Fresno State
Mustangs Host Central Valley Pair to Start Seven Game Homestand
3/9/2026 6:30:00 PM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Following its first 4-0 week of the 2026 baseball season, including a sweep of its Big West Conference-opening series at Hawai'i, Cal Poly opens a seven-game home stand Tuesday afternoon as Fresno State pays a visit to Baggett Stadium for the first of three non-conference midweek games between the Central California rivals.
First pitch is set for 5:05 p.m. with freshman right-hander Sean McGrath (0-2, 18.00 ERA) to start on the mound for Coach Larry Lee's Mustangs. The Bulldogs, coached by Atascadero High School and Fresno State alumnus Ryan Overland, will counter with freshman right-hander Jordan Haver (1-0, 1.59 ERA).
The 195th meeting between the Central California rivals will be video streamed on ESPN+ with Dylan Foreman on the call. Links for the video stream as well as live stats are available on the baseball schedule page at GoPoly.com.
Cal Poly compiled a .300 team batting average in its sweep of the Rainbow Warriors by scores of 6-2, 10-7 in 11 innings and 7-3. The Mustangs are 8-7 for the season with a four-game winning streak and, along with UC Santa Barbara, own a 3-0 Big West mark.
Playing an ambitious pre-conference schedule, Fresno State is 7-7, dropping two of three games against Utah, winning three of four contests versus Pepperdine, taking two of three games against Stanford and, last weekend, falling in all three games at 2025 College World Series qualifier Arizona by scores of 6-0, 9-5 and 14-4.
The Bulldogs, who will become members of the Pac-12 Conference on July 1, open their final Mountain West Conference slate this weekend at home versus Nevada.
Outfielder/designated hitter Cam Hoiland was 6-for-15 (.400) in the Hawai'i series with two doubles, a home run and five RBIs while shortstop Nate Castellon, second baseman Gavin Spiridonoff and center fielder Casey Murray Jr. all collected five hits. Castellon scored four times while Murray produced a double, two triples and one home run, scoring five times. Catcher Ryan Tayman was 4-for-12 with two doubles and three RBIs.
The Mustang pitching staff allowed 3.72 earned runs per game in the Hawai'i series and posted a 3.32 ERA for last week's four games, allowing just 14 runs in the four victories.
A graduate of San Marin High School, McGrath will be making his fifth appearance on the mound for the Mustangs on Tuesday. He did not allow a run in one-inning stints versus Campbell and Washington State before unbeaten and 25th-ranked USC scored 10 runs on 11 hits in McGrath's next two trips to the bump.
Castellon is Cal Poly's top hitter 15 games into the 2026 season with a .323 average, including seven doubles, 16 runs scored and four RBIs. Murray is hitting .298 with eight extra-base hits and six RBIs, followed by Spiridonoff (.281, four RBIs) and third baseman Alejandro Garza (.269, 13 RBIs).
Fresno State's offense has been paced by third baseman Mikey Boyd's .425 average, four doubles and 12 RBIs. Center fielder Sky Collins has a .358 average with nine RBIs, shortstop Brady Hewitt is hitting .333 with five doubles and second baseman Owen Faust sports a .304 mark.
Haver has appeared in three games on the mound for the Bulldogs, all in relief. The Oakdale High School graduate earned the victory against Stanford by allowing just one run and one hit over 2 2/3 innings. He also pitched one scoreless inning against Pepperdine in February and two shutout innings at Arizona last weekend.
Cal Poly swept all three midweek games against Fresno State last year by scores of 7-3, 13-5 and 11-6, but the Bulldogs still own a 121-73 advantage in the all-time series which began in 1945. The Mustangs have won 29 of their last 41 games against the Bulldogs, including three of five games during Fresno State's national championship season in 2008.
Lee is 31-14 against Fresno State while Overland owns a 1-7 mark versus Cal Poly.
In his 24th season at Cal Poly, Lee has compiled a 721-559-2 record with the Mustangs and, combined with his 16 years at Cuesta College, is 1,181-800-5 overall as a head coach. He guided Cal Poly to the Big West tournament crown in 2025 with a 4-1 mark and his program's fourth trip to the NCAA postseason, going 2-2 in the NCAA Eugene Regional.
Overland (fourth season as head coach, 101-92, Fresno State '08) was an assistant coach under Mike Batesole for 10 seasons before he was named interim head coach on Dec. 30, 2022. A catcher on the Bulldogs' 2008 national championship team, Overland played in 186 games, compiled a career .273 batting average with 11 doubles, seven home runs and 54 RBIs, and was a part of three Western Athletic Conference championships before earning his bachelor's degree in communication studies in 2008.
Overland was a graduate assistant coach at South Dakota State (2009-10) while earning his master's degree in health, physical education and recreation. He then served as Fresno State's baseball intern for the 2011 season and volunteer assistant coach in 2012. Overland was named a full-time assistant coach at Nevada in the fall of 2012 before he was hired by Fresno State prior to the 2013 season.
A 2004 graduate of Atascadero High School, Overland played baseball and basketball for the Greyhounds. He was a pitcher and catcher in baseball, earning three team MVP awards and first-team All-Los Padres League and All-San Luis Obispo County honors in both 2003 and 2004. Overland's father, Dale Overland, was head baseball coach at San Luis Obispo High School for seven seasons (1989-95), leading the Tigers to the 1990 CIF-Southern Section 4-A Division championship.
Ryan Overland earned his 100th win as Fresno State head coach on March 1, an 11-8 triumph against Stanford, which clinched for the Bulldogs their first series win over the Cardinal in 27 years.
Cal Poly continues its seven-game home stand this weekend with a Big West series against Cal State Bakersfield. The Mustangs also host UC Davis the following weekend for another conference series.
