The CSUN Matadors swept the Cal Poly softball team in their weekend series to open up Big West conference play.
CSUN (10-12, 3-0 Big West) outscored Cal Poly (4-16, 0-3 Big West) 25-4 in the series, but the final scores don’t tell the complete story of the weekend. The two teams both had nine hits in the first game, and the Mustangs carried on to outhit the Matadors 7-6 in the second game.
Despite the close hit numbers, CSUN took the first matchup 7-2 and the second matchup 6-2.
Sunday’s game had none of the same competition, as CSUN powered out to a 12-0 lead, ending the game in five innings.
Despite the disappointing weekend, the Mustangs have grown together as a team, collecting hits with more consistency and communicating more on the field.
Head Coach Jenny Condon said it was disappointing to drop the first two in conference games, but the team is on the verge of coming out on top in games.
“If we execute and we make the plays, we’re in that ball game,” Condon said. “We have to clean up some defense and get better starting pitching, and if we can do that I think we’re going to be in good shape.”
The team is still young, and Cal Poly’s defensive woes continued on Saturday. The Mustangs had six errors over the first two games of the weekend.
Cal Poly finished the weekend with seven errors, adding to a total of 37 this season.
Starting pitching, Condon’s other main focus at this point in the season, has had bright spots.
Condon said freshman pitcher Natalie Camarena had a good outing in game two. She finished with 5.2 innings pitched, six hits and one earned run allowed in her Big West debut.
“I just went in there like any other game,” Camarena said. “I still have to play to my strengths and just go out there and pitch.”
In Saturday’s games, the CSUN succeeded where Cal Poly fell short. The Mustangs left eight runners on base in both games, leading to lop-sided scores despite close hit totals.
In game one, CSUN broke the game open in the 4th with a base-clearing double. Cal Poly had scored both of their runs in the opening two innings and did not score again.
In the second game, the two teams were in a pitcher’s duel. The only offense came in the 2nd inning, with both teams scoring two runs in the frame.
In a 2-2 tied game in the 6th with runners on the corners, CSUN hit the ball to freshman shortstop Sienna Erskine. She flipped the ball to sophomore infielder Sehren Martinez in a close call where the runner ultimately ruled safe.
While waiting to see if the Mustangs had escaped the jam, the Matadors’ runner at third scored to make it 3-2 CSUN.
The next batter hit a two-run-double down the left field line on the first pitch, zapping the energy out of the Mustangs once again.
Junior outfielder Kiara Blanchard focused mainly on the 16 runners Cal Poly left on-base in the doubleheader.
“We can match teams in hits, but we just need those timely hits,” Blanchard said. “We all are getting hits, but getting them together, coming into cohesion is going to be our key.”
Blanchard had a good day at the plate, going 4-7 with one RBI. She went into the day with an aggressive approach, especially against the first CSUN pitcher.
“I faced her last year, so I was looking for that first pitch knowing that her tendency was to throw a first pitch strike,” Blanchard said.
However, the Mustangs overnight adjustments weren’t effective, as CSUN came out swinging on Sunday.
With a six-run second inning, the Matadors took the lead early and didn’t look back. They finished the game 12-0 with 19 hits.
Freshman left fielder Maddy Bermudez had two of Cal Poly’s five hits in response, but without support, the Mustangs were shut out.
The team travels to face UC Davis (7-18, 1-2 Big West) this weekend for a three-game series starting on Saturday, March 15 at 1 p.m.