Cal Poly Softball won its first conference series of the season by taking two of three games from UC Riverside on Saturday, March 25 and Sunday, March 26 at Amy S. Harrison Field.
The Mustangs (10-11, 3-3 Big West) secured the series win with two wins on Saturday before dropping the season finale to the Highlanders (14-17, 1-5 Big West).
Saturday Game One
Cal Poly came out on top, 1-0, in the series-opening pitcher’s duel behind a 10-strikeout performance from freshman Sophia Ramuno.
In the top of the first, sophomore center fielder Jessica Clements singled to lead off the game. After a walk, a flyout and an error, Clements came around to score the game’s lone run.
The Mustangs threatened in the second, third and fourth innings, stranding three runners in scoring position, failing to extend their 1-0 lead.
After cruising through the first five frames, Ramuno loaded the bases in the sixth with no outs. Ross replaced the starter, getting an out at home on a fielder’s choice.
Ramuno re-entered the circle and struck out the next two Highlanders to strand the bases loaded.
The Mustangs once again failed to add insurance runs in the seventh. Junior shortstop Xiara Diaz got on base after getting hit, and Clements followed with a double. Diaz was then thrown out at the plate attempting to score.
Ramuno shut down Riverside in the home half of the seventh, closing the door on a 1-0 Cal Poly win.
After delivering 124 pitches, Ramuno (6-6) earned the win, allowing only four hits over 6 ⅔ scoreless innings.
Offensively, Clements led the way, going 3-for-4 and scoring a run while Diaz went 2-for-2 in the opener.
Saturday Game Two
In game two of the doubleheader, the Mustangs were fueled by an eighth-inning grand slam from Clements en route to their 6-2 victory.
The Mustangs found the scoreboard first, thanks to RBI singles from sophomore designated hitter Caroline Allman and junior first baseman Kai Barrett in the first inning to give Cal Poly a 2-0 advantage.
The Highlanders scratched across a run in the home half to cut the Mustang lead to 2-1.
Following a scoreless second frame, Riverside tied the game at 2-2 after a sacrifice fly in the third.
Both squads would go scoreless for the next four innings to send the contest to extra innings.
After a single, walk and hit by pitch, the bases were loaded with one out for Cal Poly in the eighth. In an 0-2 count, Clements smashed a grand slam to give the Mustangs a 6-2 lead.
Sophomore righty Paige Maier closed out the Highlanders, sealing Cal Poly’s second win of the day.
Maier (2-3) earned the win after five innings of relief work, allowing three hits and striking out two.
Barrett went 3-for-4 with an RBI to lead the offense, and sophomore catcher Julia Barnett also went 3-for-4 in game two.
Sunday
The Mustangs were looking for a sweep in the third and final game of the series on Sunday.
UC Riverside opened up the scoring in the bottom of the first with a single to left that chased Ramuno from the game.
Cal Poly responded by loading the bases in the second but was unable to push the run across as they flew out to end the inning.
The Highlanders tacked on an extra run in the bottom of the third after an error by Diaz extended the inning.
The top of the fifth brought the first run of the game for the Mustangs, as Allman singled in junior right fielder Juju Sargent to make it 2-1.
The bottom half of the inning saw UC Riverside find its groove offensively, as an RBI groundout and a two-run single threatened to blow the game open, making it 5-1.
Cal Poly refused to go down without a fight, however. In the top of the sixth, Diaz singled in the first run of the inning. Sargent followed it up with a single to right that scored two Mustang runners and made it a one-run game once again.
The Highlanders had the bases loaded in the bottom half of the sixth after an intentional walk with two outs and scored after a hit by pitch forced in the insurance run for UC Riverside.
Cal Poly started the top of the seventh with a walk and a single to put runners on first and third with nobody out.
Sophomore Malia Mah pinch hit and singled in the first run to make it 6-5 with one out. After a flyout, the Mustangs loaded the bases but could not plate the tying run as yet another flyout ended the game in a 6-5 loss.
Cal Poly will look to win another series when they play Blue-Green rival UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, April 1 and Sunday, April 2 at Campus Diamond in Santa Barbara.
