Mustangs Take Second Big West Series After 6-2 Game Two Win

Saturday, March 14

San Luis Obispo, CA

3:05 PM

11-7, 5-0

Cal State Bakersfield

7-12, 1-4

Cal State Bakersfield

Cal Poly

Photo by: Joe Kelly

Mustangs Take Second Big West Series After 6-2 Game Two Win

3/14/2026 8:30:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — A pair of freshmen from Whitney High School (Rocklin, Calif.) combined on a seven-hitter while Nate Castellon and Casey Murray Jr. each had three hits as Cal Poly clinched the conference series against Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday with a 6-2 victory at Baggett Stadium.

Right-hander Corden Pettey (2-1) pitched into the sixth inning and southpaw Brady Estes earned a four-inning save for the Mustangs, who extended their winning streak to seven games and moved to 5-0 in the Big West, one year after starting conference play with a 12-0 mark.

Cal Poly is 11-7 for the season, thanks to a .333 team batting average during its current winning streak and a .332 mark in its five Big West games. Cal State Bakersfield fell to 7-12 (1-4 Big West).

With UC Santa Barbara's 5-4 loss at UC Davis, Cal Poly sits alone atop the Big West standings at 5-0, one game ahead of the Gauchos and Cal State Fullerton, each 4-1.

Pettey scattered seven hits over five-plus innings, giving up single runs in the fourth and fifth frames and striking out four with one walk. Estes did not allow a run or a hit during his four-inning stint on the mound, surrendering one walk while striking out a pair of Roadrunners.

Castellon produced two singles and a double at the plate, lifting his average to .346 for the season. Hitting just .238 midway through the Washington State series three weeks ago, Castellon is 22-for-57 (.386) with seven doubles during his last 13 games.

Murray contributed two singles and a double as well, moving his average at the plate to .348. He currently has an eight-game hitting streak and is 11-for-22 (.500) in his last five games with four doubles, a triple and two home runs.

With a .214 batting average, Dante Vachini was held out of the lineup in the series finale at Hawai'i as well as Tuesday's midweek game versus Fresno State. The left fielder got another chance this weekend and has responded with two hits in each of the first two games against Cal State Bakersfield, adding a double and RBI triple Saturday to his single and double Friday. Vachini's average is now at .250.

Cal State Bakersfield's seven hits were produced by seven different batters. Leadoff hitter Jacob May doubled and scored a run in the fourth and hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth to account for both Roadrunner runs in the game.

Vachini's RBI triple gave Cal Poly a 1-0 lead in the second inning and the Mustangs stretched the advantage to 4-0 in the third on a Roadrunner throwing error, Murray's run-scoring double and a sacrifice fly by Braxton Thomas.

After Cal State Bakersfield trimmed the deficit to 4-2 with single runs in the fourth and fifth frames, Cal Poly got those runs back in the sixth on another Cal State Bakersfield throwing error and Alejandro Garza's RBI single to left field.

The loss was charged to Roadrunner starter Shane McAlinden (1-4) as the junior right-hander gave up six runs (two earned) and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings with three walks and one strikeout.

With the win, Cal Poly evened its home record at 6-6. The Mustangs are 5-1 on the road.

The series finale will be played Sunday at 1:05 p.m. with Cal Poly junior southpaw Josh Volmerding (0-0, 6.48 ERA) facing Cal State Bakersfield junior right-hander Roman Bracamonte (0-1, 13.97).