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. 

OK, after a little hiatus, let’s power through the final twelve Cal Poly baseball players. With the football season starting early this year, training camp will be starting in July and I don’t want a HUGE back-log. Here we go down the stretch, starting with a pair of left handed hitters. 

Kevin Morgan (Senior, Outfielder)

Kevin Morgan was one of the few Mustangs left from Cal Poly’s 2014 regional team. By Owen Main

Season Synopsis

Kevin Morgan always had good bat-to-ball skills and hit tools. Early in his career, memories of Morgan are littered with sacrifice bunts and moving guys over on the bases. In his senior year, Morgan was counted on to do more than that. He was one of six Mustangs who hit at least three home runs in 2017. 

Last of the Regional guys

Morgan was a very steady hitter throughout his career. As a freshman, he contributed to the program’s first home regional, and with him and Slater Lee finishing their eligibility, the Mustangs will no longer have any players with regional experience in their program. Morgan’s steadying influence played a big role in the team’s late charge in conference play. While a .250 average doesn’t seem like a huge void to fill, his presence in the locker room and positive and businesslike approach will be missed moving forward. 

Elijah Skipps (Junior, First Baseman/Designated Hitter)

Elijah Skipps will be counted on for big production as a senior in 2018. By Owen Main

Power brewing — Season Synopsis

Having played previously at a Pac 12 school (Arizona) and with his pedigree as a switch-hitting player with raw power, Skipps had high expectations coming into 2017. After making the switch to hitting left-handed only, Skipps took a while to come into his own. By the final month of the year, the Cypress, CA native was driving the ball all around the park.

As a senior, expectations will be high for Skipps to produce more than the 19 runs, 24 RBI’s, and .252 average he put-up in 2017. If the last few weeks of the season were any indication, he’s fully capable. 

Late surge

Skipps had hits in 14 of his final 17 games in 2017 — hopefully a good sign for Larry Lee and company. Two of his four homers came in one game — at UCSB — late in conference play. If Skipps can be a more consistent threat in the middle of Cal Poly’s order throughout the season in 2018, it could go a long way toward making the Mustang lineup more balanced and dangerous.  

Cal Poly has a lot of returning players who can hit, but as far as left-handed hitters go, Skipps is one of the few returners who they can really rely on.