BYU and Cal Poly to Face Off

PROVO, Utah – BYU baseball will travel to play four games at Cal Poly from Feb. 20-22 in San Luis Obispo.

The two teams are meeting for the first time since 2003. The series is tied at 1-1 overall, with Cal Poly winning 14-5 at home in 2002 and the Cougars winning 11-1 the following year at a neutral field in Scottsdale, Arizona.

BYU Game Notes

BYU (2-2) defeated Gonzaga and No. 25 Oregon State and lost two games to New Mexico in their opening contests of the season in Surprise, Arizona. Cal Poly (2-2) is coming off wins against UConn and then-No. 1 Vanderbilt with defeats at the hands of No. 13 Michigan and Pepperdine.

The Cougars currently boast a 2.31 ERA, including a 1.40 ERA by the bullpen. Nine different pitchers have already come on in relief, including six true freshmen, with seven pitchers yet to allow an earned run.

Starters for BYU will remain the same as last week, with RHP Justin Sterner (0-0, 1.42) starting game one, LHP Cy Nielson (0-1, 4.91) game two, RHP Easton Walker (0-0, 10.12) game three and RHP Jarod Lessar (0-0, 4.50) game four.

Senior catcher Abraham Valdez leads the Cougars at the plate, batting .400 with a double, two runs and two walks. Freshman Andrew Pintar is next at .333 with two doubles, two runs, an RBI and a walk. Junior Hayden Leatham leads the team with 11 total bases, including two home runs and a double for three RBI and two runs.

The Cougar defense is ranked 11th in the nation after pulling off five double plays through four games while sporting a .987 fielding percentage. 

Cal Poly with throw RHP Taylor Dollard (1-0, 0.00) in game one, LHP Andrew Alvarez (0-1, 0.00) in game two and RHP Drew Thorpe (0-0, 2.57) in game three with game four's starter to be announced later.

The Mustangs sport a 3.25 team ERA led by Dollard who went 7.0 innings with 10 strikeouts in his appearance last week. 

At the plate, Cal Poly is hitting .225 with six extra base hits and 18 walks. The Mustangs have had trouble on defense, committing 10 errors through four games for a .932 percentage.