RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Highlanders (20-32, 8-16) entered their final game of the season Saturday afternoon needing just two extra-base hits to do something no UCR baseball team had ever done before.
Although they would go on to a 6-5 Senior Day defeat to Cal Poly through 10 hard-fought innings, the Highlanders would set a new single-season Big West record in style, thanks to a trio of home runs.
Connor Cannon's solo shot in the bottom of the third was UCR's 83rd extra-base hit during conference play, surpassing the program's previous all-time mark of 82, set back in 2010. It also gave the Highlanders some welcome breathing room, putting them up 3-1 as they went for their first win over the Mustangs this weekend.
The score would remain the same until the sixth, when a run from AJ Sawyer would put his team up 4-1. Following a walk, Sawyer reached second on a Mustang double play. He went on to score courtesy of a Colby Schultz single to right field.
The Highlanders would answer a Cal Poly run in the seventh with one of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Facing two outs, Dean Miller smashed a solo homer of his own to left center, making it 5-2. That tied a season-high for UCR, which finished with three home runs for the third time this season. Miller went a perfect 4-for-4 for the day, notching his first four-hit game in a Highlander jersey.
Unfortunately for the home side, the next four runs belonged to the Mustangs, three of which came in the eighth to help send the game to extra innings. Cal Poly's Nick Meyer scored the go-ahead run off an RBI single from Cole Cabrera.
Needing a run to tie, UCR showed some life late, picking up back-to-back clutch singles from Schultz and Tony Gudino against two outs. However, that would be the Highlanders' final offensive production of the day, as their 15-10 advantage in hits was squandered as they left 13 runners on base to Cal Poly's eight.
UC Riverside ends the season with some remarkable offensive numbers, finishing second-to-none in the Big West in slugging (.430), home runs (20), doubles (57) and triples (8) during conference play. Their .430 slugging percentage ranks second all-time behind the 2010 squad (.478).
Schultz, Cannon, Nathan Webb and Matt Hardy all ended the day with two hits apiece. Eight different Highlanders saw time on the mound, totaling eight strikeouts between them.
As they did in the series opener on Thursday, the Mustangs gained the upper hand early in the first. Leadoff batter Alex McKenna reached on a single, and after stealing second went on to score the first run of the day on an RBI single to left by teammate Bradlee Beesley.
UCR was held hitless through the first, but Matt Hardy and Dean Miller would open the second with back-to-back singles. Although a double play on the third at bat would take Miller out of the picture, Webb would step up to blast his third homer of the year down the left field line.
Webb went on to finish 2-of-4, also singling in the bottom of the sixth. He ends his freshman year with 41 hits, 20 of which went for extra bases.
The win was also the Highlanders' 11th at The Plex this season, one more than they had in 2017.
