San Luis Obispo, Calif. – In the final game of their opening four-game series with Cal Poly, the Pacific Tigers lost 19-2.  Cal Poly swept the series, putting Pacific's record at 0-4 to start the season.  The Tigers will play at home next, opening their home season against Northwestern on Friday, February 26 at 7:00 pm.

Senior Gio Brusa put Pacific on the board in the sixth inning with a monster mash well over the right-center wall.  The homerun plated two runs, as Halstead had reached one batter earlier on an error for the second time in the game.  It was the second homerun of the weekend for Pacific, as Danny Mayer also homered in game two of the series.

Bryce Lombardi gave up one early run on an RBI double but otherwise was able to keep Cal Poly in check early on.  The senior, making his first start since 2012, ran into trouble in the third inning, giving up a two-run homer that was the first homerun allowed by the Tigers this season.  Justin Giovannoni relieved Lombardi but the senior ended up with six earned runs and the loss after leaving the bases loaded.

Erich Uelmen was unhittable for the Mustangs, giving Pacific nothing to work with as he retired nine in a row to start the game en route to his first win of the season.  Pacific managed to get two runners on in the fourth inning but still Uelmen did not allow a hit until the fifth inning, when Jimmy Boras singled with two outs.  Uelman worked six innings, striking out six and ending up with one earned run.

Cal Poly's Alex McKenna continued to victimize the Tigers, hitting a two-run homer in the third inning to make it 3-0.  McKenna drove in at least one run in every game of the series and went 5-for-11 with eight runs, one triple, two homeruns, and seven walks against Pacific.

The third inning proved to be Pacific's undoing.  Cal Poly loaded the bases after McKenna's homerun.  Just as quickly, John Schuknecht cleared them, doubling to the left-center gap to score three more runs.  Giovannoni nearly escaped the inning after catching a liner, but the throw to second was just a touch too late to double up the runner.  Giovannoni shook off the close call and got a flyout and strikeout to escape the jam after five runs.

Lucas Halstead reached on an error in the fourth inning to become Pacific's first baserunner.  A walk by Nate Verlin made it first and second with two outs.  Unfortunately for Pacific, Uelmen locked it in and got out of the jam with a strikeout.

Fineas Del Bonta-Smith made his second appearance of the series in the bottom of the fourth.  Cal Poly managed to add one run against the freshman but a great play by Boras got Pacific out of the inning.  A flyball by the Mustangs looked ready to die in short left-center before Boras seemingly covered half the outfield to get to the ball and catch it just before it landed for a hit.

Boras' single up the middle was the first hit of the game for Pacific, which had only managed two baserunners the previous 16 batters.

Toby Woods and Grant Shives both made their debuts as Tigers.  Each appeared in the fifth inning.  In that inning, Cal Poly's Nick Meyer doubled down the rightfield line to plate two more runs, making it 9-0.  Danny Mayer made a great diving catch for the Tigers, going full Superman to lay out and grab a line drive, but the ball was deep enough for a sac fly that made it 10-0.

An RBI walk and a bloop single up the middle made it 12-0.  Boras nearly robbed Kyle Marinconz one batter later but the ball just barely got over Boras' glove for a two-run double.  Another bloop single followed before a 5-4-3 double play ended the inning after eight Cal Poly runs.

Miles Haddad saw his first at-bat of the season in the sixth, singling for Pacific's third hit of the game.  The junior was stranded at first as Cal Poly's Uelmen settled down and got out of the inning after allowing two runs, one earned.

Cal Poly added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth with a bases-loaded RBI double.  The Mustangs loaded the bases right back up and drove in their eighteenth run with a walk.  Shelby Lackey came on and, after allowing an RBI single to his first batter, nailed down the hatches and escaped the jam to get Pacific to the ninth inning.

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.