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

Friday, April 29
CSU Bakersfield at CSUN, 3 p.m. E+
UC Irvine at Long Beach State, 6 p.m. E+
UC Santa Barbara at Cal Poly, 6 p.m. E+
UC Riverside at UC San Diego, 6:30 p.m. E+
Cal State Fullerton at Hawai’i, 9:35 p.m. E+

Saturday, April 30
UC Riverside at UC San Diego, 2 p.m. E+
CSU Bakersfield at CSUN, 2 p.m. E+
UC Irvine at Long Beach State, 3 p.m. E+
UC Santa Barbara at Cal Poly, 4 p.m. E+
Cal State Fullerton at Hawai’i, 9:35 p.m. E+

Sunday, May 1
UC Irvine at Long Beach State, 1 p.m. ON ESPNU
UC Santa Barbara at Cal Poly, 1 p.m. E+
UC Riverside at UC San Diego, 1 p.m. E+
CSU Bakersfield at CSUN, 1 p.m. E+
Cal State Fullerton at Hawai’i, 4:05 p.m. E+

Tuesday, May 3
Pepperdine at UC Santa Barbara, 5:30 p.m. E+
No. 13 UCLA at Long Beach State, 6 p.m. E+
CSUN at USC, 6 p.m.
UC San Diego at San Diego State, 6 p.m.
BYU at Cal State Fullerton, 6 p.m. E+
San Diego at UC Irvine, 6 p.m. E+
UC Davis at No. 6 Stanford, 6:05 p.m.
Cal Poly at Fresno State, 6:05 p.m.

Wednesday, May 4
CSUN at San Diego State, 6 p.m.
 

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

Thursday, April 22
Hawai’i 3, at UC Davis 0
UC Irvine 8, at Kansas State 13
Long Beach State 2, at UC Santa Barbara 14
Cal Poly 9, at UC Riverside 3
UC San Diego 3, at CSU Bakersfield 4
CSUN 2, at Cal State Fullerton 3

Saturday, April 23
Hawai’i 2, at UC Davis 3
Long Beach State 2, at UC Santa Barbara 3
UC Irvine 16, at Kansas State 7
CSUN 2, at Cal State Fullerton 1
Cal Poly 4, at UC Riverside 3 (11 inn.)
UC San Diego 6, at CSU Bakersfield 3

Saturday, April 24
UC Irvine 3, at Kansas State 5
Long Beach State 1, at UC Santa Barbara 10
CSUN 5, at Cal State Fullerton 2
Hawai’i 17, at UC Davis 1
Cal Poly 3, at UC Riverside 8
UC San Diego 9, at CSU Bakersfield 5

Tuesday, April 26
San José State 10, at UC Davis 3
UC Riverside 6, at Loyola Marymount 1
San Diego 7, at Cal State Fullerton 8
UC Irvine 4, at No. 13 UCLA 2
Cal Poly 1, at Santa Clara 9
San Diego State 4, at Long Beach State 3
UC Santa Barbara 7, at USC 13

Big West wins in BOLD

What 2 Watch 4
- All 11 Big West clubs are into the second half of their 30-game league schedules now, with UC Santa Barbara having built a cushion of 3.5 games atop the standings. The Gauchos have still yet to lose a conference set in 2022, with four sweeps, including three in a row. UCSB is involved in this week’s key showdown, as its closest competitor, second-place Cal Poly, welcomes the Gauchos into San Luis Obispo and Baggett Stadium. Another series win there for the visitors would go a long way toward UC Santa Barbara’s first Big West title since 2019.

- Third-place Hawai’i is back on O’ahu following two straight weekends on the mainland, and will look for a fourth consecutive series victory against visiting Cal State Fullerton, which sits just half a game back alongside UC Irvine. Long Beach State continues a nine-game home stand by hosting those ‘Eaters for the latest edition of the Black and Blue Rivalry Series. Sunday’s matchup has a national television audience on ESPNU, with first pitch from Blair Field slated for just after 1 p.m. UCI will be wrapping up a season-long seven-game road stretch.

- UC Riverside similarly continues a season-long seven-game road run at UC San Diego, with sixth-place CSU Bakersfield in Northridge against seventh-place CSUN. All 15 Big West contests are scheduled to be on ESPN+, though UH’s series will be blacked out in Hawai’i to air locally on television and radio via Spectrum Sports and ESPN Honolulu, respectively.

- UC Davis is the odd man out from Big West play, and is idle until a matchup next Tuesday, May 3, at No. 6 Stanford. The midweek slate will feature eight other games, including Long Beach State at home against No. 13 UCLA. Other Big West hosts are UCSB against Pepperdine, UCI versus USD, and Cal State Fullerton against BYU, with all four of those games on ESPN+. UC San Diego has the fourth and final leg of its inaugural Trolley Series with crosstown rival San Diego State on the road at Tony Gwynn Stadium. Also on Tuesday night, CSUN is at USC.

Poll Chatter
UC Santa Barbara remained at a season-high No. 13 in Monday’s Collegiate Baseball poll following a third straight Big West series sweep, while Cal Poly dropped four spots to No. 30. The Gauchos moved into the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Poll for the first time since the preseason edition (No. 33), at No. 29, with the Mustangs still receiving votes outside the top 30. UCSB is getting 12 votes beyond USA Today’s top 25.

Pair of Big West Tilts Coming to ESPNU
On Wednesday, Feb. 16, The Big West announced two baseball telecasts on ESPNU for 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 this Sunday, May 1. Then on May 6, UC Irvine hosts UC Santa Barbara under Friday night lights in a 7:30 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 27, Cal State Fullerton tops The Big West in batting (.288), UC Santa Barbara in pitching (3.94), and Cal Poly in fielding (.973). The Gauchos’ team ERA is 23rd nationally, and they also comfortably pace the league by 15 with 50 home runs.

Mustang shortstop Brooks Lee leads The Big West in batting (.375), slugging (.638), OPS (1.118), hits (60), RBI (37), doubles (19), total bases (102) and walks (34). A school-record 15 of those bases on balls are of the intentional variety. He is tied for fourth in the country in doubles. Lee is second in the league in on-base percentage (.480), behind only UC Santa Barbara’s John Newman Jr. (.484). Gabe Gonzalez of CSUN has slammed 10 home runs, with UC San Diego’s Bubba Filia and Gaucho Broc Mortensen at nine apiece, followed by Lee among five with seven blasts in his Triple Crown pursuit. Other offensive category leaders include UC Irvine’s Nathan Church and CSUN’s Andrew Sojka in runs (33), Cal Poly’s Ryan Stafford in at-bats (170), Long Beach State’s Rocco Peppi in hit-by-pitches (15), UCI’s Taishi Nakawake in sacrifice bunts (11), Cole Cabrera of Hawai’i in sacrifice flies (five), and UCSB’s Jordan Sprinkle in steals (18). Six players have three triples.

UC Irvine reliever Gordon Ingrebitson is tops among qualifiers in ERA (1.55), WHIP (0.80), strikeout-to-walk ratio (11.67) and walks allowed per nine innings (0.58), and third in opposing batting average (.202). Nationally, he is third in walks allowed per nine innings, fifth in WHIP and strikeout-to-walk ratio, and 10th in ERA. Cal Poly’s Drew Thorpe paces The Big West by 29 with his 100 strikeouts, which is tied for second in the nation. The right-hander is first in the conference in innings (71.0) and strikeouts per nine innings (12.68), and second in ERA (2.41), opposing batting average (.179), WHIP (0.83) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.14). Thorpe is eighth in Division I in WHIP, 23rd in strikeout-to-walk ratio and 28th in strikeouts per nine innings. He has six wins alongside Mustang teammate Zach Button and UC Santa Barbara’s Cory Lewis and Michael Rice. Lewis also is first in opposing batting average (.176). Gaucho closer Ryan Harvey has 10 saves, which is tied for sixth in the country. 

Gaucho Closer Harvey on Stopper List
Ryan Harvey of UC Santa Barbara was among 62 bullpen standouts named on Wednesday, April 27, to the 2022 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List. The Gaucho closer’s 10 saves lead The Big West and are tied with three others for sixth nationally. Fellow third-year sophomore right-handers Devereaux Harrison of Long Beach State and Jacob King of UC Irvine were on the 66-player preseason list back on Feb. 17.

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 five others for the eighth-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 sixth-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
- UC Santa Barbara was the only team to sweep last weekend, widening its lead at the top of The Big West standings with three home wins over Long Beach State. Cal Poly clinched its set at UC Riverside before dropping the finale, to strengthen its hold on second. Rubber games on Sunday went to road sides Hawai’i, CSUN and UC San Diego at UC Davis, Cal State Fullerton and CSU Bakersfield, with the Matadors and Tritons both rallying after falling in Friday openers. In non-conference action, UC Irvine lost Sunday’s series decider at Kansas State.

- UCSB secured an aggregate score of 27-5 versus the Dirtbags. The Gauchos scored six in the second inning of the opening game and cruised, getting a two-run Nick Oakley triple and three-run Christian Kirtley double in that frame. Bryce Willits’ two-out RBI single broke a 2-2 tie in the seventh Saturday, with Ryan Harvey entering with two runners on in the ninth and no outs, and shutting the door via two strikeouts and a popout for his 10th save. It was a five-run second inning that sent the hosts on their way on Sunday, as they hit three home runs.

- Cal Poly ace Drew Thorpe was magnificent on Friday night, coming up one out shy of his second complete-game shutout. The league strikeout leader fanned 11 and exited after allowing a two-out, two-run double in the ninth. The Mustangs won it by the final score of 9-3. UC Riverside rallied from a 3-0 deficit Saturday, only for fifth-year senior Mark Armstrong to deliver a pinch-hit, two-out RBI double down the right field line on an 0-2 pitch in the top of the 11th and give Cal Poly the series-clinching 4-3 triumph.

- After a 3-0 shutout on Friday behind junior right-handers Cade Halemanu (6.0 IP, career-high-tying 10 K) and Dalton Renne, Hawai’i had its Big West win streak snapped at eight Saturday in Davis, but bounced back in a big way with a 17-1 decision on Sunday to move into third in the standings. It marked a second straight offensive explosion for the Rainbow Warriors in a weekend finale, having put up 20 in Bakersfield the previous Saturday. This one was actually scoreless after five, before UH put up four in the sixth and eighth, and nine in the ninth.

- AJ Miller provided a two-run home run in the first and an RBI double in the third to lead CSU Bakersfield to a 4-3 win over UC San Diego on Friday. The Tritons then got a notable relief outing from Big West Pitcher of the Week Zack Ernisse on Saturday, as the true freshman southpaw easily eclipsed his season bests with seven shutout innings and nine strikeouts while his team pulled out a 6-3 victory. The guests scored the final five runs on Sunday, including a go-ahead Bubba Filia solo blast for his second home run of the weekend, to take the set.

- Carter White’s pinch-hit, two-out, two-strike RBI single in the eighth gave Cal State Fullerton a narrow 3-2 win over CSUN on Friday. The one-run margin went the other way on Saturday, 2-1, as senior Blake Sodersten (6.1 IP, 8 K) provided a huge relief stint and Luke Powell singled in the decisive run with two gone in the fifth. The Matadors then overturned a 2-0 deficit after one inning to grab a 5-2 victory on Sunday, with Gabe Gonzalez belting a first-pitch, three-run home run, his league-best 10th on the year, to break a 2-2 tie in the seventh.

- The teams combined for nine home runs on Saturday as UC Irvine routed K-State, 16-7. Five came from the ‘Eaters, as leadoff man Ben Fitzgerald and first-time Big West Field Player of the Week Thomas McCaffrey each provided two blasts and a double among career highs of four hits and six RBI apiece. McCaffrey’s two-out, three-run shot opened the scoring in the first. He added a two-run double and solo job over the next three frames to give him three home runs, a double and seven RBI over a span of four trips to the plate going back to Friday.

- On Tuesday, UC Irvine gave head coach Ben Orloff a nice birthday present with a second road upset of a 13th-ranked Pac-12 foe this season, this time 4-2 at UCLA. Centerfielder Caden Kendle robbed a three-run home run with a leaping grab in the third, and hit a solo shot himself for an insurance tally in the ninth. UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton knocked off the two teams that are tied for second currently in the West Coast Conference, in LMU on the road and USD at home, respectively. The Titans rallied after surrendering a five-run second.

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

April 26 -
UC Irvine 4, at No. 13 UCLA 2

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.