Mustangs take series, beat Anteaters 10-3

Peter Van Gansen races home in the second inning of Sunday’s game. By Owen Main

It’s happened twice before this season. In two big series’ against top-25 teams (UCLA and UC Santa Barbara), Cal Poly’s opponent has beaten Matt Imhof twice in the Friday night series opener.

History repeated itself again this weekend as the Mustangs shook-off a 3-2 Friday night defeat against UC Irvine to win Saturday and Sunday and take the series over the Anteaters With the win, Cal Poly closes to within a half game of them in the standings, two games behind in the loss column.

Starting pitcher, Casey Bloomquist, was very good once again for Cal Poly, giving up two runs in six innings to keep his ERA at 1.52. Bloomquist improved his record to 11-1 on the season.

Pick me up

Matt Imhof is clearly Cal Poly’s ace, but when he has failed to grab the big win against a top opponent, the Mustangs have generally responded well.

If Cal Poly is to do anything in the postseason, they’ll have to be able to bounce back from adversity, both in their pitching staff and with their bats. The collective memory of the three series Cal Poly came back to win could be an important factor, especially if and when they lose a game.

Pitching depth

Matt Imhof is an ace. Casey Bloomquist has been an amazing number-two. After that, Cal Poly’s starting pitching looked awfully thin for much of the middle of the season.

Recently though, things look a little better. Danny Zandona mustered a strong start against Pepperdine last Tuesday and freshman, Justin Calomeni, pitched great for six innings yesterday and part of a combined shutout.

The other good news is that Cal Poly has a pair of relief aces in closer Reed Reiley and lefty Taylor Chris.

Having four quality starters and two ace relievers is a good thing, but six pitchers are not be enough in the postseason. Reed Reilly cannot save every game, especially when he pitches multiple innings. That’s where someone like Bryan Granger will come in big, especially in long relief. Granger was a starter last season and has been generally effective out of the bullpen this year.

After Granger (2.53 ERA), things get a little less solid. Slater Lee (5.81 ERA) was dynamite early, but seems to have hit a wall. Michael Dingillian (6.23 ERA), Jearl Jesson (8.31 ERA), and Nick Suniga (9.00 ERA) are the only other Mustangs to take the hill this season. If Cal Poly is to think about advancing in a regional or College World Series format, I would venture to guess that one or more of these deep bullpen pitchers will have to provide some number of innings of serviceable performance.

Like my high school coach was sometimes apt to say, “Who’s going to be a hero?”

The mustache of destiny

I had to put this note in there. Much respect to UC Irvine Sunday starter, Evan Brock. Brock brought an 8-3 record into Sunday afternoon’s game along with a very solid 2.85 ERA. All the buzz in the stands was Brock’s amazing caterpillar mustache. I mean, the thing was amazing.

It was so good, I went out of my way to take a photo of him earlier in the series. Everyone had their numberless warm-up shirts on and I didn’t know who he was. When I saw him on the mound on Sunday, there was no way to wipe the smile off my face.

Dat ‘stache tho! By Owen Main

His mustache made Zack Zehner’s early-season facial hair look like a middle-schooler’s. It would have made Tom Selleck blush and given him instant respect from the likes of Ron Swanson. I don’t know how else to describe it, but I did include a picture, so you be the judge.

Photos by Owen Main