Cal Poly softball was swept in their first conference series against CSUN on Saturday, Mar. 19 and Sunday, Mar. 20 at Matador Diamond.
Errors killed the Mustangs (5-18, 0-3 Big West) throughout the weekend, as the Matadors (13-17, 3-0 Big West) were able to capitalize with timely hitting following Cal Poly’s mistakes.
Saturday Game One
In the series opener on Saturday, the Mustangs fell by a score of 8-0 in a shortened five-inning game.
In the first inning, Cal Poly’s senior lefthander Krystyna Allman held the Matadors scoreless despite having the bases loaded.
After another scoreless offensive inning for the Mustangs, CSUN opened the game up in the bottom of the second. They scored five unearned runs with two outs thanks to multiple walks, a Mustang error and a triple with the bases loaded.
CSUN pitcher Kenedee Jamerson continued her dominance, as she retired the first seven Mustangs she faced and held Cal Poly scoreless for the entirety of the game.
In the bottom of the fourth, Matador Vinessa Nunez hit a three-run homer to put the Matadors up 8-0, which meant all CSUN had to do to secure a victory was hold the Mustangs scoreless in the fifth. They did just that and walked away with an 8-0 win.
Saturday Game Two
To round out Saturday’s doubleheader against CSUN, the Mustangs fell 9-1 in five innings.
In the bottom of the first, Cal Poly suffered two fielding errors to lead to the Matadors’ opening run of the game.
For CSUN, their players continued their success at the plate in the bottom of the second with a solo homer and a two-out RBI double to raise their lead to 3-0.
By the end of the third, CSUN held a commanding 7-0 lead in large part due to an additional Mustang error that allowed the Matadors to secure three unearned runs.
The Mustangs earned their lone run of the game in the top of the fourth when senior designated hitter Lily Amos hit an RBI single to bring home senior shortstop Maddie Amos to move the score to 7-1.
CSUN tacked on another two runs in route to victory in dominating fashion, as Cal Poly was limited to just one hit in the second game of the doubleheader.
Sunday
Cal Poly fell by a score of 4-3 in the final game of the series as the Matadors completed the sweep.
After a scoreless first inning in which the Mustangs and the Matadors both left a baserunner stranded, Cal Poly took their first lead of the series in the top of the second.
Lily Amos led off the inning with a walk, which was then followed by sophomore second baseman Xiara Diaz ripping a double into the gap. With two runners on, sophomore first baseman Hailey Prahm brought both Lily Amos and Diaz home with a single to give the Mustangs the 2-0 advantage.
CSUN answered with a run in the bottom of the second, but Cal Poly countered in the third to bring their lead back to two when Maddie Amos hit her team-leading third home run of the season.
In response, CSUN cut the deficit to 3-2 in the bottom of the third with a sacrifice fly.
The Matadors continued to chip away at the lead while the offense of the Mustangs remained stagnant. A run in the fifth and a run scored in the sixth thanks to another error by Cal Poly gave CSUN the 4-3 lead.
After the Mustangs couldn’t produce a run in the top of the seventh, the Matadors walked away with their third straight win and the series sweep.
Cal Poly will return home to Bob Janssen Field for a three-game series against UC Riverside on Saturday, Mar, 26 and Sunday, Mar. 27.