Cal State Fullerton defeated Cal Poly 4-3 in the opening game of a Big West baseball series on May 8 at Goodwin Field. The Titans secured the win with early two-run rallies and strong pitching performances from Mikiah Negrete and Andrew Wright.
The outcome affects the conference standings, putting Coach Larry Lee’s Mustangs into a tie for first place with UC Santa Barbara, both holding a 17-8 record. The result also snapped a five-game losing streak for Cal State Fullerton, who now share fourth place with Hawai’i at 14-11.
Negrete improved his season record to 8-3 by allowing three runs and six hits over nearly seven innings, striking out five batters. Wright came in as relief after Negrete gave up a solo home run to Cam Hoiland and struck out five of six Mustang hitters during his appearance, earning his fifth save of the year.
Cal State Fullerton took an early lead with two runs in the first inning on plays by Cameron Kim and Esteban Olazaba. Cal Poly responded in the second inning with an RBI double from Gavin Spiridonoff and an RBI single by Jake Downing to tie the score. However, Paul Contreras’ two-RBI single put Fullerton ahead again in the bottom half of that inning.
Spiridonoff led Cal Poly offensively, going three-for-four at bat and raising his average to .322. Defensive highlights for Cal Poly included outfield assists from Dylan Kordic—who turned a double play—and Casey Murray Jr., who threw out a runner at home plate.
The teams will continue their three-game series Saturday evening when Carson Turnquist is scheduled to pitch for Cal Poly against Bobby Mahoney of Cal State Fullerton. The final game is set for Sunday afternoon.
