Softball Drops Two Of Three In Series Against UC Riverside
Kylie Hastings and Miles Berman wrote this article for Cal Poly SLO’s Mustang News. It is available for republication or reference. If you think their work is important, you can support it here.
Cal Poly softball dropped two out of three in a series against UC Riverside on Saturday, Mar. 26 and Sunday, Mar. 27 at Bob Janssen Field.
The Mustangs (6-20, 1-5 Big West) won the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday but fell in the series opener and the finale to the Highlanders (11-16, 3-3 Big West).
Saturday Game One
The Mustangs opened the series with a low-scoring, 2-1 loss. This was the 10th loss by one run for Cal Poly this season.
Senior lefty Krystyna Allman started the game strong, only giving up one hit in the first three innings to the Riverside offense.
The first run was scored in the top of the fourth inning by the Highlanders, as Max Ortega scored on a passed ball to give them a 1-0 lead.
Cal Poly then responded with a run in the bottom half to even the game back up. After getting the bases loaded, sophomore right fielder Juju Sargent hit a sacrifice fly to score freshman left fielder Jessica Clements, who got on base via a walk.
The pitcher’s duel continued in the fifth and sixth, as both innings went scoreless.
In the seventh inning, a double followed by an RBI single from Haylee Kela drove in the winning run, as the Mustangs couldn’t respond in the bottom half of the seventh and fell 2-1.
Saturday Game Two
The Mustangs bounced back in game two of the doubleheader with an 8-2 win.
Freshman righty Kate Judy got her first collegiate win with a complete-game performance. This game was the first Big West win for the Mustangs.
Cal Poly got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning. A single, fielder’s choice and a walk loaded the bases for redshirt sophomore outfielder Sydney Frankenberger, who hit an RBI single to bring in one. Senior shortstop Maddie Amos followed the RBI with a base-clearing triple. She then scored on the play off of a throwing error by the UC Riverside right fielder to bring the Mustang lead to 5-0.
In the fifth, Riverside scored one run off a sacrifice fly to cut into the Cal Poly lead at 5-1
The Highlanders added one more run with a solo homer in the sixth, but the Mustangs answered in the bottom half by putting the game out of reach.
In the bottom of the sixth, Clements walked and Frankenberger got on base with a fielding error. Maddie Amos then hit Clements home with an RBI single to make the lead 6-2. Later in the inning, another error by the Highlanders scored a run and an RBI groundout from sophomore infielder Xiara Diaz made the score 8-2 after six.
Judy ended the game with two runs on nine hits allowed and three strikeouts on 108 pitches.
Sunday
The Mustangs were run-ruled in a 16-0 defeat that handed them a series loss in the final game against UC Riverside.
Allman was credited with the loss after throwing 1.2 innings. Freshman right-hander Paige Maier, Judy and redshirt senior Danielle Reyes followed in the circle after Allman.
The Highlanders dominated the entire game, scoring in all but one of the six innings played.
In the first inning, Riverside jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to an RBI fielder’s choice and an RBI sacrifice fly.
After the Highlanders scored one run in both the second and third innings, the Cal Poly defense recorded their only shutout inning in the fourth. Through four, the Mustang offense had left four runners on base.
Riverside added two more runs in the fifth and blew the game open with 10 runs in the sixth. The Highlander scored on an error, a sacrifice fly, a fielder’s choice, three singles and a pair of doubles. The 16-run lead was enough to call the game after six innings.
Cal Poly will stay home to face off against rival UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3 for a three-game series at Bob Janssen Field.