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Cal Poly, Pepperdine split pair of non-conference games

Posted at 11:17 PM, May 07, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-08 03:12:05-04

Aharon Modlin was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the top of the 11th inning, forcing in the go-ahead run as Pepperdine, which blew a 5-1 lead in the ninth inning, earned a 6-5 victory over Cal Poly in a non-conference baseball game Tuesday night inside Baggett Stadium.

The loss overshadowed a dramatic four-run ninth-inning Cal Poly rally which forced extra innings. Bradlee Beesley singled in the first run and Tate Samuelson tied the game with a three-run home run to left field.

Samuelson then pitched the 11th inning, entering the game with one out and Pepperdine runners at first and second. He first walked Charlie Welch to load the bases, then struck out Reese Alexiades for the second out before hitting Modlin with a 2-1 pitch.

Samuelson fielder a comebacker and threw out Joe Caparis for the final out, but the Mustangs were retired in order in the bottom of the 11th by Trevor Franklin to end the 4-hour, 4-minute game.

The two teams completed the March 12 suspended game prior to the regularly scheduled contest and Cal Poly came away with a 13-7 victory. The game was halted in Malibu after 7 1/2 innings due to darkness with the Mustangs holding an 11-6 advantage.

The split leaves both squads at the .500 mark with Cal Poly 23-23 and Pepperdine 21-21.

In the completion of the suspended game, Beesley collected four hits while Connor Gurnik, Elijah Greene, Cole Cabrera and Nick DiCarlo each added three as Cal Poly produced a season-high 21-hit offensive attack.

Noah Taylor drove in three runs with a single and triple while Beesley, Samuelson, Cabrera and DiCarlo all knocked in a pair of runs for the Mustangs.

Pepperdine was paced by Matt Kanfer with three hits and three RBIs. Wyatt Young, Quincy McAfee and Mike Malinchak all added two hits.

The win went to Michael Clark (5-3), who pitched two scoreless innings (the sixth and seventh at Malibu). Craig Colen secured the final six outs in San Luis Obispo. Michael Mahoney (0-1), who gave up three runs in the seventh inning as Cal Poly snapped a 6-6 tie, suffered the loss.

In the nightcap, Pepperdine built its 5-1 lead with a run in the first and two in both the sixth and ninth innings.

In the bottom of the ninth, singles by DiCarlo, Cabrera and Beesley plated the first run. After the second out of the inning, Samuelson belted a 1-1 pitch well over the left-field wall to tie the game. It was Samuelson’s third homer of the season and eighth of his two-year Mustang career.

With his 19-game hitting streak on the line, Conagher Sands extended the rally with a single to left-center field, but a grounder ended the threat and sent the game into extra innings. Sands’ 20-game streak is the fourth longest in Cal Poly’s 25-year Division I history.

Both teams produced one base runner in a scoreless 10th inning.

Beesley had two singles and a double to pace Cal Poly’s 10-hit attack. Samuelson, DiCarlo and Cabrera each added two hits.

Pepperdine’s nine hits included two singles and a double by Welch and a single and double by Brandt Belk.

Franklin (1-0) earned the win with two scoreless innings, striking out three.

The loss went to Thomas Triantos (0-2), the fifth of six pitchers used by Cal Poly. Mustang starter Darren Nelson left the game in the second inning due to illness, freshman Bryan Woo allowed just one earned run over 4 1/3 innings and senior Jarred Zill, in his first appearance on the mound in over four weeks, needed just eight pitches to retire Pepperdine in order in the eighth inning.

Cal Poly, in a first-place tie with UC Santa Barbara with 12-3 marks in Big West play, visits third-place UC Irvine (10-5) for three games Friday through Sunday. The Gauchos host Long Beach State this weekend.

Provided by Cal Poly