Cal Poly’s baseball team will begin an eight-game road stretch starting Friday, April 29, with a three-game series against UC Irvine. The Mustangs, currently leading the Big West Conference with a 15-6 record, will face the Anteaters at Cicerone Field at Anteater Ballpark.
This series marks a crucial period in Cal Poly’s season as teams vie for spots in the upcoming Big West tournament. According to head coach Larry Lee, “Every conference game is important. At this point in the season, you have a clear idea of what needs to be accomplished. We get to play two high-end teams on the road the next two weeks before ending the season at home.”
The Mustangs recently secured a 7-0 win over Santa Clara and hold an overall record of 25-18. They lead UC San Diego by one game in conference standings, while UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Fullerton are tied for third place. The top five teams from the Big West advance to the conference tournament scheduled for May 20-24.
UC Irvine enters this weekend with a 19-23 overall record after defeating No. 21 USC and is tied for seventh place in conference play. Despite recent struggles this season, including losing 23 of their last 37 games after opening strong, UC Irvine has maintained consistent winning records in previous years.
Cal Poly leads the conference offensively with a .306 batting average and ranks among national leaders in doubles and hits. Alejandro Garza tops individual statistics for hits while Ryan Tayman leads in RBIs and home runs among other categories.
Both programs have extensive histories within Division I baseball; Cal Poly has won six out of seven conference series so far this year while UC Irvine has qualified multiple times for NCAA regionals and reached College World Series appearances twice since joining Division I.
