Friday, May 2
Riverside, CA
6:00 pm
UC Riverside
20-21, 0
7
vs
3
Cal Poly
36-9, 0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cal Poly | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 1 |
| UC Riverside | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 7 | 13 | 1 |
Photo by: Gabriel L. Acosta
Smigelski, Stuart Keep Mustangs In Check As Baseball Tops #3 Cal Poly 7-3
5/2/2014 10:55:00 PM | Baseball
Riverside—With four weeks remaining in the regular season and a potential NCAA postseason bid on the line, the UC Riverside Baseball Team took its first step towards securing that bid Friday with a 7-3 victory over the third ranked team in the nation, Cal Poly (Box Score).
It is the third straight win over a ranked opponent for the Highlanders who beat #19 UC Santa Barbara on Sunday and #27 UNLV on Tuesday.
UCR (20-21, 8-5) squared off against one of the top pitchers in the Big West Conference Friday in the form of Matt Imhoff who came into the series with an 8-2 record, a 2.08 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 73.2 innings of work. But Imhoff didn't make it into the fourth inning Friday evening.
The Mustangs (36-9, 12-4) offense staked him to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, though, as Zach Zehner singled through the right side off of Highlanders starter Jake Smigelski (6-5) and Chris Hoo singled up the middle to put runners on the corners. Peter Van Gansen then laid down a safely squeeze to plate the first run of the game.
The Highlanders tied the game up in their half of the second. David Andriese singled to left, and moved to third as Ryan Drobny couldn't handle Imhoff's pick off attempt, which found its way into the Mustangs bullpen. Todd Walker followed with a single through the left side tying the score at one.
Smigelski retired the Mustangs in order in the top of the third, and UC Riverside's offense exploded for four runs in the bottom of the third inning. Joe Chavez opened the inning with a single to left just over the shortstop's glove.. He advanced to second on a wild pitch, and Devyn Bolasky singled through th left side to put runners on the corners. Francisco Tellez walked to load the bases, and one batter later, Andriese doubled to right center plating a pair. Walker followed with a single down the right field line scoring two more, and putting the Highlanders up 5-1.
Imhoff was done after the third, as Danny Zandona came on in relief. After keeping UC Riverside off the board in the fourth, Zangona plunked Nick Vilter to begin the fifth. An Andriese single moved Vilter to second, and a pair of wild pitches brought him around with the Highlanders' sixth run of the evening.
The Mustangs ended Smigelski's night in the top of the sixth. Zehner laced a one-out single to right just over Chavez's glove at second. After Jimmy Allen then singled back up the box, Smigelski struck out Hoo for the second out of the inning. That pushed Smigelski's pitch count over 100, and Head Coach Doug Smith brought Dylan Start out of the pen. Van Gansen greeted Stuart with a single to right, but pinch hitter Brett Barbier struck out to end the inning.
Cal Poly made it a three-run game in the top of the seventh as Mark Mathias doubled to center and advanced to third on a fly out to right. Zack Zehner then hit a grounder to short which should have ended the inning, but Vilter bobbled it, and Mathias scored on the plate to cut the UCR advantage back to four.
Chavez got that run back all by himself in the bottom of the seventh as he ripped a solo shot over the left field wall to lead off the inning.
Stuart kept the Mustangs in check the rest of the way earning his third save of the season.
The Highlanders and Cal POly play game two of their three-game series on Saturday beginning at 6 pm PT at The Plex.
It is the third straight win over a ranked opponent for the Highlanders who beat #19 UC Santa Barbara on Sunday and #27 UNLV on Tuesday.
UCR (20-21, 8-5) squared off against one of the top pitchers in the Big West Conference Friday in the form of Matt Imhoff who came into the series with an 8-2 record, a 2.08 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 73.2 innings of work. But Imhoff didn't make it into the fourth inning Friday evening.
The Mustangs (36-9, 12-4) offense staked him to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, though, as Zach Zehner singled through the right side off of Highlanders starter Jake Smigelski (6-5) and Chris Hoo singled up the middle to put runners on the corners. Peter Van Gansen then laid down a safely squeeze to plate the first run of the game.
The Highlanders tied the game up in their half of the second. David Andriese singled to left, and moved to third as Ryan Drobny couldn't handle Imhoff's pick off attempt, which found its way into the Mustangs bullpen. Todd Walker followed with a single through the left side tying the score at one.
Smigelski retired the Mustangs in order in the top of the third, and UC Riverside's offense exploded for four runs in the bottom of the third inning. Joe Chavez opened the inning with a single to left just over the shortstop's glove.. He advanced to second on a wild pitch, and Devyn Bolasky singled through th left side to put runners on the corners. Francisco Tellez walked to load the bases, and one batter later, Andriese doubled to right center plating a pair. Walker followed with a single down the right field line scoring two more, and putting the Highlanders up 5-1.
Imhoff was done after the third, as Danny Zandona came on in relief. After keeping UC Riverside off the board in the fourth, Zangona plunked Nick Vilter to begin the fifth. An Andriese single moved Vilter to second, and a pair of wild pitches brought him around with the Highlanders' sixth run of the evening.
The Mustangs ended Smigelski's night in the top of the sixth. Zehner laced a one-out single to right just over Chavez's glove at second. After Jimmy Allen then singled back up the box, Smigelski struck out Hoo for the second out of the inning. That pushed Smigelski's pitch count over 100, and Head Coach Doug Smith brought Dylan Start out of the pen. Van Gansen greeted Stuart with a single to right, but pinch hitter Brett Barbier struck out to end the inning.
Cal Poly made it a three-run game in the top of the seventh as Mark Mathias doubled to center and advanced to third on a fly out to right. Zack Zehner then hit a grounder to short which should have ended the inning, but Vilter bobbled it, and Mathias scored on the plate to cut the UCR advantage back to four.
Chavez got that run back all by himself in the bottom of the seventh as he ripped a solo shot over the left field wall to lead off the inning.
Stuart kept the Mustangs in check the rest of the way earning his third save of the season.
The Highlanders and Cal POly play game two of their three-game series on Saturday beginning at 6 pm PT at The Plex.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Smigelski, Jacob (6-5)
L: Imhof, Matt (8-3)
S: Stuart, Dylan (3)
Batting:
2B: Mathias, Mark 1 ; Torres, Nick 1
RBI: Van Gansen, Peter 2
SH: Van Gansen, Peter 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mathias, Mark 1 ; Zehner, Zack 2
PO: Van Gansen, Peter 1
Batting:
2B: Chavez, Joe 1 ; Vilter, Nick 1 ; Andriese, David 1
HR: Chavez, Joe 1
RBI: Chavez, Joe 1 ; Andriese, David 2 ; Walker, Thomas 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Chavez, Joe 2 ; Bolasky, Devyn 1 ; Tellez, Francisco 1 ; Vilter, Nick 1 ; Andriese, David 2
HBP: Vilter, Nick 1
PO: Vilter, Nick 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
3
RBI
3
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
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