Cal Poly Softball has hit a rough stretch midway through their season, managing only 10 wins and bouncing between the bottom three conference placings.
Their most recent matchup continued the trend.
Cal Poly Softball took on UC San Diego in a three-game series and were swept once again, making this their third conference sweep of the season.
The Mustangs lost both legs of their Saturday doubleheader against the Tritons, before being shut out 6-0 on Sunday.
The game three loss gave the Mustangs a 4-14 conference record, putting them at the No. 10 spot in conference standings just above UC Riverside.
Struggles with offensive consistency
The series kicked off with a double-header on Saturday as the Mustangs fell 5-1 despite outhitting the Tritons by three. The Tritons took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning, and would not let up for the rest of the series.
The Mustangs’ only production occurred in the sixth inning and was credited to Venegas as she singled to left center, driving in freshman outfielder Karina Choi.
Despite the lack of offensive production in game one of the double-header, the Mustangs came back from a 9-0 deficit in game two, losing 10-8.
Sophomore catcher Maya Venegas got the Mustangs’ bats rolling as she hit her first homerun of the season, bringing home Makayla Villapando and Leilani Allen making the score 9-3. Aside from Venegas’ home run, the whole Cal Poly lineup got involved Saturday afternoon.
Freshman infielder Madi Bohannon doubled accounting for one RBI, senior outfielder Kiara Blanchard brought in two runners after a left-field single and scored off a ground out hit by Allen while junior outfielder A’Niyla Byrd tripled to right field driving in Sienna Erskine.
Cal Poly’s momentum did not carry into game three of the series as Triton Callie Howard pitched a 6-0 shutout, only giving up four runs to the Mustangs.
The Mustangs have a fight ahead as they take on Long Beach State, who is third in the Big West on April 18-19 at Bob Janssen Field.