Cal Poly sweeps UC Davis as Mustangs remain in hot pursuit of Big West leaders
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - Freshman Braxton Thomas and senior Jake Steels each homered, two of 19 Cal Poly hits as the Mustangs (25-16, 15-6) completed the series sweep of UC Davis after a 13-6 victory Sunday afternoon at Baggett Stadium.
Eight Mustangs recorded at least one RBI and six had at least two hits as Cal Poly scored runs in seven of the eight innings they hit.
Steels was 4-6 on the day with three RBIs, all via his home run in the seventh inning. He raised his batting average back above .400 to .409. Thomas was 2-4 with a pair of RBIs, two of his three for the series in his first action of the season.
Ryan Stafford and Ryan Fenn each had three hits in the game. For Stafford, he extended his hit streak to 21 games moving him into fifth place in program history for longest hitting streaks.
On the mound, freshman starter Griffin Naess had another very strong outing. He went 6 2/3 innings and was responsible for just two runs allowed while striking out five to earn the win and stay unbeaten this season at 6-0.
Cal Poly opened the ballgame with three runs in the first inning, including two before the first out was recorded. They then scored one run in both the second and third innings, including Thomas' first career home run in the third.
The Mustangs had multi run innings in the sixth, seventh, and eighth. With Cal Poly leading 8-1 in the seventh, UC Davis made things interesting with four runs to cut the lead down to 8-5. However, Steels' three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh put the Mustangs ahead comfortably.
With the sweep, Cal Poly stays in contention for a Big West title. They are currently in fourth place at 15-6, just behind UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, and CSUN who are all 14-4.
The Mustangs will play a crucial three-game road series at UC Irvine this upcoming weekend. Before that however, Cal Poly will head a few hours east on Tuesday to face Fresno State for a single game at 5 p.m.
(Article courtesy of Cal Poly Athletics)
