The Cal Poly Mustang baseball team upset #2 ranked Vanderbilt Sunday at a tournament in Arizona. The Mustangs scored two runs on two sacrifice flies in the bottom of the 9th to upset the defending NCAA Champion Commodores. The Mustangs improve to 2-1 for the season.
On Saturday, they lost to Michigan 8-5, last year’s NCAA runners-up. They beat Connecticut 7-2 Friday at the same MLB4 Tournament in Arizona. As a result of the defeat, Vanderbilt dropped to #4 in the country. Poly has not yet shown up in the Top 25 in the NCAA Division 1.
The Mustangs next play five consecutive home games, including a game Tuesday evening against Pepperdine. They host Brigham Young University for a four game series Thursday through Saturday.
Former Bearcat Mark Armstrong plays catcher for the Mustangs. Sophomore Armstrong was a stand-out and team leader with the Paso Robles High School baseball team. In 2017, he hit .354 for the Bearcats and was named San Luis Obispo County Player of the Year. At Cal Poly, he’s playing behind senior Myles Emmerson, who hit 2-4 with two runs and an RBI during the upset against the Commodores on Sunday.
The Mustangs have two other catchers, a junior college transfer and another senior. Armstrong is the only underclassman on the team. As a catcher, he helps warm up pitchers in the bullpen and works with pitchers during practice. He may see more action as the season progresses.