Jacob Lauing
jacoblauing.md@gmail.com
The sun didn’t set over Baggett Stadium until the fifth inning, but starting pitcher Joey Wagman’s performance between the first three innings and the last six was night and day.
The No. 20 Cal Poly baseball team (15-2) defeated No. 17 Notre Dame (10-5) behind a complete game, 12-strikeout night for Wagman, giving the Mustangs their best 17-game start since 1997.
Thursday marked Wagman’s second career complete game and his career-high in strikeouts, but he got off to a rough start in game one of the three-game series against the Fighting Irish. Through the first three innings, Wagman gave up three runs, walked one batter and hit another, putting the Mustangs down 3-1.
“The first three innings were just a battle,” Wagman said. “I really didn’t feel comfortable at all. It’s just one of those things where you have to fight through and you’ll figure it out.”
Wagman figured it out in the fourth inning. After the Mustangs scored five runs and reclaimed the lead to finish off the third, Wagman retired the Fighting Irish in order, and did so again in the fifth.
“He didn’t start off that great, but we had his back the whole way,” third baseman Jimmy Allen said. “He’s a warrior. His beginning didn’t phase him. He battled and let those things go.”
The Cal Poly offense, which has struggled to produce runs this season, came alive on Thursday night, partly because of the team’s recent trip to Kansas State, head coach Larry Lee said.
“Ever since we went to Kansas State, played in an offensive environment, we got a couple guys comfortable at the plate,” Lee said. “Hitting is contagious, and we’ve been feeling better and having better approaches at the plate.”
The Mustangs wasted no time putting runs on the board as second baseman Denver Chavez led off the first inning with a triple and scored two batters later on Allen’s RBI double.
“We had trouble early in ballgames creating any opportunities,” Lee said. “As of late, we’ve done a better job of that. Allen got hot a couple weeks ago and has done really well.”
Allen cashed in again in the third inning, collecting his second RBI of the night. The base hit put two runners on for freshman designated hitter Brian Mundell, who sent a ball over the left-field fence for his fifth home run in the past five games.
“He’s really caught fire in the middle of that lineup,” Lee said. “You’re not going to have everybody in a starting lineup hot offensively, but at one point we were scoring two or three runs a game and now we’re pushing that a little bit.”
In hopes of bolstering the offense even further, Lee made some changes to the starting lineup.
Redshirt sophomore Tommy Pluschkell made his first start of the season at first base, replacing Tim Wise, who is hitting only .171 in 13 games this season.
“It’s time to see what Tommy can do,” Lee said. “He’s a blue collar guy that battles, gives you good quality at-bats. With Tommy in there, we are solid defensively in the infield, which becomes a very important factor against the better teams.”
Wagman’s performance improved his record to 4-1, and his season ERA to 3.27.
“Sometimes starting pitchers just don’t have a great feel,” Lee said. “ (Wagman) kind of weathered the storm and from innings four on, he was very dominant. I’m sure he had the majority of his strikeouts in that time.”
Sophomore southpaw Matt Imhof will toe the rubber tomorrow night against the Fighting Irish in game two. The Mustang’s will have a fresh bullpen after Wagman’s complete game tonight.
“It feels good but it’s game one of the series,” Wagman said. “The only thing that really is tangible is that it saves the ‘pen. (We’re) fully loaded for tomorrow.”
First pitch is at 6 p.m.