The start to 2017 has been rocky for the Cal Poly baseball team. Over the weekend, Larry Lee’s team used great pitching from Erich Uelmen and Spencer Howard to win the three-game series from Wichita State two games to one. Cal Poly’s record is now 7-12 overall, with four home games against Nebraska and a one-day trip to Fresno standing between the Mustangs and the start of their Big West schedule. 

Starting pitchers Uelmen and Howard struck-out 21 total batters between them en route to back-to-back wins against the Shockers on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, Wichita State scored first and held Cal Poly hitters to 

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Cal Poly’s Nick Meyer doubled with one out, but Wichita State pitcher Zach Lewis struck out two straight Mustangs. Cal Poly never really threatened after that. 

Cameron Schneider, pitching for the injured Bobby Ay, showed-out well for Cal Poly, going six strong innings, giving up just one earned run and striking out five. But the Mustang bats couldn’t respond in-kind. It was the sixth time Cal Poly has been shut-out this season. 

Michael Clark has been really good so far for Larry Lee’s Mustangs. By Owen Main

Michael Clark pitched in all three games in the Wichita State series. The sophomore right hander has been something of a revelation out of the pen for Cal Poly, becoming their most reliable right handed pitcher. As the season goes on, it seems that Clark and Trent Shelton are going to be the guys Larry Lee probably trusts the most to back-up the starting pitchers. 

The two wins against the Shockers put a Cal Poly win streak at four games, the longest of the young season for the Mustangs, before it was snapped Sunday aternoon.

Cal Poly continues to struggle fielding the ball. Though they were error-free on Saturday, they committed three errors in Friday night’s win and after the weekend have now racked-up 32 errors in just 19 games. Defense matters a little less when pitchers get more of their outs via strikeout. 

After losing to Wichita State on Sunday, the Mustangs will look to bounce back against Darrin Erstad’s Nebraska Cornhuskers. The four-game series against Nebraska includes one game each on Thursday and Friday nights and a doubleheader on Saturday, weather permitting. 

The Nebraska series comes in the midst of Finals Week at Cal Poly, with spring break following. Don’t be surprised if Lee’s team uses spring break to sharpen-up and looks a little better to start Big West play. 

A BUFFALO WILD WINGS SOMEWHERE IN KENTUCKY —

On Friday night, Cal Poly fell back to Earth. They were 10-19 in the regular season. By most standards, they should have never got off the ground. While the last week has been a magical one in San Luis Obispo, this too, must come to an end.

Against the top-seeded Wichita State Shockers, the Mustangs just couldn’t get out of the blocks. After Chris Eversley made a three-pointer on Cal Poly’s first or second possession, the Mustangs missed 13 consecutive shots en route to a 21-5  disadvantage via a 21-2 run by Wichita State. It wasn’t the recipe for an upset or even, on this night, a great game.

Why weren’t the Mustangs wearing their road black uniforms? The world may never know… . By Owen Main

The noteable thing about the game wasn’t the game, though. It was that, even if just for a moment, and even if just within Cal Poly circles, they had Mustang fans believing. Maybe they just didn’t know any better, but I think there were a portion of Cal Poly fans who really did believe that this upset was going to happen.

A seven-seed in the conference tournament, there was no reason for Cal Poly to win three straight games and earn their first NCAA Tournament bid. Once they got there, there was no reason for a team that won only 10 games over the entire regular season to win their First Four game. But they did.

So, living in the clouds, Cal Poly fans were given at least a glimmer of hope to believe that they could be the first 16 seed to beat a one. Because, well, why not? As lots of people tweeted, “Why not us.”

The answers to “Why not us?” were myriad. The Shockers were undefeated all year and are a proven, tested team — I don’t care what the experts say about the legitimacy of their top seed. They were prepared to dominate. Cal Poly’s youth on the interior was exposed. No shots were falling. For goodness sakes, this is about how a 1-16 game is supposed to go when the 16 is in their first tournament.

Fans and seniors and green and gold supporters will be disappointed tonight. But it will be short-lived. The impact of Cal Poly’s first NCAA Tournament appearance will be felt for years to come.

Just the fact that they had some people believing that this 16-seed with a losing record has a chance is a testament to how great this postseason run has been. It’s been everything any Mustang fan could have ever hoped for this year. That shouldn’t get lost in the shuffle as the finality of the season being over sinks-in for Cal Poly fans.

Wichita State fans are probably asking what a lot of other fans are right at this moment — Who is Cal Poly? Is San Luis Obispo somewhere near Los Angeles? How did a team with 10 regular-season wins get this far?

So, here’s a little guide for those of you who haven’t been watching the Mustangs all year or, for that matter, couldn’t find San Luis Obispo on a map.

Sophomore transfer, David Nwaba, has been Cal Poly’s go-to guy for above-the-rim finishing. By Owen Main

What kind of a school is Cal Poly?

Let’s start with the University itself. Cal Poly is, academically, the best school in the CSU (Cal State) system. It’s really hard to get into — with what are almost certainly the most rigorous academic standards in the Big West Conference. Cal Poly’s engineering program is world-class and the agriculture (viticulture is a fast-growing major) and architecture programs are really, really good. The school motto is “Learn by Doing” and famous alumni include Weird Al, John Madden, and Ozzie Smith. Multiple astronauts have attended Cal Poly and a few recent alumni are exploring new worlds, playing professionally in Israel, Mexico, and Australia.

Joe Callero tells Jim Rome why it’s good to be weird

Unlike most Big West schools, Cal Poly has an FCS football program (one of only four FCS programs in California), which helps its athletic department. Cal Poly is also home to the biggest college soccer rivalry in the country with UCSB.

Much like the football team that runs the triple option, the Cal Poly basketball team plays a low-possession game and really works hard to not turn the ball over. In their three Big West Conference Tournament games, they only turned the ball over 14 times. Total.

Where is San Luis Obispo?

San Luis Obispo (SLO) is halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, on California’s Central Coast. You should really come visit sometime. It’s a relatively rural area, but is consistently on lists of best places to visit for vacation and also happiest places to live. Tourism and agriculture are two big businesses in the county. It’s not uncommon to find surfing farmers trading Wranglers for wetsuits at the end of the day. There are over 200 wineries in the county’s interior valleys and small beach towns dot its coast. On Higuera Street in downtown SLO, there is a great Thursday night farmer’s market.

While a lot of Cal Poly alumni live in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay area, a big percentage of people in San Luis Obispo County attended Cal Poly. The next Division 1 school is approximately 90 miles South (rival UC Santa Barbara), 130 miles East (Cal State Bakersfield and Fresno State), and 184 miles North (San Jose State).

How did a team with 10 regular-season wins make it this far?

This is what everyone is still asking themselves and why their run is so improbable and fun. The Mustangs have players like David Nwaba and Chris Eversley who can physically match-up with most anyone in the country at their position from a physical standpoint, but that will only get you so far.

The short answer is that everyone got healthy at the right time. Sharpshooters Reese Morgan and Kyle Odister can flat out fill it up, if left open. Eversley, who started at the 2 at one point, is back at the 4. The rotation of sophomores Joel Awich, Brian Bennett, and Zach Gordon have all found their niche roles, too. Because of that, coach Joe Callero has found a rotation he can count on over the past four days. When he needs strong defense he goes to Gordon. For shot-blocking and quick springiness, Awich is his guy. Bennett has had a mature back-to-the-basket game since he stepped on-campus last year.

This is a team that believes in itself and has improved its team culture every season since Joe Callero took over. Eversley and Nwaba are the emotional catalysts and, at the end of the day, you can probably count on them to lead the team in scoring, but you never really know where the rest of the points are coming from, and that makes the team tough to scout and prepare for. If three or four Mustangs are in double figures, usually that means good things for Cal Poly.

Who should Wichita State be worried about?

Eversley has been Cal Poly’s best player for the past two seasons, earning first and second-team all conference honors in 2013 and 2014 respectively, but he is best when he plays off the ball. At his best, he scores off mid-range jumpshots and offensive rebounds. Every other player probably has something they do really well and, looking impartially at it, some major hole in their game. David Nwaba doesn’t shoot from outside 10-15 feet. Brian Bennett, at 6’9″, doesn’t rebound super-consistently. I could go on.

The point is, Cal Poly’s basketball ecosystem is pretty intricate and may be somewhat delicate from a “who does what” standpoint to be successful. It’s one of the reasons, perhaps, that it took them this long to figure it out and play this well. The number-one thing to watch out for, I think, is Cal Poly’s shooting. If they get/stay hot from three-point range, they can stay in a game. If they come out 1-6 or something, it could be a long evening.

Is a 1-16 upset really a possibility?

Probably not. It’s never happened.

A reporter asked Eversley after the Texas Southern game if Wichita State had something to worry about. Eversley gave the politically correct answer — he is pretty smart and savvy with the media. Maybe, inside, he believed something different. You figure a successful college cager is probably pretty competitive. If he thought he had no chance, then he wouldn’t be who he is.

So, no, Cal Poly probably won’t pull the upset. Just don’t tell them because, as weird as this season has been, they definitely still believe. Whatever happens, don’t expect the Mustangs to hang their heads either. Mid-way through a tough skid in Big West play, after a home loss to Cal State Fullerton during which the Mustangs looked lost in the first half, Eversley gave a pretty memorable quote.

“Until we lose the final game of the season,” Eversley said, “until I’ve played my last game in this jersey, the sky’s not falling.”

Improbably, they’ve been keeping that sky from falling for four games over a span of seven days. If they do manage to win on Friday, it would be more than improbable. It would be historic.

Eversley reiterated in a tweet today something the sixth-ranked Cal Poly baseball team has been tweeting all year, so I guess take it for what it’s worth.

#WhyNotUs

— Chris Eversley (@chriseversley) March 20, 2014