Baseball

Cal Poly Advances to Los Angeles Regional Final

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LOS ANGELES -- Big West champion Cal Poly dispatched Saint Mary’s 14-1 in the winner’s bracket game of the 2026 NCAA Baseball Championship - Los Angeles Regional, Saturday night at UCLA’s Jackie Robinson Stadium.
 
The Gaels drop to 35-26 overall and will face host UCLA in an elimination game on Sunday, May 31 at 1 p.m. PT.  The Mustangs improve to 38-22 overall and advance to the regional final game, taking on the winner between the Bruins and Saint Mary’s, May 31 at 6 p.m. PT. If Cal Poly does not get the win Sunday, a winner-take-all, if-necessary game will be played on Monday, June 1.
 
Strong pitching anchored the Mustangs once again, as starter Carson Turnquist improved to 9-2, tossing 6.0 innings of one-run ball, allowing five hits and no walks while striking out seven. Relievers Chris Downs, Josh Morano and Troy Cooper each threw one shutout inning.
 
Cal Poly catcher Ryan Tayman, the 2026 Big West Co-Field Player of the Year, went 3-for-3 with two walks, two RBI and three runs. Shortstop Nate Castellon collected three hits one RBI and three runs. Third baseman Alejandro Garza compiled two hits one RBI and two runs. First baseman Gavin Spiridonoff hit 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run. Center fielder Casey Murray Jr. amassed three RBI.
 
The Gaels got their lone run of the game in the top of the second inning. The Mustangs quickly responded in the bottom of the frame and evened the score on a solo homer from Tayman.
 
Cal Poly blew the game open in the bottom of the fourth inning with six runs scored. For the second game in a row Cam Hoiland hit a home run for a two-run blast. Castellon and Garza had back-to-back RBI at-bats, then Castellon and Dante Vachini touched home from third base on wild pitches.
 
The Mustangs added five more runs in the sixth inning. Tayman, Jake Downing, Murray Jr. and Spiridonoff all had RBIs in the frame.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, Downing and Murray Jr. drew walks with the bases loaded to score two Cal Poly runs in the inning and account for the final score of the game.
 
The Mustangs’ pitching shut the Saint Mary’s offense down. The Gaels had no more than one runner on at a time, excluding the seventh inning. Cal Poly pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts.