Cal Poly softball stayed hot with a series sweep of CSU Bakersfield on Friday, Apr. 15 and Saturday, Apr. 16 at Roadrunner Softball Complex.
The Mustangs (14-21, 9-6 Big West) have now won eight games in a row, including back-to-back Big West series sweeps. Meanwhile, the Roadrunners (8-25, 3-12 Big West) continued their rocky 2022 season.
Friday Game One
Cal Poly won a thriller in extra innings to kick off the weekend, taking the game 4-1 over the Roadrunners in nine innings.
After the Mustangs failed to score in the top of the first, the Roadrunners put up the first run in the end of the first thanks to a Cal Poly throwing error from redshirt sophomore catcher Kai Barrett.
Both offenses then went silent, as the next four innings were scoreless until the Mustangs broke the streak with a run in the top of the sixth.
After redshirt sophomore right fielder Juju Sargent reached on a throwing error, sophomore first baseman Hailey Prahm hit a single to score freshman outfielder Jade Contapay, who was running for senior Lily Amos, and tie things up at 1-1.
After senior left-hander Krystyna Allman came out of the game after the sixth, right-handed freshman Paige Maier entered the game and shut down Bakersfield for the next three innings,
Cal Poly secured the winning run in the top of the ninth when Barrett drove freshman Caroline Allman home to give the Mustangs their first lead of the game at 2-1.
However, Cal Poly wasn’t done just yet, as Barrett scored on a passed ball and Noellah Ramos tallied another RBI single to extend the lead to 4-1.
Maier then shut down the Roadrunners in the bottom of the ninth, giving Cal Poly their first win in extra innings since a 4-3 win over Illinois in 2018.
Friday Game Two
The Mustangs stayed hot in game two, securing the series victory with a 6-1 win.
The Cal Poly offense jumped out to a nice start, grabbing a 1-0 lead in the first after Lily Amos singled to score redshirt freshman left fielder Jessica Clements.
After a scoreless second inning, the Mustangs increased their lead by three after sophomore infielder Xiara Diaz hit a bases-loaded double that cleared the bases with two outs in the top of the third.
Freshman right-hander Kate Judy went 4.1 innings on the mound, allowing just one run while striking out three. Yet again it was Maier who came in and shut down the Bakersfield offense, throwing 2.2 scoreless innings to earn the save.
After the Roadrunners scored one run in the bottom of the fifth, senior shortstop Maddie Amos’ RBI double added an insurance run and secured the 6-1 win.
Saturday
In the final game against CSU Bakersfield, Cal Poly earned their second Big West series sweep of the season with a 14-2, five-inning victory.
A grand slam to left field by Maddie Amos in the third inning started the scoring for the Mustangs, giving them a quick jump to a 4-0 lead.
The Roadrunners answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the third, but they remained behind by three runs.
In the fourth, the Mustang offense exploded for 10 runs. The offensive onslaught was headlined by a second grand slam from Maddie Amos, a two-run double from Clements and a triple by Ramos.
With the 10-run inning, Cal Poly concluded with a 14-1 advantage.
CSU Bakersfield earned another run in the bottom of the fifth inning to make the score 14-2, but by then the Mustangs were already on their way to victory.
Maddie Amos set a new Cal Poly program record with eight RBIs, which also matched the Big West single-game record. The historic performance left her tied with five other players for the most RBIs in NCAA Division-I softball this season.
Cal Poly will return home for a non-conference matchup against Fresno State on Tuesday, Apr. 19 at Bob Janssen Field at 3:30 p.m.