San Luis Obispo, Calif. – In the season opener for 2016, the Pacific Tigers baseball team fell to Cal Poly 6-2.  The loss was the sixth straight season-opening loss for Pacific.  Their last win to open a season was 2010, when the Tigers defeated San Francisco 3-1. 

Cal Poly's Kyle Smith proved tough to solve early in the game, striking out six of the first seven batters of the game and only allowing one baserunner in the first four innings.  Smith ended up with a complete game, giving up just two runs and striking out nine.  Smith also gave up just five hits and one walk.

After a two-run first inning, Will Lydon matched Smith, blanking the Mustangs over the next three innings before giving up one run in the bottom of the fifth.  Lydon, who led the Tigers with 74.1 innings last season, would go six innings in the game. 

Louis Mejia had the first hit of the season for the Tigers with an infield single in the second inning.  Mejia was stranded at second and was the only baserunner for Pacific in the first four innings.  The senior's single in the fifth was the second hit of the season for Pacific but was doubled up to end the inning.  Mejia was the only player to record a hit for the Tigers until the seventh inning.

Lydon hit a spot of trouble in the fourth inning after a walk and an infield single left him with runners at first and second and no outs.  After a sacrifice bunt, Lydon struck out Cal Poly's Alex Smith and Nick Meyer to get out of trouble. 

A walk and a hit just under Mejia's glove combined with another sacrifice bunt left Lydon facing second and third with one out.  Lydon racked up another two strikeouts but not before an infield hit netted a third run for the Mustangs.

Lydon continued to deal in the sixth, striking out the side swinging to get to seven strikeouts on the night.  The junior ended his night with six hits allowed and three earned runs in six innings of work.  Lydon also struck out ten and walked four. 

Gio Brusa singled to start the seventh inning, giving Pacific a chance to close the three-run deficit.  Danny Mayer sent a booming fly ball off the centerfield wall for a double, scoring Brusa just one batter later.  Mejia's sacrifice fly after Nate Verlin's single cut Pacific's deficit to just one run.

Taylor Johnson came on in relief in the bottom of the seventh.  Johnson, who went 0-1 with a team-best 2.21 ERA last season, retired the first two batters he faced and got out of the seventh without allowing a run, striking out two. 

Cal Poly added a fourth run in the eighth after a throwing error by Pacific on a bunt by Cal Poly's Alex Smith.  Smith ended up on third after the play and scored on a second error by Pacific.  An RBI single made it 6-2.

Pacific will face off with Cal Poly twice tomorrow, with the first game starting at 1:00 pm and the second game beginning at 4:00 pm.  The Cal Poly series will finish up with a fourth game on Sunday, February 21 at 1:00 pm. 

The home opener for the Tigers will be February 26 when Pacific opens a four-game series against the Northwestern Wildcats at 7:00 pm.  Tickets for the game are available online.

Make sure to follow Pacific baseball on Twitter with the username @PacificBaseball and on Instagram at pacificbaseball.