For the past four years, Jimmy Allen has been a staple at third base for Cal Poly. This Spring, Allen is trying to make an impact in the Dodgers minor league camp.

The first thing he’ll have to do is get comfortable at a different position. At rookie-level Ogden last season, Allen played 49 games at second base and just 2 at the hot corner. In fielding drills, Allen was one of three players at his level taking grounders at second base.

Trying to track a minor league guy down is like trying to chase a beagle on a scent. They aren’t super available and I didn’t want to pester a guy who was in the hot Arizona sun for probably 8-10 hours a day.

Sometime, I’ll catch up with Jimmy and do a proper interview. In the mean time, here are a few galleries to hold you over.

Photos by Owen Main

It’s taken me almost a week to finally get around to putting these together. Hope you enjoy.

Matt Imhof looked great in his final start at Cal Poly before being drafted in the second round by the Phillies this weekend.

Aaron Brown, who was also drafted by the Phillies, made a really nice catch at the wall against Cal Poly.

Arizona State right fielder, Trever Allen, made a great catch in the outfield.

Amidst Cal Poly’s Sunday night rally, the bench took some time to shuffle their feet to the beat.

Taylor Chris gave a heroic relief effort on Sunday night.

Cal Poly’s Jimmy Allen hit a home run in his final game at Baggett Stadium. Here’s the home run trot.

Last, but not least, Cal Poly closer Reed Reilly getting loose in the Mustangs bullpen in the top of the ninth inning, right before Pepperdine went back ahead.

Jimmy Allen and the Mustangs have been pretty much all smiles this season. By Owen Main

Decisions, decisions.

At the end of last season, then-junior Jimmy Allen had a decision to make. After a disappointing 2013 season, Allen was drafted in the 23rd round by the Boston Red Sox. Like other juniors who are drafted, the selection brought-about a major decision. Stay or go.

Allen chose to forgo a pro career for a year and stay at Cal Poly. His presence in the middle of the Cal Poly lineup has been much more consistent than last year, and the Mustangs are poised to make program history this weekend.

“I think it was definitely a great decision,” said Allen this week. “All the success we’ve had and just this whole experience of hosting regionals has been unbelievable.”

So are Cal Poly fans, who saw Allen hit .301, starting all 55 games at third base. For the season, Allen tallied five home runs, 37 RBI’s, and a .802 OPS while becoming Cal Poly’s all-time career hits leader. Allen also has the most career at-bats (passing Ozzie Smith) and most career doubles. He’s also eighth all-time in RBI’s and 10th all-time in triples, cementing his name in the Cal Poly record books.

In baseball, you have ups and downs,” said Allen. “This whole season for the most part has pretty much been up.”

Cal Poly lost only one series all season and never had a losing week en route to a 45-10 regular season and their first ever Big West Conference title. Along with success, Allen has seen a steady increase in fan support in San Luis Obispo over his four seasons manning the hot corner at Baggett Stadium.

“It’s unbelievable. I mean coming in as a freshman, we had  a lot of fans, but nothing like this and now to have sold-out games, it’s just a great thing to see how the whole community is coming out behind us,” said Allen, who played last summer for the San Luis Obispo Blues.

Cal Poly comes into Friday’s game coming off a bye week, something Allen doesn’t think will be an issue for his team, who might have been due for a break after not having a bye week until the final week of the season.

“Honestly, I think the break was great for us,” said Allen “It kind of got us away from the game for a little bit mentally and physically and I think we’re all fired up to come back now and just get on the field again.”

Fill in the blank — Cal Poly will be successful in this week’s regional if they do what?

“Having fun,” said Allen. “It’s just that simple. Have fun and enjoy it… . This team’s awesome, there’s so much great team chemistry. We all enjoy being around each other. It’s just been great.

Whatever happens this weekend, Allen is thankful for his time in San Luis Obispo.

“I’ve just been blessed with the time I’ve had. It’s a memory and just fun times I’ll always remember.”

Matt Imhof might be the best major league prospect on Cal Poly’s roster. By Owen Main

Aaron Fitt, Baseball America college writer, joined Owen on this episode to talk about Cal Poly baseball’s hot start.

We also discussed why it’s hard to get teams from the ACC or SEC out west to play the Mustangs, Big West baseball, and the perceived East coast bias in college baseball.

Aaron is basically a college baseball encyclopedia. If you’re a college baseball fan on the west coast, this podcast is for you.

Find Aaron on twitter @aaronfitt.

After winning 10-1 in the series finale to sweep Baseball America’s preseason 22nd-ranked team, the question I find myself asking is what was most impressive about the sweep.

Pitching

Slater Lee looked awfully good for the Mustangs on Saturday night. By Owen Main

Cal Poly’s pitching starts with Matt Imhof. The junior has the highest of expectations this season after a dominant performance in the UCLA regional last year and a Team USA stint over the summer.

The numbers two and three starters are much more of a question-mark. Slater Lee (Saturday starter) is a true freshman and the Sunday starter, sophomore Casey Bloomquist, had an ERA over 5.00 last season.

After Imhof combined on a shutout with closer Reed Reilly on Friday, Lee and Bloomquist basically followed-suit. Lee struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings on Saturday, giving up just one run. Bloomquist gave the Mustangs five solid innings, also giving up just a single run.

In-all, the Mustangs gave up just three runs in three games against a nationally “elite” offensive team. Runs can sometimes be hard to come by, but when your pitchers pitch like the Mustangs did this weekend, so much pressure is taken off everyone in the lineup. Championship teams have great pitching — plain and simple.

It’s Jimmy

After a somewhat disappointing junior campaign, Cal Poly senior third-baseman Jimmy Allen was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 23rd round. Instead of going pro, Allen decided to spend his summer with the San Luis Obispo Blues and come back to the Mustangs for his senior year. Allen had three RBIs in the first two games of the Kansas State series and provides senior leadership to a relatively young infield.

If Allen is back to the form he showed during his sophomore season, his presence in the heart of Cal Poly’s batting order also gives the Mustangs more quality lineup depth than they probably had last season, when scoring runs became an issue in the Regional.

Swagger

Sophomore Brian Mundell went 5-9 in the weekend series. By Owen Main

They’ve only played three games, but this team seems to exude a little more confidence. All baseball players have swagger, but teams who win consistently always have the most.

The development of sophomores Brian Mundell and Peter Van Gansen is a huge factor in the swagger department. No longer wide-eyed freshmen, the pair of sophomores seem to be fully comfortable and confident from day-one.

Mundell, back this season from Tommy John surgery, led the team with 11 home runs last season and demands respect from opponents. He was 5-9 in the series with five walks and two big doubles to help break Sunday’s game open.

Van Gansen’s one hit in the series was an RBI double, but his bat isn’t the reason he’s started at shortstop since his first game as a freshman. Anchoring the Cal Poly defense, “Pistol Pete” made several smooth plays throughout the series. With Van Gansen as the defensive anchor, Cal Poly only made one error the entire weekend.

Pitching, defense, hitting. Unless baseball has special teams, I’d say this year’s (now 22nd-ranked) Cal Poly squad looked pretty complete in their opening series.

Photos by Owen Main

[See image gallery at www.fansmanship.com]

Freshman Slater Lee showed Cal Poly fans why Larry Lee inserted him as the Saturday starter in the opening series. By Owen Main

Coming into his first collegiate appearance, I wondered how good Slater Lee really was. As a true freshman, could he really step-in and be a number-two starter on a team that has aspirations larger than the regional they made it to last year?

In his debut, Lee didn’t disappoint.

If there is an aspect of the team that is a big question-mark for Cal Poly this year, it is the reliability of the Friday and Saturday starters. On Saturday, Lee struck-out seven and allowed just one run in 6 1/3 innings, giving up only two hits.

The one Kansas State run got off Lee was the result of a double-play ball that went off his foot followed by a swinging bunt. The Wildcats only managed to get one ball out of the infield on Lee all night long.

Mustang true freshman Slater Lee leaves the game in the 7th leading 3-1…6 1/3 IP 1R 2H 7K 1W. Only one ball to the outfield. Nice job!

— 'C.J.' Silas (@cjsilas) February 16, 2014

The season is a long one, but on Saturday, Cal Poly fans saw why Larry Lee put a freshman as his number-two starter.

Assistant coach Teddy Warrecker was especially pleased with Lee’s performance, calling it “special” on Twitter.

Slater Lee was special tonight in his first college start #gamer

— Teddy Warrecker (@teedubb25) February 16, 2014

With the win, Cal Poly clinches the series against Kansas State for the second straight year. They’ll go for the sweep Monday at 1:00.

[See image gallery at www.fansmanship.com]

Jimmy Allen will be at home in San Luis Obispo this summer wtih the SLO Blues. By Owen Main

A little more than a week ago, after getting drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 23rd round, Cal Poly third baseman Jimmy Allen was pondering his future.

His near future and his present are both now firmly planted in San Luis Obispo.

“It’s been kind of crazy,” said Allen after he notched two hits in a game Sunday evening for the SLO Blues. “I love this area and I love being in SLO. It’s a great college town and a degree really means a lot to me because ultimately I’ll be able to fall back on that. I don’t know how long baseball’s going to take in my life so I just wanted to come back especially for my senior year and go from there.”

Allen was sixth on the Cal Poly roster this season, hitting .299 with 15 extra base hits — a significant fall-off from the 2012 campaign when he hit .345 with 27 extra base hits.

“I struggled, but I think it was really good for me because my sophomore season I pretty much was hot the whole year and it kind of humbled me that it’s not that easy. The game is going to get you when you least expect it. I think it just showed that I can struggle but can come out and be the player I know I can be, especially during regionals,” said Allen.

In the NCAA Tournament regional, Allen collected eight hits in three games as he helped Cal Poly win its first-ever NCAA Tournament game.

Instead of being assigned to a low minor league team, Allen is now working on improving, playing for the Blues this summer.

Jimmy Allen follows through on one of his two hits during Sunday’s SLO Blues victory over the Bakersfield Sound. By Owen Main

“It’s tough,” he said. “You’ve got to get your lifts in in the morning but all you want to do is sleep. You get to the field at 1:00 for early hitting, but the game doesn’t get over ’til 9:00 and then you’re home at 10:00. You still have to eat. It’s all about time management and how bad you want to get better and how much you love the game.”

As a local on the team, Allen is a source of local knowledge for other Blues players, most of whom play their college baseball out of state.

“I’ve been here a week to the day, but a lot of guys have wanted to know things to do, places to eat, date ideas, sort of like that stuff, and I give them all my input so it’s fun.”

With Sunday’s win, the Blues are now 25-7 on the season.

Allen also said that closer Reed Reilly will forgo the professional ranks for one more season to return for his junior season.

In other news:

Cal Poly pitcher Matt Imhoff has been named to the Team USA 24-man roster. The team will play three exhibition games over the next few days and then go to Japan to play a 5-game series vs. the host country. There will also be a series with Cuba. Imhoff is the first Cal Poly player to be named to Team USA since the Mustangs moved to Division 1.

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Joey Wagman takes the mound Friday in Cal Poly’s first NCAA Tournament in four years. By Owen Main

Larry Lee and the Cal Poly Mustangs baseball team is heading to UCLA today to play San Diego in the Regional round of the NCAA baseball tournament. Four teams will show up in Westwood and only one will leave Sunday or Monday with a victory and a trip to a Super Regional.

The baseball team is the second major Cal Poly team to head to the NCAA Tournament this year — the women’s basketball team went in March. But unlike in basketball, a baseball team like Cal Poly’s has a real shot to go deep into the tournament. Here’s why.

The Regional Tournament Structure

Instead of winning six straight games (as is necessary in the NCAA Basketball Tournament), Cal Poly just needs to win three double-elimination tournaments to win the whole thing. Victory in even the first weekend’s Regional would put Cal Poly in baseball’s “Sweet 16.” Baseball is a funny sport — the most talented team doesn’t always win. With a few hot pitchers, solid defense, and timely hitting, a team can grit its way to success in a tournament like this.

Pitching

The adage is that in a baseball postseason, it all comes down to pitching. This is true, to an extent. A great pitcher or a pitcher who is hot can make a huge difference. Like a goalie in hockey or a great quarterback, a hot pitcher can steal a team a game. That being said, pitchers can generally only start once on a regional weekend. This means that pitching depth also comes into play. With games on possibly four consecutive days, pitching depth is a huge deal. Pitchers who maybe got small amounts of mid-week innings during the season could be called upon in a potential elimination game on Sunday or Monday, when the pressure is on.

Cal Poly’s top two starters –Joey Wagman and Matt Imhoff — have shown they have what it takes to get hot and dominate single games. If those two can get hot and win, finishing a potential series weekend might be a little more challenging. With Sunday and Wednesday pitchers going late in a regional weekend, anything can happen.

Non-Conference

Cal Poly’s top-25 RPI is due to very good non-conference series’ against Kansas State, Washington, and San Francisco. The Mustangs have played in unfamiliar confines, which should help them as they head to Jackie Robinson Stadium, the home of UCLA.

The Big West

Last season, the second-place Mustangs — and by proxy the Big West — was snubbed as only one team made the NCAA Tournament from the conference. This season, three teams got bids from the Big West. This means that Big West teams like Cal Poly has also been tested throughout the season in-conference.

______________________________________________

So, how would I actually rate Cal Poly’s chances in this tournament? Because it’s baseball, it’s really hard to say. Here’s what I am confident in: though they have not played well on the road in-conference this year, I think they have as good a chance as UCLA to get out of the regional. They’ve played tough teams all year and some of their players still haven’t hit their stride offensively. If guys like David Armendariz and Jimmy Allen can match the punch that Nick Torres, Brian Mundell, Denver Chavez, and Elliot Stewart have been providing, the Mustangs could be looking at a Super Regional. If the pitching holds up. Darn it, it always comes down to pitching, doesn’t it?…

Larry Lee has been coaching baseball on the Central Coast for 30 years. Photo courtesy of Cal Poly Athletics

Larry Lee is San Luis Obispo college baseball. A San Luis Obispo High School graduate, Lee has been coaching college baseball in San Luis Obispo for about 30 years. Lee spent 16 seasons at Cuesta College and is getting ready for his 11th at Cal Poly.

In 2012, Cal Poly finished the season with a flurry, winning their last 7 games of the season and 9 of their last 10. Despite their 16-8 conference record (2nd place) and 36-20 overall record, the Mustangs were left out of postseason consideration. Cal State Fullerton (17-7, 36-21 overall), won the conference and received the only bid for the Big West into the tournament. Lee talked about why this is the case, what he has done to try to combat an east-coast bias, and the outlook for this year’s squad.

In game one, the Mustangs held on late to win a tightly-contested pitcher’s duel. Mason Radeke hurled 7 2/3rds solid innings for Poly, walking one and striking out eight. The Mustangs plated their two runs with RBI singles in the 5th and 6th innings. Coach Larry Lee was “small-balling” the Bruins defense all game, as Poly successfully executed five sacrifice bunts.

With Radeke cruising in his shutout coupe into the 8th, Bruin 3rd baseman Cody Regis blasted a solo home run, getting a ball up into the draft that was blowing out to left field all day. After Radeke then give up a bases on balls, Coach Lee went to Mustang Junior closer, Jeff Johnson, to get the final five outs and shut the door. Johnson, who’s fastball touches 95mph, came into the game having struck out twelve batters and walking zero in seven innings of relief work thus far this season.

Johnson induced a fly out to left and after the potential tying run stole 2nd, got a swinging strikeout for the third out with his “out” pitch — a nasty, professional-level split-fingered fastball. In the 9th, Jimmy Allen made a great catch on a slicing line drive into left field for the first out of the inning. Denver Chavez then handled a ground ball at second, and Johnson stuck out the final batter swinging, in true closer fashion.

Mustangs win 2-1. Cal Poly had 2 runs, 8 hits, 0 errors and left 6 on-base. UCLA finished with 1 run, 5 hits, 0 errors and left 4 on base.

In game two, UCLA turned the burner up to “high.”  They looked motivated, having lost such a close contest after endurung the past three nights in the Embassy Suites Hotel watching raindrops drizzle down the windows.

Tyler Rahmatulla lead off the top of the 1st with a double into the right-center field gap. He was then sacrificed to third, and team RBI leader Dean Espy lined him home. After another single, Poly catcher Jordan Hadlock saved a wild pitch with runners on 1st and 2nd, only to then try and back-pick the runner at second, throwing behind him and skipping the ball into right field. Cal Poly southpaw Kyle Anderson then walked the bases loaded and proceeded to walk in the second UCLA run in the 1st inning.  He only then narrowly escaped further damage by finally recording the third out.

Starting the contest by giving up two runs in the top of the first put the Mustangs at a disadvantage. The fact that they were facing UCLA ace pitcher Trevor Bauer made it seem like they were instead down five or six. Bauer, a 20-year old junior who enrolled at UCLA at age 17, and who last season lead the entire nation in strikeouts (165) is expected to be a first round pick in this year’s draft. Bauer showed not only the physical talent to back up the hype, but also showed a bit of the “it” factor. Every inning he sprinted to the mound and threw his first warm-up pitch before the Cal Poly outfielders were even halfway back to their dugout.  Great pace, kid.

UCLA extended their lead to 3-0 in the second inning after the Mustangs failed to record outs due to errors on two consecutive Bruin sacrifice bunt attempts. At that point it seemed circus music was faintly audible in the distance.  Coach Lee then gave Anderson the hook and replaced him with Joey Wagman. The right-handed reliever fared no better than Anderson, as before Poly was able to retire the Bruins in the top of the second, the scoreboard read UCLA 6, Cal Poly 0.

Bower then proceeded to throw dart after dart after dart. In the bottom of the second he struck out the side, all swinging and all on high fastballs. After the third inning was in the books, it was 6-0 Bruins, and Bowers’ strikeout total was at six.

On the Mustang side of the mound, Wagman settled down by changing speeds and mixing in a straight change-up well with a fastball that could barely break a plane of glass. Wagman retired eight in a row into the 5th inning as the early evening shadows began to creep towards home plate.

The Bruin flame-thrower continued to simply overpower Mustang hitters through the 6th, with his mid 90’s fastball still popping and his nearly untouchable, sharp-breaking curve ball buckling knees. Bower was pulled after the 7th with the decision already in hand, notching twelve total strikeouts.

UCLA had 8 runs, 11 hits, 1 error and left 7 on-base. Poly finished with 0 runs, 3 hits, 2 errors and left 5 on base.

The story for the day for the Mustangs was their day and night performances between game one and game two. For how well they proved they can win close games versus quality opponents in the first game, they also showed how easily they can lose their way for an entire game simply by making a few early mistakes in the second.

What was taken from the UCLA side of things was the utter dominance of Bauer. The only negative thing that was viewed from the coach in me was how violent his delivery is. Once this kid reaches the professional level this winter, his mechanics are going to have to be extremely simplified to prevent future injury.

Bauer’s wind-up and release is most comparable to Max Scherzer when he was a first-round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks out of the University of Missouri. It is a slow culmination that turns rapidly into a thrashing of knees and elbows, followed by an extremely violent whip that lacks anything resembling a balanced finish. As the seams hit the leather, Bauer was consistently recoiling towards the first base foul-line, which ultimately puts a lot of undue pressure on the arm.

The only explanation of the lack of quality mechanics you usually see at this level could very well be a situation where the talent out-weighs the coaching. UCLA’s pitching coach could be doing a lot more for the sake of an elite talent such as this, but it seems he is obviously just letting the kid do his own thing, which is unfortunate.

The laugh of the day occurred late in the second game. Cal Poly infielder Michael Hoo, a sophomore from Cupertino, was substituted in for clean up duty at first base. “Hoo” was literally on first. What? I don’t know? Third base!

The Mustangs (7-9) travel to Pepperdine tomorrow for a single-game afternoon affair, only to return back home to host the Minnesota Golden Gophers for a series this upcoming weekend. See you at the ballpark.