Ride, Mustangs, ride!
Zach Daudet played hero for Cal Poly in Eugene on Sunday, blasting a solo homer in the 11th inning to send the Mustangs past Utah Valley 7-6.
It was a must-win game for both teams as they looked to earn rematches with No. 2 Arizona in the Eugene Regional Championship. It ended up being one of the best games PK Park saw all weekend, action-packed from start to finish.
Cal Poly pushed a run across in the second and held Utah Valley without a hit until the third. A monstrous grand slam off the bat of Landon Frei put the Wolverines up by three and created a lead that would quickly be erased.
A five-run fourth inning from Cal Poly saw the Mustangs hit through their order and featured five hits. It chased UVU starter Jacob Heppner and completely altered the game’s momentum. Five of the hits and four of the runs came with two outs and Cal Poly finished the game hitting .333 with two outs.
Dominic Longo II brought the Wolverines back within a run with his 11th homer of the season, a solo shot that just kept drifting in the Eugene wind and snuck over the wall in right.
An inning later, UVU’s Jayden Smith knotted the game back up with an RBI double to left field.
It was truly a great ballgame. PK Park would have loved it had Oregon not been the first team eliminated from the Eugene Regional. Mustangs and Wolverines went deadlocked to the ninth, in danger of becoming the first two teams to have to play extra innings in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Utah Valley loaded the bases in the top of the ninth with a single and a pair of walks, but Jake Torres entered to face Mason Strong and got him to ground out, prompting a rowdy cheer from the Cal Ply contingency in attendance.
The Mustangs also got their leadoff man aboard in the ninth as Ryan Fenn legged out an infield single. A sacrifice bunt from Alejandro Garza moved him to second with one out, prompting an intentional walk to set up a potential double-play ball. It ended up working out as Cam Hoiland flew out to send it to extras.
The deadlock continued with both bullpens trading zeros until the 11th, when Daudet’s ninth homer of the season — and second of the Eugene Regional — snuck over the fence in center.
His blast sent the Mustangs to the Eugene Regional Championship and ended Utah Valley’s incredible season. If Cal Poly wins again on Sunday night (first pitch is set for 7:35 pm), the Wildcats and Mustangs will play again on Monday in a winner-take-all contest. Arizona beat Cal Poly 3-2 on Friday in the first game of the Eugene Regional despite getting out-hit 10-2.
