Preview: Cal Poly at UC San Diego

LA JOLLA, Calif. (April 17, 2026) (Interstat) — The Cal Poly Mustangs and UC San Diego Tritons open a three-game Big West Conference series Friday at Triton Baseball Field, with both teams looking to build momentum in the middle of the league schedule.

Cal Poly (19-16) enters having won two of its last three, including a 7-3 non-conference victory over Pepperdine on Tuesday. The Mustangs’ offense was powered by Ryan Tayman and Dylan Kordic, who each homered and drove in three runs. However, they were swept in a three-game series at Oregon State last weekend.

UC San Diego (15-17) seeks to rebound from a 9-1 road loss to San Diego State on Tuesday. The Tritons took two of three from UC Santa Barbara in their most recent conference series April 10-12.

A key player to watch for Cal Poly is reliever Sean McGrath. The right-hander has been dominant in recent outings, pitching 9 1/3 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts over his last four appearances, including 4 1/3 strong frames in Tuesday’s win.

UC San Diego will counter with a key arm of its own in Nathan Ries. The Tritons’ reliever has shown swing-and-miss stuff, striking out six in three innings against San Diego State his last time out, though he allowed two earned runs.

Weather conditions for first pitch are forecast to be 68 degrees with cloudy skies.

Statistical projections offer a split verdict. Interstat’s game simulator predicts a 6-4 victory for the home Tritons, while its ELO rating system gives the visiting Mustangs a 57.7% probability to win.

Following Friday’s contest, the series continues Saturday and Sunday in La Jolla.