Cal Poly will make its fifth appearance in an NCAA Division I regional at Jackie Robinson Stadium, home of the top-ranked UCLA Bruins, following its victory at The Big West Baseball Championship at UC Irvine, according to a May 25 announcement.
The selection places Cal Poly (36-22) in the Los Angeles Regional later this week, facing Virginia Tech (30-24) in the opening round on Friday. UCLA (51-6) will play Saint Mary’s (34-25), with game times yet to be announced. The Mustangs previously played at this regional site in 2013.
“As you would expect with the number one team in the country, with only six losses, and the three other teams, this regional is loaded with solid teams,” said Larry Lee, Cal Poly’s head coach now in his 24th year.
Virginia Tech enters after splitting two games at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and posting a seventh-place finish in conference play. The Hokies’ statistics include a .280 batting average, a 6.95 earned run average for pitching, and a .978 fielding percentage over 54 games. Cal Poly secured its second consecutive Big West Championship by winning three out of four games over the weekend despite being outscored overall.
Key performances for Cal Poly included five scoreless innings from Corden Pettey and Nick Bonn’s school-record 15th save during Sunday’s title game against UC San Diego. Offensively, catcher Ryan Tayman leads regulars with a .355 batting average along with 18 doubles and 16 home runs this season. Shortstop Nate Castellon and third baseman Alejandro Garza are also among ten Mustang players hitting above .280.
The upcoming regional marks Cal Poly’s first baseball matchup against Virginia Tech; historically, they are 13-32 versus UCLA and hold a positive record against Saint Mary’s. All regionals will be played Friday through Monday under double elimination rules, followed by Super Regionals from June 5–8 and culminating in the College World Series set for June 12–21/22.