Jeff Troesch is a mental coach for athletes. He works with lots of college programs, including at Cal Poly, and his career as a sports psychologist is super interesting. I have been wanting to have Jeff on the podcast for probably a few years, but had never made it happen. Our conversation was wide-ranging. We talked about how Jeff got into the business of helping players with the mental side of the game, what he sees more of nowadays, and how his job has changed a little with athletes working to cope with the issues surrounding COVID-19. 

Owen Main and Chris Sylvester kick off the “Going on Break” edition of the Fansmanship podcast. 

The mandated postponement and cancelation of so many sporting events is the best thing for everyone, but the ramifications for people whose daily life revolves around sports will be long-lasting. The “Going on Break” editions of the podcast, will explore how life is changing throughout this unprecedented time from a multitude of people.

Today’s guest was Ghizal Hasan. Ghizal is the play-by-play voice of CSUN men’s basketball and UC Riverside baseball. Topics are wide-ranging as we get our footing with this new format. 

Sometimes I field questions about getting certain shots. A few weeks ago, Cal Poly beat Columbia on a ninth-inning single Cole Cabrera hit off the left field wall. At least that’s what they tell me. I didn’t see it. I was focused on some other things. Here’s how getting the shots of the walk-off hit and celebration went.

John Wooden said, “Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.” 

He’s not wrong. I’ve learned that the hard way lots of times as a photographer. There are games I’ve gotten to without cards in my camera. Or batteries. There have been times I wished I’d thought ahead and brought that second lens down from the press-box for post game. Or remembered to format a card before the game. There’s nothing like getting photos from your kid’s birthday party gumming up the works as you’re trying to ingest things that are time sensitive. It happens less and less over time, but it has happened.

On this Friday night, the game was low-scoring and close. When Columbia tied the game at 2 in the top of the 7th inning, I knew a walk-off situation was in-play for the Mustangs. In the 7th I was shooting from the stands or in the press box ingesting photos. When the bottom of the 7th was over, I started planning for the shot. Often times I’ll just grab the 400mm lens for baseball, but I grabbed a 24-70mm as well in this case. I wanted to be ready in case there I needed to get a closer, wider angle for the celebration. 

I ran down around the stands, onto the warning track behind the dugout, and to the Cal Poly side. It’s a longer walk this season since the Mustangs are building a new press box. Doubling back is not something that’s fun, but it does make the planning a lot more important.

I could have chosen the Columbia (1st base) side, and planned to shoot the players mobbing onto the field. But I made a conscious choice to shoot from the end of the Cal Poly (3rd base) dugout instead. 

During the 8th inning, I practiced what it would be like to prop my 400mm lens with the monopod up on the dugout fencing. The fence there has a soft pad on top of it and it had been raining, so nothing was dry or clean. But the pad was a good place to rest it — out of the way. I practiced going from a picture-taking stance to shortening the monopod and propping it up at least 3-4 times during the 8th inning. 

With the game still tied, the bottom of the 9th started off poorly for Cal Poly. The first two players flew out.

This is a good time to remind you that, more often than not, preparation for something like this is totally in vain. Most of the time, you’ll shrug your shoulders and get ready for the next inning.

Not this night though. Blake Wagenseller, a powerful sophomore tripled into the left-center field gap (there are some fun photos of him sprinting to third base). Now things started to really heat-up. With Wagenseller at third, Cal Poly could win on a passed ball (home plate celebration) or any number of miscues from Columbia.

Blake Wagenseller tripled to set-up a walk-off hit by Cole Cabrera. Photo by Owen Main

The next hitter was Cole Cabrera. Not known for his enormous power, the outfielder poked one off the left field wall to win the game. 

Cole Cabrera pokes the ball down the left field line. Photo by Owen Main

When batters are up, I try to get just a single frame for when the ball and bat connect. 

But then I just started shooting. As the ball flew toward the foul pole, Cabrera raised his hand. As he rounded first, I took a peek at the frothing mob of players that would eventually be in the way of my shot, so I got what I could. Cabrera jumped in the air, throwing down his hat, which is a photo that Cal Poly used on social media and the one that was my favorite. Once the players were in my field of vision, I quickly put the big lens down like I’d practiced and ran out onto the infield. God I look silly, but the next few photos were ones that Cal Poly used on the game write up. Cabrera and Wagenseller hugging was a fun shot that summed up how Cal Poly had managed to win in dramatic fashion. 

Cole Cabrera celebrates after a walk-off hit. PhotoBy Owen Main

What I shot wasn’t perfect by any means though. If I had it to go back and do again I’d have kept the ISO up higher on my short lens so the photos I took as I was still moving toward the mob were at a higher shutter speed and sharper. A better angle, perhaps from somewhere IN the dugout might have been cooler too. Or arms and bodies would have been in the way. Who knows?

I would have also tried to see whether Wagenseller, who scored the winning run, ever looked toward the dugout. One look over his shoulder or a spin at home plate could have made for a great shot. Maybe if I’d had a remote fixed on the plate. What if, what if, what if. 

Thinking my way through this shot well ahead of time allowed me to get some useable images of a really dramatic moment. I guess that’s what it’s about. I’ll try to do better next time. 

Cal Poly center fielder Alex McKenna was named Big West Field Player of the Year on Wednesday, according to the Big West’s twitter account. 

#BWCHonors Field Player of the Year – Alex McKenna (@CalPolyStangs):

-1st Mustang since 2014 (Mark Mathias) & 5th overall so named.
-Led BWC in hits (81) & runs (41).
-2nd in BWC TB (121), 3rd in OBP (.424), 5th in BA/SLG (.339/.506).#RideHigh #BWCBaseball #PlayBig ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/fdrZEcQfdB

— Big West Baseball (@BigWestBaseball) May 30, 2018

McKenna is the fifth Mustang to win the award. Mark Mathias won the award in 2014 and Mitch Haniger — currently a member of the Seattle Mariners — also won the award in 2012 while manning centerfield at Baggett. 

In 2018, McKenna led the conference with 81 hits and 51 runs while committing just one error all season. On the year, McKenna hit .339 with 15 doubles, 5 triples, and 5 home runs. In three seasons in San Luis Obispo, McKenna hit .323 with 16 home runs, 32 doubles, 9 triples, and 89 RBIs in 158 games. His career OPS was .874 for the Mustangs. A junior this past season, McKenna figures to be selected in the first 3-5 rounds of the draft next week. 

Another junior, catcher Nick Meyer, earned the Defensive Player of the Year award for the conference.

#BWCHonors Defensive POY – Nick Meyer (@CalPolyStangs):

– 3rd Mustang in 5 years to earn honor (Peter Van Gansen, 2015; Chris Hoo, 2014)
– .984 fielding (395 putouts, 44 assists, 7 errors in 446 chances).
– Earned 2016 BWC Freshman Field POY.#RideHigh #BWCBaseball #PlayBig pic.twitter.com/PYt50PuoVS

— Big West Baseball (@BigWestBaseball) May 30, 2018

Following in the catching footsteps of Chris Hoo, Meyer is Cal Poly’s third ever defensive player of the year. Meyer started behind the plate from day one at Cal Poly, earning the conference’s freshman of the year award two seasons ago. Meyer played his usual stellar defense while taking a step forward at the plate this season. In 2018, Mayer hit .344 with 14 doubles and two triples. His OPS was .836 and, at times during his career, Meyer’s mustache was one of the best in the game. Meyer figures to be the second Mustang selected in the upcoming amateur draft.

Junior Kyle Marinconz — who has played shortstop for most of his time at Cal Poly — and senior Trent Shelton — who emerged as Cal Poly’s Friday night ace in 2018 — were named to the All-Conference second team. 

Freshman infielder Tate Samuelson and freshman pitcher Taylor Dollard earned honorable mention honors along with senior pitcher Austin Dondanville.

#BWCHonors All-Conference from @CalPolyStangs:

Alex McKenna, Nick Meyer (1st Team)
Kyle Marinconz, Trent Shelton (2nd)
Taylor Dollard, Austin Dondanville, Tate Samuelson (HM)#RideHigh #BWCBaseball #PlayBig ⚾️

— Big West Baseball (@BigWestBaseball) May 30, 2018

Big West Release

Cal Poly Release

Behind good pitching, solid fielding, and some clutch hitting by a junior draft prospect, Cal Poly baseball swept UCSB in its final home series of the season last weekend. 

Meyer gets hot

For his part, catcher Nick Meyer was red-hot all week. Meyer went 5-6 in Cal Poly’s Tuesday mid-week game and followed it up with a great series against UCSB. On the week, he went 9-17 with three doubles, five runs, and three RBI’s, including a game-winning RBI double on Saturday afternoon on a pitch around his eyeballs. 

Meyer was named the Big West Field Player of the Week on Monday. 

Meyer, who was named to Team USA during the summer of 2017, was already rated as an above-average defensive catcher. He’s been red-hot at the plate over the past month or two as well, probably solidifying a relatively high-round pick in the upcoming Major League Baseball Draft. 

Senior Day

Trent Shelton has been flat-out terrific all season for Cal Poly. Photo by Owen Main

Sunday was senior day and six players were honored. Austin Dondanville, Kyle Smith, Elijah Skipps, Josh George, Colby Barrick, and Trent Shelton all saw their final games at Baggett over the weekend. 

Shelton pitched a great game on Friday night, a healthy Skipps was a key cog in Cal Poly’s offensive output all weekend, and Dondanville and Smith both saw action on the mound as well. George was the senior day darling, going 3-4 with 2 RBIs in Sunday’s victory. 

So long to some juniors?

As happens every year, Cal Poly will have some juniors drafted this year. The question will be which ones leave. 

The two likely candidates are, in likely draft order, are Alex McKenna and Nick Meyer, though Kyle Marinconz is also a candidate to be drafted and turn pro. If you’d asked me before the season, Michael Clark would have also been high on this list. Last season’s closer, Clark’s role changed this season and his workload was less. After pitching 48 innings in 30 games with a 2.58 ERA last season, Clark’s workload has increased to over 65 innings (nine games started) with a 5.79 ERA. Clark’s k/bb percentage also went from 2.12 in 2017 to 1.84 this year. 

That said, Clark pitched a gem on Sunday afternoon, lasting 7 1/3 innings while giving up just a pair of earned runs en route to the win. It was Clark’s longest and probably most productive outing of the season. 

We’ll wait to see where and how these guys get drafted and what decisions they make as far as coming back to school. If it was their last weekend series at Baggett, it was pretty special. 

A great finish

The level of play this weekend could be seen as bittersweet. This team has talent that has been playing much closer to their true talent level over the course of Big West play. 

As they’ve been prone to do over the past few years, Cal Poly is playing its best baseball at the end of the season. As has also happened in recent years, that great baseball doesn’t have any postseason implications. For the third time in four years since the program hosted a regional in 2014, Cal Poly put up a losing non-conference record this season, including losses to Gonzaga, Grand Canyon, New Mexico, a series split to Pacific, a mid-week split with San Jose State, losing two of three at home to San Diego State, losing three of four at Nebraska, and being swept at home by UCLA.  

With the exception of UCLA, Nebraska, and Maybe San Diego State, a regional team doesn’t have that many losses against middling or low level Division I teams on the west coast. The Big West wasn’t really great this season either. Preseason favorites like Long Beach State and UCSB flamed out, but losses in series at CSUN and a sweep in Fullerton took Cal Poly out of the race. The conference will only have a single program — Cal State Fullerton — in this year’s NCAA Tournament. 

Under construction

While the bleachers were ready for the home season in 2018, the second phase of construction – demolition of the current clubhouse — looks like it’s starting soon. On Friday, fans noticed some portable buildings far down the first base line at Baggett. The project had originally been scheduled for groundbreaking right after last season, but I believe that the new clubhouse will still be under construction during the 2019 season and be ready for 2020. 

Photos below from Friday night’s game by Owen Main. Find more photos at photos.fansmanship.com, or you can show love by contributing to the cause via Venmo @Owen-Main or paypal owen@fansmanship.com. 

Coming into this past weekend’s Big West Conference baseball series, there was still an outside shot for both Cal Poly and UC Irvine. After the Anteaters won the series two games to one, both teams fell in the standings and, barring a complete collapse, the split series secured Cal State Fullerton’s spot as the frontrunner in this season’s Big West title chase.

The Mustangs dropped the opener on Friday night, scoring just a single run and failing to back-up a solid pitching performance from lefty Trent Shelton. On Saturday evening, Cal Poly got on the board early with the help of a fly ball that was lost in the lights in the first inning and went on to win 4-3. On Sunday, the Mustangs lost the rubber game, scoring just a single run again in a 4-1 loss. 

The series loss to UC Irvine evened Cal Poly’s Big West record at 9-9 with six conference games (two weeks) to play. It also dropped them from a second place tie to a fourth place tie in conference play. UC Irvine moved to 10-8, four games behind Cal State Fullerton in the loss column (3 games overall).

Giving up 10 runs in three games is often enough in college baseball, but UC Irvine pitchers shut the Mustangs down to the tune of just six runs of their own in the three games.

Anteaters pound the zone

UC Irvine pitchers did a nice job throwing strikes when they had to. Anteater pitchers walked just six Mustangs all weekend and there were many fairly short at-bats in the innings I saw in-person. Kyle Marinconz didn’t seem to mind, going 7-11 in the series. 

No fun league

One thing Cal Poly players credited their mid-season turnaround to was having more fun. Players (mostly relief pitchers) have been dancing in the dugout and bullpen for nearly two months during rallies. Their coordination has been top-notch and added a really fun element to the game. 

On Friday night, Big West home plate umpire Scott Letendre put an end to all that. Letendre’s attention was on everything from shutting down the dancing multiple times to talking to Mustang starter Trent Shelton about where he needed to put the rosin bag on the mound. Did it make a difference as to who won the game? Almost definitely not. But nobody — opposing players or any of the umpires — has had a problem with it for weeks and it comes off looking like baseball is not a place to have fun. Not a great look for that ump. 

Seven more games

Cal Poly (23-27 overall) has seven games remaining this season, including four at home this week. On Tuesday, they’ll play their final mid-week game at home against Pepperdine. This weekend, they’ll finish their home schedule against rival UCSB, including the senior day game on Sunday afternoon. Seniors on this year’s roster include Josh George, Colby Barrick, Trent Shelton, Elijah Skipps, and Kyle Smith. Other Mustangs who you might have your last chance to see in a Cal Poly uniform include juniors Alex McKenna, Nick Meyer, Kyle Marinconz, and Michael Clark. Juniors are eligible for the Major League Baseball draft, which will take place June 4-6.

The Mustangs will finish their season next weekend (May 24-26) at UC Riverside. 

Photos by Owen Main

For more photos click here. If you just want to contribute to the cause, Venmo @Owen-Main or paypal owen@fansmanship.com. 

Cal Poly baseball (16-19, 3-6) will host defending Big West champs Long Beach State this weekend at Baggett Stadium. After a renovation to the seating/bleacher area, the game will be the first television game in the new stadium. The 7pm game will be televised nationally on ESPNU. 

While the new bleachers are beautiful and bigger and steeper than many imagined, Baggett Stadium hasn’t been full yet with the new seating. The team, which hasn’t made a regional appearance since they hosted in 2014, hasn’t played consistently well and some weather has probably been a factor too. 

Trent Shelton (2-2) will start in front of the TV cameras on Friday for the Mustangs. Despite missing time due to appendicitis, Shelton has been Cal Poly’s most consistent starter. The lefty has a 3.98 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 40.2 innings. 

At 3-6 in Big West play, Cal Poly is tied for last place with UC Davis. The good news is that they are still only three games out of first place. The Dirtbags are 16-21 overall and 3-3 early in conference play. 

For their part, Cal Poly has put together a smart marketing campaign to ramp up to the game. 

Yo what’s Musty doing up there? Getting a good seat for the green out game on Friday! #RideHigh pic.twitter.com/XEaTi4SYLf

— Cal Poly Mustangs (@CPMustangs) April 16, 2018

Coach Lee was nice enough to bring me some reading material today to pass the time…

Is it Friday yet?! #GreenOut #PackTheBagg #RideHigh pic.twitter.com/wztBYHJoF4

— Musty the Mustang (@MustytheMustang) April 17, 2018

Musty is trying to get camera ready for the big game on Friday, good thing he has @Alexjmckenna to help!

: https://t.co/VQPSEkn3iW | #RideHigh #PackTheBagg pic.twitter.com/ZPDRBTNrt5

— Cal Poly Mustangs (@CPMustangs) April 18, 2018

Just my buddy @Alexjmckenna showing me how to improve my selfie game before the Green Out Game on Friday! #PackTheBagg #RideHigh pic.twitter.com/YUQrcYkpvd

— Musty the Mustang (@MustytheMustang) April 18, 2018

I wouldn’t expect a sellout or anything close. Capacity is over 3,000 at Baggett and Friday night’s forecast says that it will likely be under 50 degrees at first pitch. But the marketing department at Cal Poly Athletics is certainly doing everything they can to hustle more people for the TV game.

While bleachers were renovated prior to the season, the clubhouse facility is scheduled to be demolished and rebuilt as well. Construction is likely to last through next season. 

After starting the season 11-12, the Cal Poly baseball team’s regional goals aren’t totally lost. But they’ll have to probably do even better than their 16-8 Big West conference season a year ago to make the postseason. 

Larry Lee’s team will start Big West play Thursday afternoon in Northridge (3:00pm). CSUN doesn’t have lights, so all baseball games there are day games.

Jarred Zill has come back this season to be the team’s ace. He’ll take the hill Thursday night in Northridge. Photo by Owen Main

The Mustangs have scuffled this season, playing well in some individual games, but lacking the consistency to grind-out wins on a daily basis as of yet. They beat Arkansas and Michigan in individual games, but split a four-game series with Paicfic (RPI of 187 of 297 Division I teams), and lost games to Grand Canyon (237) and San Jose State (209). At Nebraska, a top-100 team right now, the Mustangs won the first game of a four game series before losing the final two games during a Sunday doubleheader by a combined score of 35-5. 

Their only series win of the year so far came last weekend at home against Dartmouth (whose current RPI is 279). 

RPI is a measure that traditionally doesn’t favor west coast teams, but the Big West conference, a league that usually sends multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament, hasn’t helped itself this season. Only three teams (Hawaii (88), Cal State Fullerton (91) UC Irvine (95)) sit in the top-100 in the RPI and conference favorite Long Beach State is at 108. None are sniffing the top-25 at the moment. The other five teams sit between 150 and 218, with the Mustangs at 192, second from the bottom in front of cellar dwellers UCSB. Hawai’i and UCI are the only two schools in the conference with a winning record at the moment. The conference could get multiple teams into the tournament this year, but there is a real possibility that only one team could find their way into the postseason. 

The RPI can be useful, but it’s not everything. No Big West team has played a conference game yet, and Cal Poly can be optimistic. Last season, they won all but one of their conference series en route to a 2nd place finish in the Big West and a 16-8 conference record. The Mustangs will likely have to do better than that this year, win most of their mid-week games, and win an important home series against UCLA at the end of April. The best way for the team to keep a regional in its sights would be to win the conference outright. 

 Who to watch for

Alex McKenna and Nick Meyer are the names people heard a lot about in preseason. They are, predictably, the team’s two leading hitters. Tate Samuelson, a freshman from San Diego, has found comfort in the middle of the lineup. Samuelson, who played for the SLO Blues this summer, is second on the team with six doubles and a pair of home runs. Dylan Doherty has shown some offensive consistency and bat to ball skills. Bradlee Beasley and Kyle Marinconz are reliable batsmen who can be very dangerous. Cal Poly’s offense has averaged 5.3 runs per game. 

For up-to-date Cal Poly stats, click here. 

On the mound

Cal Poly’s rotation has been a little fluid. Jarred Zill returned to the mound and will be the presumed ace going into Big West play. Trent Shelton has looked good, but had appendicitis and his early-conference availability is in question. Michael Clark started as the Friday starter, but hasn’t started for a few weeks and looks like he may be in the new in-vogue multi-inning relief role. Thomas Triantos looked really sharp against Dartmouth and freshman Darren Nelson, who has been a two-way player, has looked good as a Sunday starter. Cal Poly’s relief squad is young — maybe a good reason to keep Clark in the bullpen — and their collective ability to get out of tough high-leverage situations could be a big key to the Mustangs making some noise in conference play.

For Cal Poly baseball photos, click here

Make them EARN it

There are lots of reasons a team can win or lose a baseball game, but the week-to-week stat that I’ve been looking at is errors and unearned runs. The Mustangs have played 23 games so far and have made 37 errors (11 more than their opponents) and have given up 27 unearned runs. If they keep giving up more than a single unearned run per game, they will stay a talented team with middling results. If Cal Poly can manage their defensive play and continue to improve on defense, they can once again compete for a Big West title. 

Thanksgiving is for winners.

On Wednesday, the Mustangs beat top-100 College of Charleston 73-68, putting them in the Great Alaska Shootout winner’s bracket. They’ll have Thanksgiving off before they play the winner of the Sam Houston State vs. Central Michigan game. 

The game was close throughout, though Cal Poly had a lead between two and seven points for most of the second half. Charleston took a one point lead late before Victor Joseph knocked down a three-pointer to give Cal Poly the lead for good. 

“Victor’s junior college coach mentioned that Vic was a gamer,” said Callero. “The more we watch and follow him, boy he is a gamer. He’s got cold water in his veins. The reality is he’s one cool customer.” 

Victor Joseph led Cal Poly with 20 points in their victory over College of Charleston. By Owen Main

Joseph led Cal Poly with 20 points — by far his best game of the young season. Donovan Fields shot 3-5 from three-point range en route to 17 points. Kuba Niziol was a perfect 5-5 from deep for 15 points and Luke Meikle made some clutch shots en route to 10 points. 

Fields dished six assists and Meikle led the team with six rebounds. 

For Callero’s team, the win was the best regular season win in recent memory. The Mustangs beat a very good Northeastern squad on December 17, 2014 in Santa Clara. Before that, the best regular season win for Cal Poly was probably the upset against UCLA on November 25, 2012 during their last winning season.

“I’m really really pleased with this victory,” said Callero, in his 9th season at Cal Poly, after the game. “The kicker for us really was our guys locked into our scouting report. We minimized the easy shots they get driving to the hoop. Our game plan was to make them shoot threes.” 

Callero was ecstatic about the team’s ability to stick to the game plan and execute throughout.

“I don’t recall a game in the last year or two where we played that sticky defense and rebounding,” said Callero.

On the ESPN Radio 1280 postgame, Callero said the team would have practice, stretching, treatment, and then would be able to have a relaxing Thanksgiving dinner together.

The Mustangs will play again Friday evening. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Find all Owen’s photos here. If you just want to contribute to the cause, Venmo @Owen-Main or paypal owen@fansmanship.com. 

Today we focus on the two hitters with the highest batting average for the 2017 Mustangs — a sophomore and senior.

Alex McKenna (Sophomore, Outfielder)

Alex McKenna was unquestionably the team’s offensive leader in 2017 and figures to be in that role once again as a junior in 2018. By Owen Main

McKenna was Cal Poly’s offensive leader in every way. The sophomore showcased his talent early in his freshman year, but injuries derailed him down the stretch. In his sophomore campaign, McKenna led the team by a wide margin in average, hits, runs, home runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and stolen bases — all while not making a single error in center field, while starting all 56 games.

The Cape Crusader

McKenna spent his 2017 summer in Massachusetts, in the Cape Cod league. With the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, he hit .298 with 37 hits in 31 games. He was also named to the league’s All-Star Team.  

When you’re on The Cape, you get to have spray charts like this easily accessible for people like you and me. It also means that lots of scouts get to see you play on a daily basis. If his past success in San Luis Obispo is any indication about his future, McKenna is likely to be drafted highly after his junior year, which would likely mean 2018 would be his last in a Cal Poly uniform. 

One thing I really liked about McKenna’s play in 2017 was his consistent approach. While he did lead the Mustangs in strikeouts, he definitely improved from his freshman year in terms of recognizing breaking balls and not swinging at bad pitches — especially with two strikes. He could still improve some there, but he took a huge step forward in his 2017 collegiate season. 

Michael Sanderson (Senior, Infielder)

Michael Sanderson had his finest season at Cal Poly as a senior. By Owen Main

Going out with a bang

Sometimes, guys go out on their shield. Sanderson, who was a junior college transfer at Cal Poly, finished his two year career at Baggett Stadium by going out on his shield. In the first inning of his final game, the first baseman made a diving catch in foul territory, breaking a bone and finishing his season. For a team that was unlikely to make the postseason at that point, it was kind of a legendary way to go out. 

Sanderson’s right arm had already betrayed him earlier in the season, forcing the move from third base to first. But he continued to mash. Sanderson finished second in batting average, third in hits, and had the second highest slugging percentage on the roster. 

His three home runs on the season, the only three of his Mustang career, were all hit in the final month of the 2017 season.

A Chico native, whose grandfather was the Cal Poly football coach in the early 1980’s, Sanderson finished his two-year Cal Poly career with a .309 average in 108 games — mostly at third base.