Cal Poly Mustangs
Big West Conference |
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Cal Poly had one of the most daunting schedules
in all of college baseball last season. The Mustangs played
series against four of the eight College World Series participants
 (Rice,
Oregon State, UC Irvine and Cal St. Fullerton) as well as
sets against highly rated teams such as San Diego, Fresno
State, UC Riverside and Long Beach State. Essentially, if
you were amongst the nation’s finest, you had Cal Poly
on your schedule. The Green and Gold from sunny San Luis Obispo
finished their season at 32-24 (13—8 Big West); good
enough for respect and admiration from their competitors,
but unfortunately not impressive enough to earn an at large
bid to the NCAAs.
As the alma mater of Ozzie Smith prepares
for 2008, they will be without three of last year’s
biggest producers in Big West Player of the Year outfielder
Grant Desme (.405, 15, 53, 12 SB), Sunday starter Thomas Eager
(11-3, 3.43, 126 IP, 99 K) and bullpen ace Evan Reed (4-3,
11 SVs, 3.19 ERA). However the rest of team remains essentially
intact. Eight position players who started at least half of
Cal Poly’s grueling 56 game schedule return, as well
as six pitchers who accrued at least 20 innings.
The player with the most potential pop in
’08 is center fielder Logan Schafer who turned down
an opportunity to play for the National League champion Colorado
Rockies to return for his junior year.  Last
season Schafer hit .335 with four home runs, eight doubles,
four triples and 34 RBIs and was named to the Big West All-Conference
second team. He struck out a scant 18 times in 204 plate appearances
and also provided tremendous defense. Mustang Head Coach Larry
Lee raved about Schafer’s role in the outfield, claiming,
“He is the best defensive center fielder in my 25 years
of college coaching.”
Another key returner is third baseman Brent
Morel who hit .333 with 17 doubles, three triples and five
homeruns. His 40 runs, .531 slugging percentage and 102 total
bases all ranked second on the team after Desme’s elite
totals. He also added 32 RBI and was five for six in stolen
base attempts. Catcher Wes Dorrell impressed his freshman
first season for Cal Poly, batting .303 with six homeruns
and 40 RBI. He was struck out only 11 times in 188 at bats
to rank in the top twenty nationally in toughest to strike
out. Another talented sophomore outfielder, Luke Yoder, came
on strong the second half of the season, batting .412 in Big
West games to finish at .310 overall. He also swiped seven
bases, hit six doubles and two triples in only 116 at bats.
First baseman, Adam Buschini also cranked it up to 11 during
Big West play, bating .313 in conference to finish the year
at .294.  He
also had 11 extra base hits for the season. Middle infielders
Kyle Smith (.279, 1, 33) and Pat Pezet (.279, 1, 30) also
return to solidify the defense.
Eric Massingham (3-1, 4.17 ERA) made eight
starts in second half of season as the Friday night starter
and pitched well over the summer to position himself as the
Mustang ace. Throwing for the Corvallis Knights of the West
Coast Collegiate Baseball League during the off season, Massingham
struck out 45 batters in 45 innings with a meager 1.60 ERA.
Sophomore southpaw Matt Leonard should be the Mustang’s
Saturday starter after going 3-5 with a 5.85 ERA in 15 starts
last season. Before being shelved due to injury late in the
season, Leonard threw a three-hit shutout against conference
champion UC Riverside with nine strikeouts to deservingly
win Big West Pitcher of the Week. Sophomore DJ Mauldin was
injured just four innings into the first game last year and
was forced to sit out the rest of the season. However he rebounded
well in the off season, allowing just 12 hits in 18 innings
and a 3.00 ERA for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the Cape
Cod League. As a freshman in 2006, Mauldin won two games in
18 appearances with a 5.67 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 28.2 innings.
Despite the loss of Reed, the bullpen is
one of the Mustang’s strong points as a pair of veteran
lefty relievers, junior Derrick Saito and senior Grant Theophilus
are back on campus. Small in stature at 5’9”,
155 pounds, but big in ability, Saito had a 3-2 record, 3.03
ERA and 56 strikeouts in just 35.2 innings pitched (14.3 Ks-per-nine-innings)
to earn All-Big West honorable mention.  Theophilus
saw action in 11 games last season, starting two. He went
2-2 with a 3.64 ERA in 29.2 innings with 20 strikeouts. Despite
being rung up for a 15.43 ERA during the 2007 regular season,
sophomore Kevin Castner topped out at 97 miles per hour in
summer league play, earning a 2.08 ERA and two saves with
29 strikeouts in 21.2 innings for the Corvallis Knights. WCCBL
hitters batted a measly .173 against Castner during the summer
and he was named a WCCBL All-Star and one of the league’s
top professional prospects by Baseball America and Perfect
Game.
Just like last year, Cal Poly has one of
the most strenuous schedules in the nation. Cal Poly opens
the season with a three game series in Alabama on February
22nd. The Mustangs will also lock with out of conference opponents,
Missouri, Fresno State, UCLA and Pepperdine before entering
the rigorous Big West schedule. Nevertheless, battle tested
and long on talent, Cal Poly could find their grueling schedule
the perfect prelude for their first NCAA Division I playoff
baseball berth.
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