With just two weekends remaining in the regular season, nationally-ranked Cal Poly is in the pole position for the Big West title, but Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State still have designs of ruining the Mustang championship run.
#21/21 Cal Poly's run to the Big West title returns to the friendly confines of Bill Janssen Field this weekend as the club welcomes Pacific for a three-game set. The Mustangs are literally unbeatable at home as the team is 16-0 in its home facility and has won 18 straight home contests dating back to last season. They encounter a Tiger club that is 10-21 in road/neutral contests, which includes a 3-12 record in true road games. Pacific owns the lead in the all-time series between the two by a 23-15 margin, but Cal Poly has won seven of the last nine meetings.
Cal State Fullerton, which enters the weekend just two games behind the Mustangs and has already won the series against them, plays a key conference series at home against Cal State Northridge, the final three home games for the Titans in 2009. CSF is not the only one fighting for its postseason life as CSUN still has visions of garnering at-large status into the NCAA Tournament. The series will be in a tough place historically for the Matadors as they are just 14-31 all-time at Anderson Family Field.
Fresh off a series win against Cal State Fullerton last weekend, Long Beach State hopes to carry that positive momentum into a road series this weekend against resurgent UC Riverside. LBSU stands three games behind league-leading Cal Poly, but fell in the league series between the two teams earlier in the conference season. UCR might become the Mustangs’ best friend by season’s end as the Highlanders play the 49ers this weekend and CSF next weekend to close out the season. A series win in each of those showdowns would give UC Riverside its first double-digit conference win season in program history.
UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara wrap up the conference action this weekend as the two teams meet in Santa Barbara for a three-game set. The Aggies come into the series looking to reverse its recent fortune as the club has dropped 10 of their last 11 contests, while UCSB has dropped five of its last seven but won its last Big West series on the road against Pacific. The Gauchos lead the all-time series 9-4, but UCD swept them at LaRue Field a year ago.
The final non-conference game of the 2009 Big West regular season is also scheduled for this week as UC Davis takes on #13/14 California at home Wednesday.