PVG’s glove has always been solid, but he used the bat to end the game last night. By Owen Main

The bases were loaded with one out in the bottom of the tenth inning, and Peter Van Gansen came through. On the first pitch of the at-bat, Van Gansen drove the ball down the right field line for a game winning hit.

For video of Van Gansen’s walk-off, click here. 

So far this season, Van Gansen’s slash line is .313/.389/.413 in 39 games. He has two homers and 18 RBIs. He’s even stolen five bases.

Also on his Northwest League All-Star team was former Mustang Brian Mundell. Playing for low-A Boise, Mundell is has a .267/.354/.389 slash line to go with two home runs and 19 RBIs.

Mundell started the game at first base and went 0-2. Van Gansen came into the game as a pinch hitter and went 1-2 with a pair of walks.

Click here for photos of Van Gansen and Mundell signing autographs prior to the game.

With both Mark Mathias and Brian Mundell in the lineup, players like Zack Zehner (pictured) and Peter Van Gansen are able to spread the load of carrying the Mustang lineup. By Owen Main

After being shut-out in the middle two games of their series with Sacramento State, Cal Poly got first baseman Brian Mundell back and salvaged a series split with a 6-4 victory.

Mundell, who hadn’t played int he field in about three weeks with a hamstring injury, hit two home runs and drove in four in the 6-4 Cal Poly victory that improved Cal Poly’s record to 6-11 on the season.

Along with Mundell’s two home runs, three things stood out from the Sunday game.

Pitching backwards?

Larry Lee started Michael Gomez for the first time on Sunday afternoon. The freshman from Upland gave up four runs in three innings before giving way to Justin Calomeni, who has been the Sunday starter prior to this weekend.

Calomeni responded by pitching maybe his best game of the year. The sophomore righty gave up no runs, scattered three hits, and struck-out five and walked just one while pitching the final six innings of the game.

I kind of like the idea of experimenting with various pitchers given that Cal Poly is struggling to find consistency this year. I also like it with regard to the Times Through the Order Penalty, which is documented in the majors.

Mundell and Mathias in the lineup together

For the first time this season, Brian Mundell and Mark Mathias appeared in the lineup at the same time. Mundell, who has been the designated hitter each of the past two seasons, might have been able to do it again as he nurses his hamstring. But Mathias is still rehabbing from labrum surgery and so Mundell played in the field.

He didn’t seem to mind.

They win when they don’t make mistakes

Cal Poly hasn’t had a stellar defensive team to date this season. The few times they don’t make errors in games, they seem to be a lot more successful.

Sunday was just the fourth time in 17 games that Cal Poly has made zero errors. They are 3-1 in those games.

Trojans are coming

Next up for Cal Poly is USC this weekend. The Trojans are one of the best teams on the West coast this year and come in sporting a 17-3 record. They are also 12-time NCAA champions. The two teams split two games in Los Angeles last season on a rainy weekend.

Photos (from Saturday night) by Owen Main

Casey Bloomquist fell behind a number of hitters and didn’t get a lot of help from his defense in Cal Poly’s Friday night loss. By Owen Main

Grand Canyon beat Cal Poly 10-4 in the Mustangs’ home opener on Friday night in front of over 2,100 fans at Baggett Stadium.

Cal Poly led 2-0 and 3-1 before Grand Canyon rattled off four runs in the fifth inning, two in the seventh, and three in the ninth.

Three of the six key runs in the fifth and seventh innings were unearned — something that might be a pattern for this Mustangs team.

Cal Poly also took another injury hit in the game. Mark Mathias, the team’s best player has been out all season while recovering from labrum surgery. On Friday, their biggest power threat and number-three hitter Brian Mundell left the game with what looked like a hamstring injury.

Mundell, a former catcher in high school, has been the Mustangs’ designated hitter during is first two years in San Luis Obispo. This season, he is manning first base for the first time. On a groundout to shortstop in the top of the seventh, Mundell stretched at first base and game up hobbling noticeably. In the bottom of the inning, Mundell grounded out and went down in a heap passing first base. He was replaced at first base by John Schuknecht and Tommy Pluschkell replaced Schuknecht at third base.

The loss of Mundell for an undetermined amount of time is a bigger blow than any home opening loss could ever be. The Tribune’s JD Scroggin called it “potentially serious.” I agree.

Photos by Owen Main

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]

Cal Poly left fielder Jordan Ellis slides into third base after his RBI triple in the 4th inning. By Owen Main

Cal Poly had been clawing and fighting its way back. After giving up five runs with two outs in the fifth inning to San Jose State, the Mustangs came back from a 5-1 deficit to tie the game before freshman designated hitter Brian Mundell blasted a home run with one out in the 10th inning to give Cal Poly their 14th victory of the year with only two losses.

San Jose State’s record fell to 4-12 and the loss would have been a big blow to Cal Poly’s RPI and probably their national top-20 ranking.

The Mustangs next host Notre Dame for a weekend series Thursday through Saturday. The Irish are also ranked this season. Thursday and Friday games start at 6pm and Saturday’s game begins at noon.

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