Naess (2-1) held Long Beach State at bay through his six scoreless innings of work, striking out four, walking two, and scattering four hits.
Troy Cooper secured one out, Jake Torres struck out four consecutive batters during his 1 2/3 innings of work on the mound, and Tanner Sagouspe earned all three outs via strikeout for his third save.
Long Beach State loaded the bases with one out in the third inning, but Naess induced Dylan Lina to ground into a 6-4-3 double play. The Dirtbags also loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh. A balk tallied the run but Torres closed the door with an infield fly and a full-count called third strike.
Naess turned in the defensive play of the game for Cal Poly. With two outs and Dirtbag runners at second and third, the sophomore from Laguna Beach High School turned 180 degrees and snagged a hot comebacker off the bat of Easton Elliot back-handed before throwing to first base to quell a Long Beach State rally.
Murray finished with two of Cal Poly's six hits. The Mustangs' string of four straight games with double-digit runs and a streak of eight of nine games with double-digit hits both came to an end.
The second game of the series will be played Saturday at 6 p.m. with sophomore southpaw Josh Volmerding (1-1, 9.33 ERA) on the mound for Cal Poly.
Sunday's series finale begins at 1 o'clock.
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