Cal Poly Softball dropped two of its three conference matchups with Long Beach State in a series on Saturday, April 22 and Sunday, April 23 at the LBSU Softball Complex.
The Mustangs (15-18, 8-10 Big West) salvaged the final game of the series against the Beach (23-20, 13-5 Big West).
Saturday Game One
Cal Poly fell to Long Beach State 5-1 in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader.
Sophomore Paige Maier (3-5) started on the mound, with freshman Sophia Ramuno relieving her in the top of the second with two outs.
After a scoreless first, the Beach dropped four runs in the bottom of the second inning to jump out in front, and they never let the lead slip.
In the top of the third, the Mustangs secured their first and only run of the game on an RBI groundout from junior Juju Sargent, cutting the advantage to 5-1.
In the bottom of the fifth, Long Beach State tacked on another run for good measure to bring the lead to 5-1, which ended up being the final.
Saturday Game Two
Cal Poly dropped the second game of the day and the series by a score of 2-0.
Sophomore Kate Judy got the start for the second time this year and was also relieved by Ramuno, who held the Beach to one hit in four innings.
Long Beach State got started early, scoring its two runs in the bottom of the first inning. That was the final time a runner would cross home plate for either squad.
Cal Poly had just one hit in the first five innings before threatening in the sixth.
With two outs In the top of the sixth, Sargent and sophomore Caroline Allman hit a pair of singles to give the Mustangs a chance to come back, but the game ended without Cal Poly breaking the scoreboard.
Sunday
Cal Poly pulled out a 2-0 win to end the losing series on a high note on Sunday.
Ramuno started in the circle and pitched until the top of the sixth when Judy came in to finish the game. The pairing gave up 10 hits and stranded all 10 baserunners.
Both of Cal Poly’s runs were scored in the top of the third when Sargent drove home sophomore outfielder Jessica Clements with a triple and Allman followed with an RBI triple of her own to bring home Sargent.
The loss by the Beach bumped them out of first place in the Big West, which is now occupied by Cal State Fullerton. The Mustangs currently sit in seventh place following the two-loss weekend.
Cal Poly will take on the first-place Titans in a three-game home series on Friday, April 28 and Saturday, April 29.