Cal Poly Softball is in Long Beach for the three-day Louisville Slugger Invitational. On Friday, Feb. 28, the Mustangs struggled in a 4-0 loss to the University of Pittsburgh.
The Mustangs drop to 3-13 for the 2025 season, with Pitt’s (9-10) dominance highlighting many continuing issues for Cal Poly.
The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the fifth, when Pitt scored twice.
Errors continue to be a struggle this season, with the first Pitt run of the game a result of two Mustang fielding errors. A sharp single to left field sealed Cal Poly’s unraveling, bringing in another run and putting Pitt up 2-0.
Pitt carried that same momentum into the bottom of the sixth, bringing in an additional two runs. With runners on the corners after a double and a walk, Pitt’s Saleyna Daniel delivered the key hit—a double down the left-field line. Both players on base scored easily from first and third, extending Pitt’s lead to 4-0.
Cal Poly’s offense struggled to find its rhythm, managing just one hit in a frustrating shutout loss. The Mustangs’ lone hit came from freshman pitcher Natalie Camarena, while the rest of the lineup failed to break through against the Panthers’ pitching.
Cal Poly offense has been hard to come by this year, the team scoring more than four runs in only four games this season. The Mustangs’ only wins in 2025 came in three out of those four games.
The Mustangs worked three walks against Pitt, but without hits, Cal Poly remained scoreless.
Despite solid pitching from redshirt sophomore Ally Robbins and senior Kate Judy, the offense couldn’t back them up, and Cal Poly’s bats were kept quiet by Pitt’s defense and pitching.
A third of Cal Poly’s at-bats ended in strikeouts, while Pitt struck out just twice. This disparity in plate discipline highlighted the Mustangs’ struggles to make contact and generate consistent offense.
The Mustangs travel back home for their first Big West series against CSUN next weekend, where they will try to get their offense rolling.