Cal Poly softball swept Hawaii in their three-game Big West series from Friday, Apr. 8 through Saturday, Apr. 9 inside Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.
The Mustangs’ (11-21, 6-6 Big West) wins over the Rainbow Wahine (13-14, 7-5 Big West) extended their winning streak to five games.
Friday Game One
The Mustangs got off to a hot start in the series opener, as they scored five runs in the first inning and all seven runs in the first two innings en route to a 7-3 win.
Freshman left fielder Jessica Clements got on base after a Hawaii error to lead off the game before senior center fielder Noellah Ramos was hit by a pitch. Senior shortstop Maddie Amos took advantage of the runners on base and belted a three-run home run to give Cal Poly a 3-0 lead. Junior second baseman Xiara Diaz and sophomore catcher Kai Barrett followed that up with run-scoring hits to extend the lead to 5-0.
Hawaii got on the board with a two-run home run of their own in the first inning, but the Mustang offense added back to their lead in the second inning.
Both sophomore infielder Juju Sargent and sophomore utility player Hailey Prahm hit RBI singles to push the lead back out to 7-2, which gave Cal Poly a comfortable margin.
Hawaii only scored one more run in the fourth inning, and freshman righthander Paige Maier took over for senior starting pitcher Krystyna Allman (6-11), throwing 3 ⅔ scoreless innings to secure the 7-3 victory.
Friday Game Two
In game two of the Friday doubleheader, Cal Poly stayed hot, winning 12-2.
After a scoreless first for both sides, the Mustangs woke up in the second inning. Redshirt sophomore Sydney Frankenberger singled to lead off the inning, scoring on a double from Prahm. A single from Barrett scored a Prahm to give Cal Poly an early 2-0 advantage.
In the third, a walk from Maddie Amos, a single from senior Lily Amos and a walk for Frankenberger loaded the bases with no outs. A double from Sargent scored all three runners to extend the Mustang lead to 5-0.
A two-run home run from Hawaii in the bottom of the third cut the Cal Poly lead to 5-2. However, that’s the last scoring that would come from the Rainbow Wahine offense
The Mustangs answered in the fourth thanks to a two-run home run from Maddie Amos.
In the fifth, Prahm kicked off the inning with a home run. A double from Maddie Amos followed to score Clements, extending the Cal Poly lead to 9-2.
Three more runs for Cal Poly in the seventh cemented their 12-2 win, clinching their second Big West series win of the season.
Saturday
In the series finale, a back-and-forth affair saw Cal Poly secure their first Big West series sweep of the season with an 8-7 win.
A run for Hawaii in the bottom of the first started the scoring, giving the Rainbow Wahine a 1-0 lead.
Cal Poly answered with two runs in the second after an RBI single from Barrett and an RBI groundout by Ramos, giving the Mustangs a 2-1 lead.
A 2-run home run from Hawaii in the third allowed them to recapture the lead at 3-2.
In the fourth, a bases-clearing triple from Sargent pushed the Mustangs back ahead at 5-3. Cal Poly then added another run in the fifth to make it 6-3.
Hawaii answered back with four runs in the bottom of the fifth, taking a 7-6 lead.
In the sixth, the Mustangs tied the game when Prahm scored on a wild pitch from the Hawaii pitcher. Then, Barrett came through with the go-ahead and eventual game-winning RBI single to take the 8-7 lead and clinch the series sweep.
Cal Poly will continue its road trip against CSU Bakersfield from Friday, Apr. 15 through Saturday, Apr. 16 in Bakersfield.
