The Washington State Cougar baseball team lost 9-0 against the Cal Poly Mustangs on Feb 20. A dominant pitching performance from Cal Poly starter Griffin Naess set the tone for the entire game. WSU moves to 1-3 on the season, while Cal Poly goes to 3-1.
The Mustangs struck early in the game, posting eight runs in the first four innings. Cal Poly got things started in the first with a single from Braxton Thomas that scored two runs. A throwing error from WSU center fielder Trevor Smith, allowed Ryan Tayman to advance to third base which set him up to score on a single by Casey Murray Jr. Thomas would come around to score on a double play that would end the inning for the Mustangs.
Cal Poly consistently put the ball in play throughout the entire game, totaling 13 hits, five walks and only four strikeouts. This is a true testament to the approach of the Cal Poly hitters, where on the season they have only one home run, but 23 hits.
The scoring continued in the second inning for the Mustangs, thanks to a two-run double by Alejandro Garza to extend the Cal Poly lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, Garza reached on a fielding error by Gavin Roy that scored another run for the Mustangs. This run would take WSU starting pitcher Luke Meyers out of the game.
Meyers looked to build off of a strong start against Alabama last week where he only allowed one run in 3 ⅔ innings pitched. Meyers went 3 ⅔ innings again against Cal Poly, but allowed six runs and 10 hits.
One bright side for the Cougs was the bullpen, who struggled mightily in the opening series against Alabama, but only allowed one run in 5 ⅔ innings. Trevor Stowe led the way with only one run allowed through two innings, while Erik Rodriguez, Austin Sheldon and Dillon O’Neil all did not allow a single run in the game.
Errors were another issue for WSU that allowed runners to get into scoring position for Cal Poly. This is a growing issue for WSU, recording two errors in each of the past three games.
WSU struggled to get anything going offensively against starting pitcher Griffin Naess, who went seven innings with 14 strikeouts against the Cougars. In total, WSU had six base runners the entire game. After an impressive eight runs in the first game of the season, the WSU offense has only scored two runs in the past three games.
One final highlight for the Cougars is center fielder Trevor Smith who continues to make spectacular catches in the outfield.
The next game in the series is at 3:05 p.m on Feb. 21, where sophomore pitcher Nick Lewis will make his second start of the young season.
