By snoadmin
This wasn’t the Dirtbags’ first conference sweep – in fact it was their third in a row.
But this was different than the CS Northridge and the Pacific sweeps. This was Cal Poly – the second best hitting team and the best defensive team in the conference. Not to mention a top contender in the current Big West race.
“I was looking forward to see how they would react against getting back into the conference against upper teams in our conference,” said Dirtbags’ head coach Mike Weathers. “I thought that was a good test for us, and we responded well.”
The Dirtbags responded by launching three offensive attacks, and managing to pull away with yet another come-from-behind victory. They took the Mustangs 8-3 Friday, 15-4 Saturday, and capped the weekend at Blair Field with an 11-7 win Sunday.
Cal Poly gave it a strong push on Sunday, taking a 4-0 lead in the top of the fourth. But in one long inning, the Mustangs saw their chances of winning hit out of the park.
The Dirtbags were down 4-1 in the bottom of the sixth. Cal Poly starter Thomas Eager came back on the mound, probably not expecting his outing to end like it did.
Shane Peterson extended his hitting streak to 20 games when he hit an RBI single to drive in TJ Mittelstaedt, cutting the lead in half. Matt Cline stole third and advanced home on a catching error, putting the Dirtbags within one run of tying.
The tables were then turned towards the LBSU dugout. Mittelstaedt was about to be run down on the third base line, but advanced home for the tying run when third baseman Brent Morel missed the throw from catcher Wes Dorrell.
“From then on I thought [Eager] kind of lost it,” Weathers said. “And we took advantage of that.”
AJ Pinocchio then followed with an RBI single to center field, scoring Perry from second to drive in the tie breaking run.
“That was my buddy on the mound [from summer ball] so I wanted to beat him bad,” Pinocchio said. “I always expect to succeed. And that’s my job. When the coach calls on my number I’m just ready to go.”
The damage was still not done. An emotional Eager walked off the mound hoping his relievers would stop the bleeding. But the blood continued to gush forth, as 14 batters rallied for 10 runs in the inning.
“I don’t think you ever think you’re going to get ten,” Weathers said. “When I was a kid playing wiffle ball at the end of the block, my buddy and I would always score 10.”
The Mustangs tried to come back with a 3-run rally in the seventh. But closer Bryan Shaw didn’t allow them to get their runners in. Although he didn’t technically record the save, his clutch performance saved the Dirtbags from losing the sweep.
“I just go in and do my job, and basically do it the best I can,” Shaw said. “If they get on [base] then they get on. I never really get nervous. I try to just get out of it basically.”
The Dirtbags 10-2 conference record (30-14 overall) puts them one game ahead of UC Riverside (30-17, 9-3), who up until yesterday was tied with LBSU for first place.
Peterson’s 20-game hitting streak now puts him within three of tying the conference leader, UC Santa Barbara’s Robbie Blauer, and is one of nine players in LBSU history to hit safely in 20 straight games.
