Hit parade for Cal Poly as they win a laugher at CSUN 17-1
Mike Klan
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — Zach Daudet and Alejandro Garza combined for six hits and five RBIs while Griffin Naess tossed six scoreless innings for his fifth win as Cal Poly scored early and often in a 17-1 romp past CSUN on Friday at Robert J. Hiegert Field.
Zaudet opened the game with his sixth home run of the season and added two singles for one more RBI, and Garza produced his team-leading 29th multiple-hit game of the season with three singles and a trio of RBIs for Coach Larry Lee’s Mustangs.
Naess (5-2) struck out three and walked one while scattering eight hits for the victory, lowering his ERA to 3.21. Luke Kovach, Troy Cooper, and Eric Kvidahl all pitched one inning in relief — Kovach and Kvidahl both struck out three, and Cooper added one more.
With the win, Cal Poly remained two games behind first-place UC Irvine in the Big West standings. The Mustangs earned their fifth straight win and are 33-15 for the season and 19-6 in conference play.
UC Irvine improved to 21-4 with a 14-11 win at Cal State Bakersfield. Third-place Cal State Fullerton dropped an 8-7 decision to Hawai’i at Goodwin Field, falling to 16-9 in Big West games.
Cal Poly scored three runs in the second inning, four in the fourth, and eight in the sixth, giving the Mustangs 82 innings with crooked numbers in 48 games this season.
Cal Poly’s 17 runs are the fourth-highest this year, exceeded by 18 against both Seton Hall and San Jose State and 20 in another Seton Hall contest, and the Mustangs accumulated 16 hits, marking the 29th time in their last 41 games with double-digit hits.
With his three hits Friday, Garza has put together seven consecutive multiple-hit games and is 17-for-32 (.531) in those contests. The sophomore third baseman and 2024 Big West Freshman Field Player of the Year singled in a run in the fourth, singled again in the sixth frame, and knocked in two more runs with an eighth-inning single.
Garza has hit in seven straight games and 27 of his last 28 contests.
In addition to his home run, Daudet singled to drive in another run in the second and singled again in the fourth. The senior first baseman now has 11 multiple-hit games this season.
Catcher Jack Collins and center fielder Casey Murray Jr. each added two hits and a pair of RBIs, while right fielder Dylan Kordic singled twice with one RBI.
Second baseman Ryan Fenn doubled to drive in two runs in the second inning, extending his hitting streak to eight game, while shortstop Nate Castellon, the reigning Big West Field Player of the Week, doubled in a run in the fourth to extend his hitting streak to seven games and is 17-for-30 (.567) during that stretch.
CSUN banged out 12 hits, but all of them were singles, and the Matadors stranded 11 runners on the base paths. Center fielder Roberto Gonzalez had three hits and knocked in the lone CSUN run of the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. Second baseman Kyle Panganiban, right fielder Andrew Gauna, designated hitter Will Linberg, and first baseman Matthew Pena all contributed a pair of singles.
The second game of the series will be played Saturday at 4:35 p.m., with Cal Poly sophomore southpaw Josh Volmerding (5-3, 4.81 ERA) to face CSUN junior right-hander Diego Gutierrez (2-6, 7.26 ERA).
Sunday’s series finale is set for a 1 p.m. start.
(Article courtesy of Cal Poly Athletics).