Calomeni, Mustangs even series with Anteaters

Nick Torres brings home the game’s only run on Saturday night. By Owen Main

In a game reminiscent of another big freshman performance earlier in the season, freshman Justin Calomeni pitched six strong innings for Cal Poly and the Mustangs held-on for a 1-0 win to even their weekend Big West Conference matchup with UC Irvine.

With the win, Calomeni improved to 8-2 on the season and lowered his ERA to 3.56. The good start by Calomeni is a bright spot for a Cal Poly team looking to find some consistency in its starters behind Matt Imhof and Casey Bloomquist. Calomeni, who has started both weekend and mid-week games this season, will almost certainly be needed if the Mustangs are to make a deep postseason run.

Earlier in the season, fellow freshman, Slater Lee tossed a complete-game shutout against then-ranked UCLA on the heels of a Cal Poly Friday night loss. On Saturday, Calomeni was masterful in helping Cal Poly earn another shutout, again on the heels of a tough Matt Imhof loss in a big series.

The win sets-up a Sunday afternoon finale that could eventually decide the Big West Conference champion. In the game, Casey Bloomquist will bring his 10-1 record and 1.40 ERA against Irvine’s senior right-hander Evan Brock (8-3, 2.85 ERA). Game time for today’s Mother’s Day game is 1:00pm at Baggett Stadium, where the all-time single game attendance record could be challenged.