Mike Klan
BLUE CREEK, North Carolina. (KEYT) – In their Cal Poly debut, Oregon State transfer Laif Palmer scattered four hits over five innings and struck out seven while Sean McGrath and Corden Pettey, both freshmen, allowed just one run over the final four frames as the Mustangs completed a sweep of their doubleheader at Campbell with a 4-3 victory in Saturday’s nightcap at Jim Perry Stadium.
Coupled with a 16-5 triumph in the opener, Cal Poly (2-1) clinched the three-game non-conference series, bouncing back from Friday’s season-opening 5-2 setback. Sunday’s scheduled finale was moved to Saturday night due to an approaching weather front.
“Having to play a doubleheader after losing the opener the day before shows some character and some resilience from our team,” said 24th-year Mustang head coach Larry Lee. “We turned what could have been a big negative into a positive.
“We still have a long way to go in all facets of the game to become the team that we need to become,” Lee added.
In the nightcap, Cal Poly scored single runs in the first and third innings. Dante Vachini opened the game with a double and eventually scored on a groundout by Alejandro Garza. The same two players figured prominently in the third-inning run as well, with Vachini singling and Garza knocking him home with a single of his own.
Campbell scored twice in the fifth to tie the game at 2-2, but Cal Poly wasted no time jumping back on top as Nate Castellon opened the sixth with a double and trotted home on Casey Murray Jr.’s run-scoring single to right field.
The Mustangs added what turned out to be a much-needed insurance run in the ninth on a double by Cam Hoiland and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jake Downing. Campbell pulled to within a run in the bottom of the ninth on Andrew Keller’s pinch-hit single to right before Pettey induced Carlos Lugo to roll a grounder to shortstop for the game-ending force play at second base.
Palmer (1-0) struck out a pair of batters in both the first and fifth innings to wriggle out of jams as Campbell stranded eight runners on the basepaths. McGrath pitched one scoreless frame while Pettey earned a save by giving up just one run and one hit over three innings, striking out four.
“Palmer threw great, McGrath worked himself out of some trouble and then Petty came in and did a real good job as a first outing for a freshman,” said Lee. “Against a good team on the road and playing three games in the course of 24 hours, we accomplished some things.
“It’s early. We’re still trying to figure out a lot of different things, who fits in where, defensively and in the batting order, but it was a good first weekend to get some answers,” said Lee.
Vachini was the lone Mustang with multiple hits in the nightcap. Four of Cal Poly’s seven hits were doubles. Campbell’s six hits included two singles by designated hitter Jonah Oster.
Cal Poly 16, Campbell 5 (Opener)
Cal Poly produced three crooked numbers, jumping to a 5-0 lead in the first inning, snapping a 5-5 tie with three runs in the seventh and breaking the game wide open with an eight-run ninth-inning rally to win the opener.
A two-run single by Braxton Thomas and a three-run home run by Ryan Tayman staked the Mustangs to their early 5-0 lead in the opening frame.
After Campbell scored in four of its first five at-bats to tie the game at 5-5, the Cal Poly bats woke up again in the seventh, scoring three times on RBI singles off the bats of Thomas and Garza and a sacrifice fly by Hoiland.
The Mustangs sent 13 batters to the plate in the ninth, the eight-run explosion fueled by a two-run single by Dylan Kordic, a two-run double by Castellon and RBI singles from Garza and Downing. A wild pitch and an infield error accounted for the other two runs in the frame.
Josh Morano (1-0) earned the win in relief, securing eight outs and allowing a run and three hits. Nick Bonn tossed the final 2 1/3 innings for his first Mustang save, striking out five. Mustang starter Josh Volmerding went four innings, giving up four runs (three earned) and five hits.
David Rossow (0-1), the fourth of six Campbell pitchers used in the game, suffered the loss, allowing five runs in 2 2/3 frames.
Cal Poly’s 14 hits included three singles by Garza and two hits each for Thomas, Downing and Murray. First baseman Joey Morton had a double and two singles to lead Campbell’s eight-hit offensive attack.
(Article courtesy of Cal Poly Athletics)
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