Behind another offensive explosion, the SLO Blues beat the Valley Bears to sweep the three-game weekend series on Sunday 17-1. After winning the first game of the series 1-0 the Blues outscored the Bears 39-1 in the final two games of the series.

The Blues hit the road on Wednesday night, traveling to Santa Paula to face the Halos, before returning to SLO for a weekend CCL series against the Walnut Creek Crawdads. Game times Friday through Sunday are 6:00, 6:00, and 1:00 at Sinsheimer Stadium.

If you’ve been at the games during the first few weeks, you might see some fresh faces this weekend. With colleges finishing their quarter or semester, a number of players will be joining the squad in the next week or so. The Cal Poly baseball players who are scheduled to be on the team will be some of the last to arrive since school doesn’t get out until well into June.

For a complete roster, you can click here.

Photos by Owen Main

The Blues haven’t lost in their first seven games. By Owen Main

On Saturday night, the San Luis Obispo Blues beat the Valley Bears for the second straight evening. In stark contrast to their 1-0 win on Friday, Saturday’s game opened up early. Eight first-inning runs quickly turned into 22 for the game, which was called after the 7th inning.

Saturday was also the first fireworks night for the home team, who will have two more later this year.

John Sparks went six innings on Saturday to back up Troy Prober’s seven-inning performance the on Friday.

The final game of the weekend happens today (Sunday) at 1:00pm at Sinsheimer Stadium.

Photos from Friday’s game by Owen Main

Opening night was a pretty big success at Sinsheimer Stadium on Friday night. By Owen Main

It’s the kind of thing that makes collegiate baseball really fun. You just never know what you’ll see.

On opening night at Sinsheimer Stadium, a kid from who plays college baseball in Conway, Arkansas hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the San Francisco Seals 10-8. On this night, Harley Faye was the hero. Any fan who left early turned out to be the real goat.

I left early on this Friday night, like a few other fans I know, and paid dearly for it.

“That’s why you never leave. That’s what keeps you coming back,” Jamie Clark told the Tribune’s Alex Jankowski after the game. I guess I learned my lesson… .

Early-season roster moves are common for a summer collegiate baseball team. Faye didn’t even know he’d be on the Blues in 2015 until just a few days ago. While fans get to know this year’s team over the next few weeks, Harley Faye’s name — which isn’t even on the team’s roster yet — will be one fans won’t soon forget.

The Blues continue their four-game series against the Seals through Monday.

Photos by Owen Main

The Blues upended the Foresters for the second time this season on Thursday night. By Owen Main

On Thursday night the SLO Blues beat their rivals from Santa Barbara 8-4 in front of a crowd that made me wonder if there were post-game fireworks.

Dakota Hudson took a no-hitter for the Blues into the fifth inning, but found himself laboring and didn’t make it out of the inning. The Blues were helped by four early errors by Santa Barbara as they racked-up five runs in the first two innings. Four Blues pitchers combined to give up just one run in four-plus innings of relief. The Blues are home all weekend with three games against the MLB Academy Barons. The games at Sinsheimer Stadium start Friday and Saturday at 6pm and Sunday at 1pm.

Photos by Owen Main

The SLO Blues beat the Santa Maria Reds on Saturday night 6-0. Of note in the game was the inordinate number of fly-balls relative to ground balls.

In one particular inning (the bottom of the third), the Blues managed four base runners (including two doubles) and managed only a single run. The home team still managed to prevail over their Central Coast counterparts from Santa Maria in comfortable fashion.

The Blues play a doubleheader today (Sunday) against the Conejo Oaks at 1pm and 4pm at Sinsheimer Stadium.

The SLO Blues bounced back from a mid-week sweep to take a single game from the Santa Paula Halos on Thursday night 4-3. First baseman Jacob Hoyle provided the game-winning hit — a two-run single in the bottom of the 10th inning after Santa Paula had gone ahead 3-2 in the top of the 10th.

The Blues are now 7-5 on the season and face the Menlo Park Legends for a three-game series starting Friday night at Sinsheimer Stadium.

Photos by Owen Main

On a warm and breezy Sunday afternoon in San Luis Obispo, the Crawdads salvaged a single game of their three-game series, beating the Blues, 7-1.

Photos by Owen Main

First Baseman, Jacob Hoyle led the Blues on Friday night. By Owen Main

The SLO Blues beat the Walnut Creek Crawdads 5-3. Jacob Hoyle led the Blues, going 2-2 with a double and a triple. Hoyle scored on his triple after an overthrow by the Crawdads.

As more and more teams are eliminated from College World Series contention, the Blues’ roster continues to fill-out.

The Blues are now 8-2 on the young season and finish out the weekend series against the Crawdads Saturday (6:00 pm) and Sunday (1:00 pm).

Photos by Owen Main

Jimmy Allen will be at home in San Luis Obispo this summer wtih the SLO Blues. By Owen Main

A little more than a week ago, after getting drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 23rd round, Cal Poly third baseman Jimmy Allen was pondering his future.

His near future and his present are both now firmly planted in San Luis Obispo.

“It’s been kind of crazy,” said Allen after he notched two hits in a game Sunday evening for the SLO Blues. “I love this area and I love being in SLO. It’s a great college town and a degree really means a lot to me because ultimately I’ll be able to fall back on that. I don’t know how long baseball’s going to take in my life so I just wanted to come back especially for my senior year and go from there.”

Allen was sixth on the Cal Poly roster this season, hitting .299 with 15 extra base hits — a significant fall-off from the 2012 campaign when he hit .345 with 27 extra base hits.

“I struggled, but I think it was really good for me because my sophomore season I pretty much was hot the whole year and it kind of humbled me that it’s not that easy. The game is going to get you when you least expect it. I think it just showed that I can struggle but can come out and be the player I know I can be, especially during regionals,” said Allen.

In the NCAA Tournament regional, Allen collected eight hits in three games as he helped Cal Poly win its first-ever NCAA Tournament game.

Instead of being assigned to a low minor league team, Allen is now working on improving, playing for the Blues this summer.

Jimmy Allen follows through on one of his two hits during Sunday’s SLO Blues victory over the Bakersfield Sound. By Owen Main

“It’s tough,” he said. “You’ve got to get your lifts in in the morning but all you want to do is sleep. You get to the field at 1:00 for early hitting, but the game doesn’t get over ’til 9:00 and then you’re home at 10:00. You still have to eat. It’s all about time management and how bad you want to get better and how much you love the game.”

As a local on the team, Allen is a source of local knowledge for other Blues players, most of whom play their college baseball out of state.

“I’ve been here a week to the day, but a lot of guys have wanted to know things to do, places to eat, date ideas, sort of like that stuff, and I give them all my input so it’s fun.”

With Sunday’s win, the Blues are now 25-7 on the season.

Allen also said that closer Reed Reilly will forgo the professional ranks for one more season to return for his junior season.

In other news:

Cal Poly pitcher Matt Imhoff has been named to the Team USA 24-man roster. The team will play three exhibition games over the next few days and then go to Japan to play a 5-game series vs. the host country. There will also be a series with Cuba. Imhoff is the first Cal Poly player to be named to Team USA since the Mustangs moved to Division 1.

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Blues infielder Taylor Anderson (Cuesta College) rounds third base during the Blues’ victory over Long Beach on Sunday. By Owen Main

Sunday was one of those days. The air was muggy and the sky was cloudy. A strong breeze blew wind that was neither warm nor cold — it was just there. It was the kind of day you’d get a sunburn and never see the sun.

And so, on an enigmatic Sunday in June, I thought it was high time I caught my first Blues game of the year. After having General Manager Adam Stowe on the podcast earlier in the month, I had failed to actually get myself out to a game.

The Blues are off to a really hot start in the California Collegiate League — 20-5 to be exact. While the wood bats don’t always kindle the most exciting brand of baseball, the team does feature players from mostly BCS conferences and continues to build a winning reputation. Here’s a taste of the experience on Sunday.

What I learned from the Blues game:

There isn’t such thing as a typical Blues fan

On my own at the game, I waded through the fans both young and old throughout the stadium. The Blues draw a wide variety of fans, from baseball junkies, to couples, to young families and fathers catching a game with their kid(s).

Over a summer, you can really get to know players

Much like a minor league situation, a fan can really get to know a group of players over the summer. The Blues play six or seven days per week and with half of those games at home, there are myriad opportunities to grow to enjoy watching particular players, much like fans at minor league ballparks might. It’s a small thing, but for someone in San Luis Obispo who wants to have a baseball fan experience like in a bigger city, the Blues are that opportunity.

Sinsheimer is intimate

Growing up, I always though Sinsheimer was a pretty big facility. Having been at Cal Poly games all Spring, I now realize I might have been wrong. One thing I wish Cal Poly had done more of is the grassy knoll behind the stadium itself. Seeing families on blankets in the grass at a baseball game enjoying a weekend afternoon made me nostalgic, though I don’t know for what. Let’s just say that it makes the stadium seem more friendly and adds to the fan atmosphere of the ball park.

This Blues team seems pretty cohesive.

Maybe it was the Long Beach pitcher plunking at least three Blues players, including two in a row, but it seemed like the Blues were extra chatty and supportive of one another. Despite the fact that they’ve only known each other for a few weeks, this year’s version fo the Blues seems like a relatively cohesive unit already. Their 20-5 record would support a good dugout/clubhouse atmosphere theory too.

The sound of a wood bat hitting a ball on the barrel never gets old.

This one is self-explanatory. Again, the balls don’t usually go as far, but when they get hit juuuust right, that sound is as sweet as any in sports.

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