Big West Baseball: Composite Schedule || Standings || Stats 

Friday, April 22
Hawai’i at UC Davis, 2:30 p.m.
UC Irvine at Kansas State, 4 p.m. E+
Long Beach State at UC Santa Barbara, 5:30 p.m. E+
Cal Poly at UC Riverside, 6 p.m. E+
UC San Diego at CSU Bakersfield, 6:05 p.m. E+
CSUN at Cal State Fullerton, 7 p.m. E+

Saturday, April 23
Hawai’i at UC Davis, 1 p.m.
Long Beach State at UC Santa Barbara, 2 p.m. E+
UC Irvine at Kansas State, 2 p.m. E+
CSUN at Cal State Fullerton, 6 p.m. E+
Cal Poly at UC Riverside, 6 p.m. E+
UC San Diego at CSU Bakersfield, 6:05 p.m. E+

Sunday, April 24
UC Irvine at Kansas State, 9 a.m. E+
Long Beach State at UC Santa Barbara, 1 p.m. E+
CSUN at Cal State Fullerton, 1 p.m. E+
Hawai’i at UC Davis, 1 p.m.
Cal Poly at UC Riverside, 1 p.m. E+
UC San Diego at CSU Bakersfield, 1:05 p.m. E+

Tuesday, April 26
San Jose State at UC Davis, 3 p.m.
UC Riverside at Loyola Marymount, 6 p.m.
San Diego at Cal State Fullerton, 6 p.m. E+
UC Irvine at UCLA, 6 p.m.
Cal Poly at Santa Clara, 6 p.m.
San Diego State at Long Beach State, 6 p.m. E+
UC Santa Barbara at USC, 6 p.m.
 

All times Pacific, and subject to change; 
E+ - Streamed on ESPN PLUS

Thursday, April 14
Long Beach State 1, at No. 3 Oregon State 3
UC San Diego 6, at UC Santa Barbara 10
Cal Poly 1, at UC Irvine 7
CSUN 6, at UC Riverside 0
Hawai’i 7, at CSU Bakersfield 4
UC Davis 3, at Cal State Fullerton 9

Friday, April 15
Long Beach State 2, at No. 3 Oregon State 8
UC San Diego 5, at UC Santa Barbara 10
Cal Poly 4, at UC Irvine 3
CSUN 5, at UC Riverside 0
UC Davis 3, at Cal State Fullerton 4
Hawai’i 4, at CSU Bakersfield 1

Saturday, April 16
UC San Diego 7, at UC Santa Barbara 8
Cal Poly 7, at UC Irvine 6
CSUN 1, at UC Riverside 0
UC Davis 7, at Cal State Fullerton 11
Hawai’i 20, at CSU Bakersfield 6
Long Beach State 3, at No. 3 Oregon State 14

Tuesday, April 19
CSU Bakersfield 2, at Pepperdine 7
No. 13 UCLA 14, at UC Santa Barbara 4
San Diego State 2, at UC San Diego 4
USC 4, at Cal State Fullerton 5
CSUN 1, at Arizona State 6
No. 7 Stanford 10, at Cal Poly 8
Hawai’i 7, at Fresno State 10

Wednesday, April 20
Utah Valley 2, at UC Riverside 4
Fresno State 4, at Long Beach State 3

Big West wins in BOLD

What 2 Watch 4
The Big West schedule is back to Friday through Sunday this week. By the end of play Sunday, all 11 teams will have reached or moved past the halfway point of the 30-game slate.

UC Santa Barbara will look to gain further separation at the top at home against Long Beach State, while third-place Cal State Fullerton hosts CSUN. Hawai’i, which has won its last seven in league action, concludes its season-long seven-game trip to the mainland at UC Davis. Second-place Cal Poly is at UC Riverside, and CSU Bakersfield entertains UC San Diego. Twelve of these 15 contests, excluding the series in Davis, are scheduled to air on ESPN+.

UC Irvine is the team out of conference this weekend, as the ‘Eaters travel to Manhattan, Kan., for a three-game set against Kansas State (19-17) of the Big 12 Conference. The Wildcats are winners of two straight heading in from midweek action, following a home series victory over then-seventh-ranked Texas. K-State is 14-4 inside Tointon Family Stadium in 2022. All three matchups will be broadcast via Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

Seven sides then also take to the diamond on Tuesday, April 26, headlined by UC Irvine at No. 13 UCLA. UC Santa Barbara is at USC, while Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside take on West Coast Conference contenders San Diego at home and LMU on the road, respectively.

Poll Chatter
After moving from No. 24 to No. 19 a week ago, a second straight Big West series sweep bumped UC Santa Barbara up another six spots to a season-best No. 13 in Monday’s Collegiate Baseball poll, while Cal Poly remained at No. 26. Both teams continue to be listed in the others receiving votes category outside the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) top 30. The Gauchos are getting 17 votes beyond USA Today’s top 25.

Pair of Big West Tilts Announced for ESPNU
On Wednesday, Feb. 16, The Big West announced two baseball telecasts on ESPNU this spring which feature the top three teams in the preseason coaches’ poll. Defending conference champion UC Irvine will play at preseason favorite Long Beach State at 1 p.m. PT on Sunday, May 1. Then on May 6, UC Irvine hosts UC Santa Barbara under Friday night lights in a 7 p.m. PT showdown at Cicerone Field. The Anteaters and Gauchos represented The Big West in the NCAA postseason in 2021. Games aired on ESPN networks are available on the ESPN App, accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices to fans who receive their video subscription through an authenticated provider.

Statistical Superlatives
Through games played on April 20, Cal State Fullerton tops The Big West in batting (.289), UC Santa Barbara in pitching (3.92), and Long Beach State in fielding (.974). The Gauchos’ team ERA is 23rd nationally, and they also pace the league with 44 home runs.

Mustang shortstop Brooks Lee leads The Big West in several offensive categories, including batting (.387), on-base percentage (.491), hits (55), RBI (37), doubles (17) and walks (31). A school-record 15 of those bases on balls are of the intentional variety. He is tied for sixth in the country in doubles. Lee is now second in the league in slugging (.669) and OPS (1.160), with UC Santa Barbara’s Bryce Willits up to first in both categories (.716 and 1.192). Gabe Gonzalez of CSUN and Gaucho Broc Mortensen have nine home runs, followed by Lee among a trio with seven in his Triple Crown pursuit. Other offensive category leaders include UC Irvine’s Nathan Church and CSUN’s Andrew Sojka in runs (32), Cal Poly’s Ryan Stafford in at-bats (151), and UCSB’s Jordan Sprinkle in steals (17). Six players have three triples.

UC Irvine reliever Gordon Ingrebitson is tops among qualifiers in ERA (1.03), WHIP (0.69), strikeout-to-walk ratio (10.33) and walks allowed per nine innings (0.62), and second in opposing batting average (.176). Nationally, he is third in WHIP, fourth in ERA and walks allowed per nine innings, and ninth in strikeout-to-walk ratio. Benji Caggianelli of CSU Bakersfield is first in the league in opposing batting average (.175). Cal Poly’s Drew Thorpe paces The Big West by 26 with his 89 strikeouts, which ranks second in the nation. The right-hander is first in the conference in innings (62.1), second in ERA (2.31), WHIP (0.85) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.36), and third in opposing batting average (.177). Thorpe is 26th in Division I in strikeouts per nine innings (12.85). Mustang teammate Zach Button has six wins. UC Santa Barbara closer Ryan Harvey has nine saves, which is tied for seventh in the country.

Three Big West Backstops on Buster Posey Watch List
Three Big West underclassmen were among 87 named on Monday, April 18, to the 2022 watch list for the Buster Posey Award, given annually by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission to the top Division I collegiate catcher. They were sophomores Connor Burns of Long Beach State and Thomas McCaffrey of UC Irvine, and freshman Ryan Stafford of Cal Poly.

Beachy Day for Dirtbags in SLO
Long Beach State put together a historic team effort in San Luis Obispo on Saturday, April 9, as the Dirtbags defeated Cal Poly 28-2 behind a program-record 32 hits. Both the 28 runs and 32 hits were by far the most in a single game around The Big West in 2022, topping the 22 runs on 21 hits that UC San Diego produced at home against Seattle U on Feb. 19. Nationally, the 32 hits are the most in a Division I game this season, and the 28 runs are tied with four others for the sixth-best output. The hit tally fell one shy of matching the all-time Big West mark, as then-member Nevada had 33 against New Mexico State on April 18, 1999. Only eight of the hits went for extra bases with five of them home runs, including two by Charlie Loust, the first to lead off the contest just three pitches in. LBSU scored in each of the first eight innings, with a high of eight in the third. The result broke the Dirtbag standard for biggest scoring margin.

National Recognition for Cal Poly Pair
Two Cal Poly Mustangs have recently picked up national distinction for standout performances, with redshirt sophomore right-hander Drew Thorpe (3/28) and junior Collin Villegas (4/4) named among Collegiate Baseball National Players of the Week. Thorpe, also selected by the NCBWA as the Dick Howser Trophy National Pitcher of the Week (March 29), was honored for his 15-strikeout effort at UC San Diego (3/25). He scattered three hits over seven innings while combining on a 7-0 shutout. The strikeout total was a new career high, matched the program’s Division I-era standard, and is tied with seven others for the fifth-best single-game output around the country this season. Villegas, meanwhile, batted .529 (9-for-17) with five doubles, a triple, six runs, 10 RBI and five walks during Cal Poly’s first 5-0 week in eight years.

Rare Feat by CSU Bakersfield’s Allanson
Andrew Allanson belted two grand slams, one from each side of the plate with the latter sailing over the scoreboard in left field in the ninth, in CSU Bakersfield’s narrow 10-9 home loss to Pepperdine on Tuesday night, March 22. The redshirt freshman designated hitter became the first Roadrunner to ever hit two grand slams in a contest, with his eight RBI breaking the single-game program record and serving as the most in The Big West this season.

 Last Week, Today
- Week five in The Big West, with six of the 11 teams reaching the midway mark of the league schedule, saw notable road sweeps for CSUN and Hawai’i at UC Riverside and CSU Bakersfield, respectively. The Matadors accomplished the rare feat of posting back-to-back-to-back shutouts, outscoring the Highlanders 12-0 over 27 innings. UH stayed red hot under first-year head coach Rich Hill, extending its win streak to eight, the longest in the league in 2022.

- UC Santa Barbara went in as The Big West leader, and came out of the weekend the same way as the Gauchos took all three home dates with UC San Diego. Cal State Fullerton did the same over UC Davis. In the week’s marquee matchup, Cal Poly rallied from having dropped Thursday night’s opener at UC Irvine to earn the series victory, courtesy of a pair of dramatic one-run triumphs. In non-conference action, Long Beach State was swept at No. 3 Oregon State.

- UC Irvine pinned Cal Poly ace Drew Thorpe with his first loss of the season on Thursday night, 7-1. Justin Torres did much of the damage, homering twice off of him with a solo shot in the opening frame and a two-run blast in the fourth just moments after Brett Borgogno had tied it with a solo job. Nick Pinto (7.0 IP, 7 K) and Gordon Ingrebritson allowed just four singles between them otherwise. The Mustangs stormed back from 3-0 down through a four-run ninth on Friday, capped by Collin Villegas’ two-run triple. On Saturday, Cal Poly got out to a 7-0 lead thanks mostly to a four-run fifth, but allowed a six-run home half and hung on for a 7-6 triumph.

- UC Santa Barbara rallied from deficits of 2-0 and 4-3 and won 10-6 Thursday despite UC San Diego bothering Cory Lewis to a decent extent, drawing a season-high five walks off the Gaucho ace over four-plus frames. Broc Mortensen launched a three-run home run deep to right in a 4-4 game in the fifth, with Bryce Willits driving in the last three. A six-run fifth, highlighted by a two-run Mortensen single, broke open Friday’s contest. UCSB then edged out an 8-7 decision Saturday, with Kyle Johnson’s two-run single in the eighth the key hit.

- First-time Big West Pitcher of the Week Blaine Traxel fired a six-hit shutout, the first of his college days, to get CSUN going in Riverside. It was the Matadors’ first team shutout this season. The senior right-hander did not walk a batter and struck out eight. True freshman right-hander Diego Gutierrez (season-high 6.1 IP, 5 K) and senior Blake Sodersten (4 K) teamed up on Friday’s six-hit shutout. Kai Moody’s first-pitch RBI single drove in Andrew Sojka, who had dropped a leadoff double just inside the left field line, for the lone run of Saturday’s finale. Junior USD transfer Lucas Braun (7.0 IP, 6 K) and true freshman right-hander Xavier Martinez took it from there, combining on the five-hit shutout, with the latter perfect over the final two frames for his first collegiate save. CSUN out-hit UC Riverside in the series, 29-17.

- Thursday night’s game in Bakersfield was scoreless through five before Hawai’i tallied four in the sixth, spurred by Jacob Igawa’s two-out, three-run double, en route to a 7-4 victory. The Rainbow Warriors got a two-run Dallas Duarte bomb in the initial inning of Friday’s contest, and six solid frames from starter Cade Halemanu for his first win of 2022. UH banged out season highs of 20 runs on 17 hits Saturday to complete the sweep. Eleven runs, including a Stone Miyao grand slam, came in the fourth. Miyao had six RBI, and Duarte five.

- Jackson Lyon picked up his first Big West Field Player of the Week distinction in leading Cal State Fullerton to three wins over UC Davis, going 8-for-12 with five runs, two doubles, one triple, one home run and four RBI. His opposite-field RBI triple in the ninth made the Titans walk-off 4-3 winners on Friday, as they rallied late from being down 3-1. The junior centerfielder then went 4-for-4 with three runs and two RBI on Saturday, when the home side tallied four in the first and three in both the second and fifth.

- Oregon State used a three-run third to get past Long Beach State at Goss Stadium on Thursday, 3-1, as the Dirtbags could only answer with a sixth-inning Chase Luttrell homer despite out-hitting the Beavers, 6-4. The hosts then used a pair of three-run frames late to break open a 2-2 game on Friday, and scored five times in the first on Saturday.

- On Tuesday, Cal State Fullerton came back from deficits of 3-0 and 4-2 to walk off USC, 5-4. Deylan Pigford’s one-out, first-pitch RBI single drove pinch-runner Damone Hale in from third with the tying run in the ninth. A hit-by-pitch and two wild pitches later plated Pigford with the decider. UC San Diego rallied late with a three-run eighth to defeat San Diego State at home, 4-2, to take a 2-1 lead in its inaugural Trolley Series with the crosstown rival Aztecs. Anthony Lucchetti provided the big blow, a go-ahead two-run single. Crew Robinson walked to force in the final run, having belted his second home run as a Triton to open the scoring in the fourth.
- Also on Tuesday night, a six-run second doomed Cal Poly against No. 7 Stanford in San Luis Obispo, while UC Santa Barbara had its run of six wins snapped at home by No. 13 UCLA, and Hawai’i had its win streak ended at Fresno State. Wednesday saw a first collegiate complete game thrown by UC Riverside’s Eric Marrujo in a 4-2 home decision over Utah Valley.
 

Ranked Wins
Here is a look at Big West teams with wins over nationally-ranked non-conference opponents this season, based on the D1Baseball poll.

Feb. 18 - 
No. 24 Long Beach State 3, at No. 4 Mississippi State 0

Feb. 19 - 
No. 24 Long Beach State 13, at No. 4 Mississippi State 3
Cal State Fullerton 11, at No. 6 Stanford 0

March 4 -
CSUN 9, at No. 6 Stanford 3

March 6 -
UC Irvine 3, at No. 13 Oregon State 2 (10)

March 12 -
No. 25 Gonzaga 3, at Long Beach State 13

March 13 -
No. 25 Gonzaga 0, at Long Beach State 1

March 21 -
No. 25 Connecticut 7, at UC San Diego 8

Big West History
The Big West has sent at least one team to the College World Series in 21 seasons, including a stretch of eight consecutive years from 1988-95 and four in a row from 2014-17. Four current members have represented the Big West at the CWS - Cal State Fullerton (1975, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2015, 2017), Long Beach State (1989, 1991, 1993, 1998), UC Irvine (2007, 2014) and UC Santa Barbara (2016). In 2007, CSF and UCI played in the longest game in CWS history - a five-hour and 40-minute marathon that lasted 13 innings and ended in a 5-4 Anteater victory. The Big West has won two national titles, both by the Titans, in 1995 and 2004.

USA Baseball on Tuesday, April 5, announced its 45-player midseason Golden Spikes Award watch list, continuing the process of identifying the top amateur baseball player in the country for the 2022 season. Three of the 45 standouts came from The Big West, in Cal Poly right-hander Drew Thorpe, Mustang shortstop Brooks Lee and UC Santa Barbara shortstop Jordan Sprinkle. The Big West is one of five collegiate athletic conferences boasting three or more selections. Lee, who was also chosen to the D1Baseball Midseason All-America First Team, is a member of the Golden Spikes midseason watch list for the second year in a row. He, Sprinkle, and Long Beach State right-hander Devereaux Harrison were on the initial 55-player preseason list back on Feb 15. The winner of the 44th Golden Spikes Award will be announced on Friday, June 24, on ESPN.

At least 18 former Big West Baseball student-athletes made 2022 Opening Day rosters around Major League Baseball. That ranked in the top five among all college conferences, behind the likes of the SEC, ACC and Pac-12.

Cal State Fullerton was best-represented with seven alums, including veteran catcher Kurt Suzuki and Michael Lorenzen still in Southern California with the Los Angeles Angels, and Justin Turner likewise with the 2020 World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Matt Chapman is in his first season for the Toronto Blue Jays, J.D. Davis is with the New York Mets, Dustin Garneau with the Detroit Tigers, and Noé Ramirez with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Long Beach State had its quartet of Matt Duffy (Angels), Garrett Hampson (Colorado Rockies), Jeff McNeil (Mets) and Bryan Shaw (Cleveland Guardians). Cal Poly’s trio featured Mitch Haniger, who homered in his first at-bat of the season to account for both Seattle Mariner runs during a 2-1 win in Minnesota on April 8 after a career-high 39 long balls a year ago, alongside pitchers Justin Bruihl of the Dodgers and Spencer Howard of the Texas Rangers.

Former UC Santa Barbara ace, 2020 American League Cy Young Award winner and two-time All-Star Shane Bieber earned his third straight Opening Day start for the Cleveland Guardians, while Dillon Tate, a fellow standout member of the Gaucho pitching staff in 2014 and 2015, is with the Baltimore Orioles. Former UC Irvine slugger Keston Hiura remains with the Milwaukee Brewers, while Andre Pallante made his MLB debut for the St. Louis Cardinals by throwing the seventh inning of a home loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, April 10.

Hawai’i great Kolten Wong is also among the Brewer infielders, with CSU Bakersfield’s Austin Davis on the Boston Red Sox, but both of them wrapped up their college careers while those programs were in the Western Athletic Conference. At least two Big West alums began the new campaign on injured lists, in Dirtbag Evan Longoria and Titan Dylan Floro for the San Francisco Giants and Miami Marlins, respectively.

Long Beach State alum Brandon Hyde is in his fourth year in charge of the Orioles, while Cal State Fullerton legend Mark Kotsay is in his first season as an MLB manager, in charge of the Oakland Athletics. He earned career victory No. 1 in Philadelphia, 4-1, on Sunday, April 10. There are numerous other Big West products on MLB staffs.