Cal Poly baseball drops series to Anteaters

It’s possible that this Friday is the last time fans will see Casey Bloomquist pitch for Cal Poly at Baggett Stadium. By Owen Main

After winning the series opener on Friday night, Cal Poly dropped the final two games of the weekend set against UC Irvine to fall a full three games back of the conference front-running Anteaters.

Coming into the weekend, a prevailing thought was that a series sweep would get Cal Poly into a possible scenario to contend for the Big West title in the final weeks. Instead, the Mustangs lost two straight television games, dropped to fifth place in the Big West, and for all intents and purposes saw their chance at the postseason slip away.

The way the series went shouldn’t surprise fans who have watched the Mustangs all season. Casey Bloomquist did what they needed him to on Friday night and Cal Poly showed that it can play with any of the best teams on any given day. Cal Poly’s series’ against both UCSB and Cal State Fullerton — the two other teams contending at the moment — went much the same way. After Cal Poly split the first two games, things came down to Sunday. Once again, the series clincher that was so automatic for Larry Lee’s team was elusive.

Last season, Sundays were virtually automatic. Casey Bloomquist’s break-out All-American season was a revelation and a large part of the Mustang’s historic 2014. This year has been a lot more difficult. Sundays and mid-week games have been a revolving door of starters and relievers as Lee and pitching coach Thomas Eager have tried to find a winning formula. It’s not been easy. Cal Poly is now 2-10 in Sunday games. If you count the one game they played at TCU, started by Bloomquist, the Mustangs are 2-11.

With the loss, Cal Poly dropped to 1-5 in Sunday games in conference with two weekends left. There might be scenarios where Cal Poly could go 6-0 over the final two weeks and have a chance, but I’m not sure even Mustang fans are holding out hope at this point.

One fan I talked to is keeping the long view. Cal Poly is trying to build a perennial contender, sure. But college baseball, especially the recruiting aspect of it, can be a fickle beast. He made the point that Logan Webb, who was committed to Cal Poly this season, was instead drafted by the San Francisco Giants and chose to turn pro. I don’t know a lot about how good he was — he’s only thrown four inning in rookie ball so far this year — but I presume he might have been a good Sunday starter for the Mustangs.

For many, this season has been really disappointing. I guess I’m ready to be patient, especially with the talent the team lost a year ago. If a team plays as poorly as it seems Cal Poly has this season, has an above .500 record (10-8) in conference while losing four one-run games, I’m going to try not to overreact. Those one-run games are won that the Mustangs won a year ago, and I guess you can’t win them all.

I’m thankful for the individual players I have been able to see this season. Next year, Mark Mathias, Brian Mundell, and Peter VanGansen are all likely to be gone along with Jordan Ellis, Zack Zehner, and Taylor Chris. Bloomquist will be someone I’ll be keeping an eye on. If he goes early enough, he could turn pro. Cal Poly could also really use his talents next year in their rotation.

Next weekend, Cal Poly hosts UC Riverside in their final three home games of the season. Troy Percival is the Highlanders’ head coach. It also might be the last time you can see some guys you’ve been meaning to since last year. In baseball, there are lots of good reasons to come out to the park, no matter what time of year it is.