Cal Poly Baseball ends 2024 season in style

Despite being mathematically eliminated from Big West competition last week, Cal Poly Baseball won this weekend's series against Long Beach State.

The Mustangs (35-22, 20-10 Big West) sent several seniors up front in their final game Saturday against the Dirtbags (25-29-1, 10-20 Big West.)

First baseman Joe YorkeCentral gardener Jake Steelsshortstop Aaron Casillas and right-handed pitchers Ryan Baum And Evan Tomlinson were all honored on Senior Day by their teammates, families and fans before their final game as a Mustang on Saturday.

Cal Poly finished its season in third place in the Big West Conference behind No. 13 UC Santa Barbara and No. 14 UC Irvine.

Picking up Wright where they left off

The Mustangs won the first game of their final series of the season 8-5 against the Long Beach State Dirtbags.

The Mustangs are officially out of the playoffs after losing a three-game series to UC San Diego last weekend.

Redshirt, sophomore, left-handed Jacob Wright took the mound for Cal Poly. Despite six total hits, the Mustangs let the Dirtbags collect five runs due to a few defensive miscues.

Long Beach sneaked within a run in the third inning with a sacrifice fly to take the first lead of the game. However, this race could have been avoided.

The runner advanced to second on a passed ball and got to third with one out, allowing him to score on the next batter's sac fly to make it 1-0.

In the fourth inning, they scored three runs on three straight doubles by redshirt junior second baseman Yorke. Ryan Fenn and first-year third baseman Alexander Garza.

An opposite-field home run by Long Beach State that fell just short made it 3-2 in the top of the fifth.

The Mustangs responded with three more runs in the bottom of the inning. Fenn collected his third hit of the game with a double down the left field line to make it two.

Baum took over in the seventh inning after Wright allowed only three hits.

Jonny Rodriguez hit another home run for Long Beach, this time a two-run shot that made it 7-4. With one out and runners on first and second, junior left-hander Jake Torres came in and ended the inning with a strikeout and an error.

Long Beach escaped with another run in the eighth. Torres gave up a double with one out and the runner advanced to third on a groundout. As a result, the runner scored on a ground ball to third base.

As the Dirtbags continued to advance, the Mustangs continued to respond. Casillas hit a triple off the wall in the bottom of the eighth.

Long Beach played with the infield against the Steels. He placed the ball over the top with just enough juice to bounce off the pitcher's head and score a single for Casillas.

Right-handed redshirt sophomore Tanner Sagouspe closed for the Mustangs and ended the 8-5 victory with a 1-2-3 inning and two strikeouts.

Mustangs comeback attempt fails

Cal Poly Baseball couldn't get it right when it counted in an eighth-inning comeback attempt against Long Beach State.

The Mustangs (34-22, 19-10 Big West) lost the second game of their final series of the year, falling to the Dirtbags (25-28-1, 10-19 Big West) by a score of 5-3.

They had loaded the bases with just one out in the frame, but a late-inning double play dashed their hopes of late-game heroics.

Garza led the way offensively for the Mustangs, going 4-for-4 as a junior receiver. Ryan Stafford went 2 for 4 and added an RBI to a season total of 46.

He currently ranks 11th in the Big West in RBIs.

The duo of Stafford and Steels, currently hitting .368 and .381 respectively, sit third and fifth in the Big West in batting average.

The Mustangs dominated the Dirtbags on the day, but they were unable to convert with runners in scoring position late in the game.

Right-handed starter Steven Brooks got the nod for his final start of the season, pitching four four-run innings with six strikeouts.

Freshman left-hander Josh Voldermerg took over for the next 4 2/3 innings in relief, allowing just one run with five strikeouts.

Volmerding kept the Mustangs in contention after entering the game, with the Dirtbags scoring four runs in the previous two innings.

Mustangs finish season with ease

With the bases loaded and one out, sophomore designated hitter Wyatt King entered the box looking to play hero for the Mustangs on Senior Day.

Trailing 6-5 in the middle of a ninth-inning comeback attempt, King quickly found himself trailing 1-2 in the count.

Cal Poly entered the eighth inning trailing 6-3 before coming back within two runs with an RBI single by the Steels.

The Mustangs got within one in the ninth on a sacrifice fly from Garza, making King the hero.

King made a high-speed throw and belted it against the left-field wall, as the largest crowd of the season at Baggett Stadium erupted with excitement and the dugout mobbed King at second base.

King finished the day 3-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs and a walk while Steels went 4-for-5 with two homers and three RBIs.

The win capped a 35-win season for the Mustangs, but it wasn't enough to push them past No. 12 UC Santa Barbara and No. 13 UC Irvine for the Big West title.

On the pitching side, freshman Griffon Naess got the start and struggled, allowing six runs in 5 2/3 innings.

Freshman left-hander Christopher Downs relieved Naess in the sixth inning and allowed just one hit in his 3 1/3 innings pitched, allowing the offense to complete the comeback.

In addition to the five starting seniors, the Mustangs are also expected to lose Stafford and Wright to this summer's MLB Draft, meaning a host of players will have to step up in their absence next season.