SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – As the 2024 season continues to quickly approach its end, Cal Poly (32-19, 17-7 BW) finally get back to conference play with a penultimate series against UC San Diego (28-22, 15-12 BW) that very well could have a large bearing on the Mustangs’ title hopes.
Big West Outlook
As it currently stands, Cal Poly is third place in the Big West, which is two wins ahead of threatening challengers Hawai’i and CSUN, but still one win behind UC Irvine and three behind UC Santa Barbara, the most likely title winner heading into the weekend.
At three games behind the Gauchos, Cal Poly must stay within that margin to avoid being mathematically eliminated, meaning the Mustangs cannot lose a game if UCSB sweeps their respective series this weekend. However, it is worth noting Cal Poly’s tiebreaker advantage over both of the conference’s top teams.
Even so, the Mustangs do not have a realistic route through the RPI rankings given they are currently set at 100, and even sweeping their last two series will do little to move the needle. All this culminates in the only way to secure an NCAA Regionals bid being a conference title win.
Another record broken, another Mustang in the headlines! Congratulations to Ryan Stafford on becoming the program's new career doubles leader! ??#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/3yFhlEs4Mk
— Cal Poly Baseball (@CalPolyBSB) May 15, 2024
Riding High
The Mustangs are still easily one of the nation’s best overall defenses, ranked top-10 out of 295 Division I programs in earned run average (8th, 4.00), fielding percentage (7th, 0.982), and walks allowed per nine innings (8th, 3.22).
After taking over as a somewhat surprising Friday night starter to kick off 2024, Jakob Wright never looked back and has taken college baseball by storm. Initially recruited as an outfielder, Wright has done in two full seasons what many pitchers strive their entire careers to accomplish.
The southpaw was named on Thursday, May 16 to the list of semifinalists for the NCBWA’s most prestigious individual award: the Dick Howser Trophy, given annually to the voting committee's collegiate player of the year.
It is no surprise given the merit Wright has continued to rack up throughout 2024, being named the MLB Pipeline’s 140th best draft-eligible prospect on top of an 8-2 record, 92 strikeouts (26th in D1, 1st in Big West), and 2.77 ERA (28th in D1, 5th in Big West).
Ryan Stafford, D1Baseball’s third-best catcher in college baseball, continues pacing the conference with 81 hits and 21 doubles. The Big West All-Preseason honoree recently became Cal Poly’s all-time career doubles record holder as he surpassed Jimmy Allen (2011-14) and now has 58 total doubles.
With 21 on the season, Stafford is tied in 7th for Cal Poly’s all-time single-season mark, just six behind resetting the program record set by Brooks Lee (27) in 2021.
— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) May 15, 2024The best arm on @BigWestSports' best pitching staff, Jakob Wright (8-2, 2.77 ERA) is enjoying a breakout campaign for @CalPolyBSB ??
@PatrickEbert44 highlights the lefty in his latest D1 Spotlight ??
Scouting the… Tritons
Despite still being stuck in their reclassification period for one final season, the Tritons have lived up to the initial coaches’ preseason polls that had them battling against Hawai’i and CSUN for a third place spot. Even if UC San Diego currently sits in sixth with just one series left to play, the Tritons are as dangerous a foe as Cal Poly has played all season.
UCSD, like Cal Poly, is one of four programs in the conference to tally 20 or more wins at home this season. The Mustangs will be looking to upset the Tritons’ successful home record after being swept last season by UCSD at home as the opposition holds a 7-3 record against Cal Poly since 2021.
However, and despite decent offensive production with a .267 team batting average, the Tritons are 10th in the Big West with a 5.36 staff ERA and have allowed double digit runs in nine games this year as well as over five runs in 19 games.
Although there has been middling pitching from most in the UCSD staff, Izaak Martinez stands out as the clear and obvious star of the unit with the Big West’s top ERA (1.97) as a reliever with 59.1 innings pitched, 9 saves, and 60 strikeouts.
There are five Tritons with batting average over .280, which is led by Emiliano Gonzalez among eligible players. Gonzalez places at or near the top of the team with a .310 average, 48 hits, 10 doubles, 5 home runs, and 41 RBIs.
The series is set to take place from Friday to Sunday, with the three games starting at 6:00 p.m, 2:00 p.m., and 1:00 p.m. over the three days respectively. Following this weekend, which may come to determine Cal Poly’s title fate among other results in the conference, the Mustangs wrap up the season at home against Long Beach State next week in a rare Thursday to Saturday series.
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