Mustangs in the Collegiate Summer Leagues Update
8/10/2026 7:55:00 PM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Seven current Cal Poly baseball players and eight newcomers competed this summer in collegiate leagues across the country.
Three returning pitchers are posting solid numbers this summer.
Sean McGrath is 1-0 with a 1.47 ERA for the Wenatchee AppleSox, striking out 18 batters over 18 1/3 innings. He earned his victory August 1 against the Kamloops NorthPaws, allowing one run and two hits in 6 1/3 innings with five strikeouts.
McGrath, who has made four starts and one relief appearance on the mound this summer, struck out six in four innings against the Victoria HarbourCats on July 18.
Arlo Pendleton sports a 3-2 record and 3.86 ERA with the Corvallis Knights. In seven appearances (four starts), Pendleton has struck out 28 batters in 23 1/3 innings, averaging 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings.
Pendleton's victories were recorded against the Portland Pickles on July 7 (four innings, three hits, six strikeouts) and twice versus the Yakima Valley Pippins (five innings, five strikeouts on July 26 and one run and two hits with six strikeouts in five innings on August 1).
Pitching for the San Luis Obispo Blues, Troy Cooper made four appearances (three starts) on the mound and compiled a 1-1 record and 2.13 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings.
Cooper earned his victory against the Santa Barbara Foresters on July 18, striking out two in four innings, and also tossed four scoreless frames versus the San Diego Bombers on July 2 with four strikeouts.
At the plate, Braxton Thomas sported a .312 average for the Morehead City Marlins in the Coastal Plains League. In 18 games, Thomas went 20-for-64 with two doubles, a pair of home runs and 10 RBIs.
Thomas has recorded eight multiple-hit games, including a 3-for-4 performance with one RBI against the Zebulon Devil Dogz on July 3. He also had three consecutive two-hit games July 18-20-22 and knocked in three runs with a two-run double and a sacrifice fly against Virginia Beach on July 8.
Outfielder Owen Meli hit .262 in 25 games for the Conejo Oaks with two doubles, a pair of triples and 17 RBIs. He stole nine of nine bases and produced eight multiple-hit games, including three-hit contests against the Philippines Baseball Group on June 23 and Orange County Riptide on June 27.
Meli knocked in four runs with a single and triple against the San Diego Bombers on July 8 and drove in three runs versus the Arroyo Seco Saints on June 21 with a single and double.
Two other Mustangs played in the prestigious Cape Cod League this summer.
Infielder Nate Castellon hit .333 for the Harwich Mariners, who are playing Yarmouth-Dennis in the league's best-of-three championship series this week. Castellon, who has not played in the postseason for Harwich, doubled four times and knocked in 10 runs with two steals in three attempts during the regular season.
Outfielder Dante Vachini hit .167 with 10 hits in 23 games for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. Seven of his hits were for extra bases -- three doubles, a triple and three home runs -- and Vachini was 5-for-5 in stolen bases while scoring 10 runs.
Vachini has played four positions for the Red Sox this summer -- second base, left field, right field and designated hitter -- and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the league's championship series against Bourne on Sunday.
Among the Mustang newcomers playing this summer, three sport batting averages well above the .300 mark.
Infielder KG Hattori hit .342 in 31 games with the Bellingham Bells, including five doubles, a triple and one home run with 27 RBIs. He has 12 multiple-hit games to his credit, including a 4-for-6 game with a double and four RBIs against Wenatchee on July 26.
Hattori was 3-for-5 with a double, home run and five RBIs against the Marion Berries on July 28 and produced a 12-game hitting streak from July 16-30, going 18-for-51 (.353) with 18 RBIs. He was named Bellingham's Most Inspirational Player.
Outfielder Max Medina hit .318 during the regular season with the Corvallis Knights, knocking in 32 RBIs and stealing 15 of 20 bases in 44 games.
Medina notched multiple hits 19 times, including six three-hit games and a four-hit contest with two doubles and one RBI against Portland on July 9. He was selected to play in the WCL All-Star Game in July.
Infielder Richie Moore hit .323 for the Utah Marshalls Red Hots with 32 hits in 31 games. Among his totals were four doubles, a triple, and three home runs with 26 RBIs and Moore stole nine of 10 bases.
Playing for the Mat-Su Miners in the Alaska Baseball League, catcher Hayzen Inouye hit .270 in 22 games with no extra-base hits and 10 RBIs. His seven multiple-hit games all were two-hit efforts and Inouye knocked in two runs in a game four times.
Dane Cunningham was 2-for-8 with one RBI in two games with the Inland Valley Baseball Association Pirates.
On the mound, Kaden Nicholls pitched in five games with two starts for Bellingham and was 0-0 with a 5.00 ERA and 10 strikeouts over nine frames. His longest stint was three innings, allowing a run and four hits against the Edmonton Riverhawks on August 3.
Sam Eldredge was 0-1 with a pair of saves in 12 appearances on the mound for the Utah Marshalls Anchors. Eldredge struck out 19 batters over 16 1/3 innings.
Kelley Crawford pitched just one scoreless inning for Wenatchee on June 24 against Yakima Valley.
The West Coast League playoffs started August 7 with defending league champion Bellingham at Nanaimo, Wenatchee at Kelowna and Corvallis at Walla Walla.
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