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. 

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. 

Kyle Marinconz (Shortstop/Second Base)

Kyle Marinconz held down shortstop for Cal Poly in 2017. By Owen Main

Holding down the fort

Kyle Marinconz is a natural second baseman. Over the past two Jekyll and Hyde seasons, the Mustangs have gone through at least a half-dozen other shortstops, trying to find a way to keep Marinconz on the right side of the infield. Unfortunately, Larry Lee has had to put Marinconz back at shortstop each of the past two years. It’s not that the sophomore (soon to be junior) has been bad at the position, but he has limited range there playing him at second base would have allowed the Mustangs to feel much more solid across the board in the infield. 

Instead, Cal Poly’s defense really struggled early in 2017, especially before Marinconz moved to shortstop. It probably affected everyone’s sense of regularity as the team really scuffled in their first few months before turning it on in conference play. 

While Marinconz doesn’t wow with any single skill (except for maybe his hit tool), he is pretty good at most things on the baseball field.

By the numbers

Marinconz put up a roughly similar season to his freshman year in 2017. He hit for more power (the first three home runs of his career came last season), but also struck out a little more and walked a little less. After a slow start, big performances during conference play really made his full season numbers respectable. He hit in 9 of his final 10 games, collecting 15 hits and two of his three homers over that span. His conference performance was enough to land Marinconz on the All-Big West first team. 

Marinconz was a draft-eligible sophomore in 2017, but was not selected in the 2017 major league baseball draft. As a junior in 2018, he’ll be one of the team’s leaders as he tries to improve his draft stock and help the team get to 30-plus wins again. Something that will be fairly easy to follow in the spring with the entire team will be to see where Marinconz ends up defensively. If he’s at second base and Cal Poly is playing consistent defense, it will likely be a good sign for the Mustangs early-on. 

Michael Clark (Relief Pitcher)

Michael Clark was Cal Poly’s closer in 2017. By Owen Main

Breakout season

In his sophomore season, Clark emerged as one of the most dominant closers in the Big West. Clark appeared in 30 games, amassing a 5-0 record, 11 saves, and a 2.59 ERA. Clark’s frame isn’t huge, but he peers into the plate through clear glasses and throws gas. In his sophomore season, he found his control and earned Larry Lee’s trust as the high leverage right-hander out of the bullpen and closer. Opponents hit under .200 against him and he struck out over twice as many hitters (36) as he walked (17). His dominance throughout the season landed Clark on the All-Big West second team.

Though he started just one game, Clark was third on the team in innings pitched, throwing nearly 50 frames.

Can he start?

A reliable closer is an important asset for any team, but Cal Poly lost their two best starting pitchers. It will be interesting to see whether Larry Lee looks at stretching Clark into a starting pitcher in the fall and spring. Lee will need to have as many solid innings as he can from his best pitchers. Clark figures to be one of those, if not the best pitcher on the staff in 2018.

On Wednesday, eight Cal Poly baseball players earned All-Big West honors for the 2017 season. 

Sophomores Alex McKenna (outfielder), Spencer Howard (pitcher), and Kyle Marinconz (second baseman) were all named to the conference’s first team. 

Spencer Howard was one of eight Cal Poly Mustangs who made the all-Big West team in 2017. By Owen Main

Mustangs named to the second team were first baseman Michael Sanderson, catcher Nick Meyer, infielder Bradlee Beesley, pitcher Erich Uelmen, and pitcher Michael Clark. 

The Mustangs finished the season in sole possession of second place in the Big West Conference, but failed to make a regional due to subpar non-conference play.

Howard, Uelmen, and Marinconz are all draft-eligible underclassmen and Sanderson, who was injured making a diving catch in the first inning of his final game completed his senior season.

Long Beach State dominated conference play and the individual non-conference postseason awards. The Dirtbags will host the toughest regional in the NCAA tournament starting this weekend. 

After a rough start to the season, Cal Poly baseball has played their most consistent ball as Big West play has started. Over the past three weeks, the Mustangs have started 6-3 in conference play, placing them squarely in third place in the conference, two games back of first-place Cal State Fullerton and a game back of Long Beach State. 

Alex McKenna has been swinging a hot bat lately. By Owen Main

Two big reasons have been the hitting of third baseman Michael Sanderson and center fielder Alex McKenna. They have raised their averages to .361 and .360, respectively, and McKenna’s team-leading two home runs have both come recently. 

Erich Uelmen and Spencer Howard continue to pitch well at the top of Cal Poly’s rotation, despite their combined 4-6 record. The Mustangs have given up a combined 13 unearned runs with their two best pitchers on the hill. Michael Clark has shined out of the bullpen, posting a 4-0 record, five saves, and a team-leading ERA of 1.53. Cal Poly has won 15 games and Clark has won or saved nine of them. 

Big West or Bust

Unfortunately for Cal Poly, third place in the Big West won’t get them a regional bid. The Mustangs still have both the Titans and Dirtbags ahead on their schedule. 

Spencer Howard is drawing lots of attention with his 1.79 ERA. He’ll face a stiff test this weekend.

It starts this weekend at Baggett against Cal State Fullerton. 

So far, Cal Poly has gone 2-1 on every conference weekend. That will remain a good recipe when they host the Titans Friday through Sunday. 

Clean it up

Cal Poly is still making errors. If they keep it up, it will cost them a series at some point. They’ve made eight errors in their past six Big West games including at least one in each game. 

Michael Clark has been really good for Cal Poly out of the bullpen this season. By Owen Main

Teeth of the schedule upcoming

Cal Poly hosts Cal State Fullerton this weekend, visits UCLA the following weekend for a non-conference series, and then goes to Long Beach State and Blair Field in three weeks. The series against the Titans and Dirtbags are the two toughest they’ll face in the Big West and UCLA is a perennial College World Series contender. If the Mustangs get hot for three weeks, they could legitimately put themselves in contention for a Big West title and an automatic playoff bid. If the next three weeks go poorly, they could find themselves without postseason aspirations as the season winds down. 

This week’s Schedule

Cal Poly hits the road to Bakersfield for a 6pm mid-week game against CSU Bakersfield Tuesday night, before coming home to face conference power Cal State Fullerton. The games against the Titans at Baggett start at 6pm on Friday, 6pm on Saturday, and 1pm on Sunday. 

Incoming Cal Poly freshman Michael Clark was throwing, according to a few people I talked to, in the low 90’s last weekend. By Owen Main

For local college baseball fans, this weekend was an opportunity to see five players from next year’s roster compete on the same field.

The San Luis Obispo Blues’ roster boasts four of Larry Lee’s players: senior, John Schuknecht; senior, Brett Barbier; incoming freshman pitcher, Bobby Ay; incoming freshman pitcher, Nigel Ward. This past weekend, the Blues hosted two Cal Poly pitching prospects who were part of the Menlo Park Legends’ roster. They were Michael Clark and Thomas Triantos.

Friday night, Schuknecht and Barbier both started for the Blues. When Clark got in the game for the Legends, the first batter he faced was Barbier. Triantos pitched two solid innings on Saturday for Menlo Park and Ay started Sunday’s game for the Blues with Larry Lee in the crowd looking on.

Barbier talked with me about how the summer was going and what it was like to catch some of the incoming freshmen right now. Click here to listen to our conversation. 

I gues it’s kind of like spring training — if spring training were seven months before the season started and if not all the players were on the same team they’d be on later.

OK, fine, it’s probably not a lot like spring training, but maybe it’s the closest thing a die-hard college baseball fan in this county will find. For Cal Poly baseball fans in SLO, last weekend was a good one.