Trip to Hawai’i is a sweeping success for Cal Poly Baseball
Mike Klan
HONOLULU, Hawai’i — Junior right-hander Carson Turnquist turned in his best outing on the mound as a Mustang while Cam Hoiland and Ryan Tayman combined to knock in three runs in the fourth inning to give Cal Poly the lead for good in a 7-3 victory over Hawai’i, completing a three-game Big West series sweep Sunday at Les Murakami Stadium.
Turnquist (1-0) replaced starter Josh Volmerding in the second inning and pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings in relief for the victory, scattering three hits with two walks and three strikeouts. It was the longest stint on the mound as a Mustang for the former Paso Robles High School standout, who underwent Tommy John surgery following his lone season at Oklahoma in 2023.
“Volmerding was feeling badly with lower body issues, so we brought in Turnquist and he came in, pounded the strike zone right away and gave us length and quality innings which allowed us to work our offense for some runs, shorten the game and turn it over to (Nick) Bonn,” said 24th-year Mustang head coach Larry Lee.
“Turnquist’s performance was very beneficial for our team today,” Lee added. “He checked all the boxes we needed, especially after losing (Laif) Palmer on Saturday.”
Palmer suffered a double fracture of his left ankle in the first inning of Saturday’s 11-inning 10-7 Mustang victory and will undergo surgery next week.
Hawai’i took the lead for the first time in the series Sunday with three runs in the second frame for a 3-1 advantage before Cal Poly battled back with a run in the third on an RBI single by Dylan Kordic and three more in the fourth as Hoiland singled up the middle to drive in two and Tayman followed with a run-scoring double to left.
Turnquist made sure that the Mustangs would never look back, throwing 76 pitches, retiring the side in order once and not allowing a hit from the fourth through seventh innings. Senior right-hander Nick Bonn earned his second save of the series and third of the season with two scoreless frames of one-hit baseball.
With Sunday’s win, Cal Poly stretched its winning streak to four games, improved to 8-7 overall and kept pace with UC Santa Barbara, the only two teams in the Big West to open their conference schedules with 3-0 marks. The Gauchos swept Long Beach State at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.
Hawai’i, playing its first 16 games of the 2026 season at home, fell to 8-7 and 0-3. The Rainbow Warriors close out the long home stand Tuesday against Chaminade before playing their first two road series of the year next weekend at Long Beach State and in two weeks at UC Santa Barbara.
Cal Poly, which took advantage of a Hawai’i error to score a run in the first inning for the third straight game, tallied single runs in the eighth and ninth frames to pull away. Nate Castellon singled up the middle to knock in the run in the eighth while Casey Murray Jr. led off the ninth by belting his second home run of the season, a solo shot to right field.
Hawai’i, held to five hits in the game, scored all of its runs in the second inning, loading the bases on two hit batters and a walk before No. 9 hitter Jake Redding drove all three runners home on his double to right field.
Castellon, Kordic and Gavin Spiridonoff each had two of Cal Poly’s nine hits. Redding finished with a pair of hits to lead Hawai’i at the plate.
Cal Poly, which entered last week’s four games with a .236 team batting average, banged out 12 hits in a 12-2 win over Pepperdine and hit an even .300 in the Hawai’i series with 36 hits, including 15 extra-base hits, nine of them doubles.
“You never know when things will turn around from an offensive standpoint,” said Lee. “Getting Hoiland back in the lineup helped and we really utilized the ballpark to our advantage. It is a difficult place to hit because of the prevailing wind blowing from left to right.
“Hopefully this series will get us kickstarted from an offensive standpoint as our hitters get more comfortable with their plate appearances and finding our identity as an offensive team,” Lee added.
Hoiland, who missed several games with a hamstring injury three weeks ago, was 6-for-15 (.400) in the Hawai’i series with two doubles, a home run and five RBIs while Castellon, Spiridonoff and Murray all collected five hits. Castellon scored four times while Murray produced a double, two triples and one home run, scoring five times. Tayman was 4-for-12 with two doubles and three RBIs.
The Mustang pitching staff allowed 3.72 earned runs per game in the Hawai’i series and posted a 3.32 ERA for the week’s four games, allowing just 14 runs in the four victories.
Cal Poly, now 5-1 in road games this season, returns home for its next seven games inside Baggett Stadium.
This week the Mustangs host Fresno State on Tuesday at 5:05 p.m. before entertaining Cal State Bakersfield next weekend and UC Davis in two weeks for Big West series.
(Article courtesy of Cal Poly Athletics).
Chase White via The Santa Barbara Police Department
