UC Riverside
Mustangs Close Regular Season vs. Riverside with Tournament Place Already Set
5/14/2025 7:00:00 PM | Baseball
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The Mustangs are Big West Championship bound! ??
— Cal Poly Baseball (@CalPolyBSB) May 11, 2025
With results around the conference this weekend, Cal Poly is not only guaranteed a spot in the tournament but officially locked up a top-2 place! ??#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/VVNkUSM0y0
Final week of the regular season! ???#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/FX9nJnCyHQ
— Cal Poly Baseball (@CalPolyBSB) May 12, 2025
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly (34-16, 20-7 BW) already solidified its number two seed placement in next week's Big West Championship and still even has a shot to become co-regular season champions with UC Irvine.
The Mustangs would need to sweep UC Riverside (16-33, 5-22 BW) and for the Anteaters to drop all three games to Cal State Fullerton. However, Cal Poly is locked into its second seed due to being three games ahead of Fullerton with a tiebreaker in-hand while three games behind UC Irvine with the Anteaters having a tiebreaker in-hand.
Cal State Fullerton needs one win to clinch the third seed and another date with Cal Poly in the Big West Championship next Thursday at 7 p.m. at Goodwin Field, of which the Titans are the conference host this season. UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara and Hawai'i all 14-13 and battling for the fourth and fifth seeds. UCSD is at Hawai'i and UCSB hosts Cal State Bakersfield.
Previously in Mustang Baseball
Cal Poly has won 33 of its last 44 games after a 1-5 start and also has double-digit hits in 31 of last 43 games. The Mustangs took eight of 10 Big West series last year and are trying to do the same this year.
A 2-1 series win (W 17-1, L 6-11, W 10-9) against CSUN last weekend helped seal Cal Poly's place in the renewed Big West Baseball Championship. Zach Daudet and Alejandro Garza combined for six hits and five RBIs while Griffin Naess tossed six scoreless innings for his fifth win as Cal Poly dominated CSUN 17-1 in the series opener.
Cal Poly's five-game winning streak ended Saturday as CSUN overcame 1-0 and 4-2 deficits with 11 runs in the middle innings en route to an 11-6 game two victory.
In the rubber match, Casey Murray Jr. belted a two-run home run to give Cal Poly the lead for good in the third inning and Christopher Downs pitched 4 1/3 innings of one-run two-hit baseball as Cal Poly held on for a 10-9 series finale victory, which officially sealed their fate as the tournament two-seed.
Mustangs Riding High
A few Mustangs are on hitting streaks: 10 by Fenn (18-for-40, .450), 9 by Garza (18 of 41, .439), 7 by Murray (11-for-32, .344) and 6 by Kordic (8-for-21, .381) and Collins.
Daudet is clearly back in midseason form, as the first baseman is 11-for-21 (.526) in his last four games with three hits in each of the three games at CSUN. Daudet is No. 49 in the nation with his .381 batting average and No. 52 for on-base percentage (.494).
Garza (No. 12) and Fenn (No. 20) remain some of the toughest batters to strike out in Division I baseball, both striking out just 14 times this season. Elsewhere in the batting rankings is Nate Castellon, tied for No. 14 in the country for sac bunts (11).
On the pitching end, Josh Volmerding is tied for second-most games started in the country (14) and Griffin Naess is sixth in the conference for ERA (3.21).
Cal Poly is No. 8 in the nation in fielding percentage (.981), No. 11 in hits (.558), and No. 22 in batting average (.311).
Previewing UC Riverside
UC Riverside is 16-33 overall and last in the Big West at 5-22. The Highlanders have not had a winning season since 2011 (excluding the 2020 COVID season when they were 9-7 before the season was shut down).
Cal Poly has won six straight (two sweeps) versus the Highlanders and owns a 128-90 advantage in the series that began in 1970. The Mustangs are 31-9 against UCR over the last 13 years and Larry Lee is 43-21 against UCR.
The Highlands are last in the conference for batting average (.244) and second to CSUN for worst ERA (7.28). Junior outfielder Robert Pitts is far and away UC Riverside's top offensive weapon this season, as the ex-Michigan and Cypress College player is tied for 11th in the Big West for hits (63) and tied for 5th in doubles (15).
Sophomore southpaw pitcher Joshua Martinez paces the Big West with 30 batters struck out looking but is 2-6 (7.08 ERA) this season through 23 appearances and seven starts.
Thursday's matchup will likely feature Griffin Naess versus Adrian Blanchet while Friday sees Josh Volmerding duel Matthew O'Brien. Saturday's Senior Day pitcher matchup is up in the air for the moment.
