Cal Poly moves to .500 with win at Fresno State
FRESNO, Calif. - Despite the veterans Cal Poly lost over the off-season, Head Coach Larry Lee and the Mustangs (6-6, 0-0 BW) continue to prove their developmental abilities in a decisive 7-2 win over Fresno State on Tuesday.
Newcomers Jack Collins (3-for-5) and Nate Castellon (1-for-3) each tallied a pair of RBIs to help Cal Poly beat a strong Fresno State squad that played a hard-fought series against UC Santa Barbara last weekend, even taking a win off the Gauchos.
Collins, Cal Poly's leading batter in nine statistical categories, is now third in the Big West for hits (19) and RBIs (16). He has hits in all 12 games this season, extending the streak with his sixth multi-hit game.
Ryan Fenn (3-for-4), Alejandro Garza (2-for-3), and Dylan Kordic (3-for-4) all put up multi-hit efforts alongside Collins as the Mustangs tallied double-digit hits as a team for the fifth time. They scored in five different innings, including four unanswered runs leading to the ninth inning.
True freshman southpaw Luke Kalfsbeek impressed in his first career start, pitching 4 ? innings while allowing just a pair of runs through 71 total pitches. Though he did not earn the win, Kalfsbeek has now helped the Mustangs beat both of their midweek opponents this season.
Chris Downs, who earned the victory, is enjoying a solid sophomore season for the Mustangs, wrapping up the last 4 ? innings against Fresno State, holding the Bulldogs to only three hits and one run. Downs has not given up more than three hits or two runs in his five appearances in 2025.
The Mustangs were already on the board in the top of two thanks to Nate Castellon's RBI that scored Cam Hoiland. Fenn and Kordic followed that up with their runs in consecutive innings, Fenn due to a zero-out double play that allowed him to come home still and Kordic on a wild pitch.
Fresno State pulled a pair of runs back in the fifth, but the Mustangs responded in the top of six as true freshman Nate Castellon picked up his second RBI of the evening.
After a short video review in the sixth, Nate Castellon beat a catcher's tag at home, giving Garza an RBI and the Mustangs a three-run lead, 5-2.
Two innings later, Cal Poly's RBI leader Jack Collins gave the Mustangs some more insurance by tallying another pair of RBIs, scoring Fenn and Garza to extend the lead. The gap would prove insurmountable for the Bulldogs as Downs would allow just one more run before shutting down Fresno State and earning the 7-2 win.
Cal Poly is back at home this weekend to kick off Big West action against Cal State Fullerton.
(Article courtesy Cal Poly Athletics).
