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]

Freshman Slater Lee showed Cal Poly fans why Larry Lee inserted him as the Saturday starter in the opening series. By Owen Main

Coming into his first collegiate appearance, I wondered how good Slater Lee really was. As a true freshman, could he really step-in and be a number-two starter on a team that has aspirations larger than the regional they made it to last year?

In his debut, Lee didn’t disappoint.

If there is an aspect of the team that is a big question-mark for Cal Poly this year, it is the reliability of the Friday and Saturday starters. On Saturday, Lee struck-out seven and allowed just one run in 6 1/3 innings, giving up only two hits.

The one Kansas State run got off Lee was the result of a double-play ball that went off his foot followed by a swinging bunt. The Wildcats only managed to get one ball out of the infield on Lee all night long.

Mustang true freshman Slater Lee leaves the game in the 7th leading 3-1…6 1/3 IP 1R 2H 7K 1W. Only one ball to the outfield. Nice job!

— 'C.J.' Silas (@cjsilas) February 16, 2014

The season is a long one, but on Saturday, Cal Poly fans saw why Larry Lee put a freshman as his number-two starter.

Assistant coach Teddy Warrecker was especially pleased with Lee’s performance, calling it “special” on Twitter.

Slater Lee was special tonight in his first college start #gamer

— Teddy Warrecker (@teedubb25) February 16, 2014

With the win, Cal Poly clinches the series against Kansas State for the second straight year. They’ll go for the sweep Monday at 1:00.

[See image gallery at www.fansmanship.com]

Matt Imhof was dealing on Friday night at Baggett Stadium. By Owen Main

Facing the 17th-ranked Kansas State Wildcats in the season opener, Cal Poly ace Matt Imhof struck-out 14 batters in seven-plus innings and combined with closer Reed Reilly for a two-hit shutout.

For San Luis Obispo fans of the 29th-ranked team in the country, Cal Poly started their season off just about as well as home fans could have hoped.

Mustang senior Jimmy Allen made Kansas State pay for some defensive mistakes and a balk by Wildcats pitcher Landon Busch. Allen, who chose to come back to Cal Poly after being drafted last year, singled to center field to score Tim Wise and Jordan Ellis. Freshman second-baseman Mark Mathias drew a bases-loaded walk for the only other run of the game.

The real story, though was Imhof. Prior to the game, the junior southpaw was one of 60 players to be put on the Golden Spikes Award watch list. The Golden Spikes Award is given to the best amateur baseball player in the country. Imhof is the first Mustang to be put on that list.

According to Joshua D. Scroggin of the Tribune, Imhof’s 14 strikeouts match a Cal Poly Division 1 record. The all-time record though is 19.

Imhof has a long way to go to the all-time record. Dick Jacquier had 19 in a 28-1 win over Westmont in 1950. #CPBats @BigWestBaseball

— Joshua D. Scroggin (@SLOcollegebeat) February 15, 2014

Even without being an all-time Cal Poly record, Imhof’s performance was sparkling. With the nice weather on the Central Coast, fans at the last two games of the weekend in SLO should be the envy of college baseball lovers who are still digging out of the snow in most of the country.

[See image gallery at www.fansmanship.com]

Photos by Owen Main