SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Games against the two finalists in the 2019 College World Series, five others who qualified for the NCAA regionals and a four-game series at Pac-12 member Oregon highlight the 2020 Cal Poly baseball schedule released Tuesday.
Vanderbilt defeated Michigan to claim the national title in late June and Cal Poly faces both teams in the MLB4 Tournament at Scottsdale, Ariz., to open the campaign. The Mustangs also host the national runner-up Wolverines for a three-game series Feb. 28-March 1.
The five other Mustang foes who qualified for the postseason are Baylor, UConn, Stanford, Fresno State and UC Santa Barbara.
Cal Poly hosts Baylor for three games March 6-8, plays UConn in the MLB4 Tournament, entertains Stanford for a single game March 25, plays a pair of midweek contests against the Bulldogs and hosts the Gauchos for a three-game Big West series April 17-19.
The Mustangs have the first bye in the Big West schedule and will visit Oregon for four games March 27-29.
“This is the most challenging schedule that we’ve ever had,” said 18th-year Mustang head coach Larry Lee. “I would imagine that this might be the most difficult non-conference schedule in the country, including opening up against last year’s National Champions and the runner-up.
“Part of our non-conference schedule includes 17 games that touch the SEC, Big 12, Big 10, and the Pac-12,” Lee added.
After the MLB4 Tournament at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Ariz., the shared Spring Training home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies, Cal Poly will play four consecutive weekends inside Baggett Stadium.
The Mustangs host BYU for four games Feb. 20-22, followed by three games against Michigan, a three-game set versus Baylor and four contests against Oklahoma from March 12-15.
Cal Poly’s other non-conference series is a three-game set at San Diego State on March 21-23.
The Mustangs will host UC Irvine on April 3-5 to open Big West play and also will entertain UC Santa Barbara, Long Beach State on May 8-10 and UC Davis to close out the regular season May 21-23.
Cal Poly’ Big West series on the road include Hawai’i on April 9-11, CSUN on April 24-26, Cal State Fullerton on May 1-3 and UC Riverside on May 15-17.
In addition to Fresno State, Cal Poly has home-and-home midweek games versus Santa Clara, Pepperdine, San Jose State and CSU Bakersfield. The Roadrunners and UC San Diego join the Big West on July 1, 2020.
Last season, Cal Poly earned its third straight and sixth overall second-place Big West finish since joining the conference in 1997, posting a 17-7 mark. The Mustangs won 26 of their final 45 games after a 2-9 start to finish 28-28 overall, their 17th season at or above the .500 mark since 2000.
2020 Cal Poly Baseball Schedule
