Cal Poly clinched its Big West baseball series against Long Beach State with a 6-2 victory on May 16, keeping its hopes alive in the conference regular season title race. The game took place before the largest crowd of the 2026 season at Baggett Stadium.
The Mustangs’ pitching was led by Carson Turnquist, who struck out nine batters over six innings and allowed just two runs, one of them earned. Chris Downs finished the game with three scoreless innings to earn his second save. Six different Cal Poly players drove in runs during the game, helping build an early lead that proved decisive.
“An RBI triple by Casey Murray Jr., run-scoring doubles off the bats of Dylan Kordic and Cam Hoiland, run-producing singles by Ryan Tayman and Dante Vachini and a grounder to second base by Alejandro Garza accounted for Cal Poly’s six runs, all in the first three innings of the game,” according to the team statement.
The victory secured Cal Poly’s ninth Big West series win out of ten this season. Both Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara now share identical records at the top of the conference standings. If both teams remain tied after Saturday’s games, they will be declared co-champions; however, UC Santa Barbara would receive top seed for next week’s tournament at UC Irvine.
Long Beach State managed only three hits against Mustang pitching. The Dirtbags’ scoring included a home run from Conner Stewart and a single from Ty Borgogno. Jaxon Baker pitched five scoreless relief innings for Long Beach State but could not overcome Cal Poly’s early offensive surge.
Looking ahead, both teams will conclude their regular seasons on Saturday afternoon. Cal Poly is scheduled to start junior southpaw Josh Volmerding while Long Beach State will send freshman right-hander Jason Gerfers to the mound. The Mustangs also plan to honor their six seniors in a pregame ceremony.
