Cal Poly Softball won two of its three matchups over spring break, taking down Hawaii Pacific and Santa Clara while falling to the University of Hawaii.
The Mustangs (8-7, 3-2 Big West) went across the Pacific to face off against the schools on the island before returning to California to take on Santa Clara.
Tuesday vs. Hawaii Pacific
Cal Poly reigned over Hawaii Pacific 4-1 in rainy Honolulu, Hawaii.
The Mustangs easily picked up the doubles point, beginning with the No. 2 crew of graduate Kimberley Bhunu and freshman Kennedy Buntrock, 6-2. The veteran-rookie duo sits at 6-3 together.
Bhunu and Buntrock’s win came over the undefeated No. 2 Hawaii Pacific pairing, which was 11-0 up until their match against the Mustangs.
The No. 3 squad of redshirt junior Melissa LaMette and freshman Alexandra Ozerets tallied a 6-3 victory to secure the doubles point.
The red-hot Mustangs – 6-1 in their last seven – could not be cooled off by hours of rain delays during singles play.
LaMette brought the heat at No. 2 with a pair of 6-4 wins.
No. 4 Ozerets split a 6-4 win and a 6-4 loss sent her match into set three. A win would extend Cal Poly’s lead to 3-1 and a loss would tie the teams at 2-2.
Ozerets brought the dark clouds to Hawaii Pacific with a 6-0 victory over Abigail Wild.
Finally, No. 5 Buntrock showed the sunshine of victory to Cal Poly with her 6-4, 6-2 win to seal the deal.
Thursday vs. University of Hawaii
However, day two on the islands did not go the Mustangs’ way, as they fell 5-2 to the Rainbow Wahine.
After the loss, Cal Poly now sits third in the Big West while Hawaii is first with a 6-1 conference record. The Rainbow Wahine’s only conference loss came to UC Davis.
On the court, Cal Poly lost the doubles point with falls from the No. 1 and No. 2 duo.
In singles play, three matches went to tiebreakers and Cal Poly went two of six across the courts.
No. 1 Bhunu took down 107-ranked Ana Vilek after a huge set-three victory, 7-6 (7-4).
No. 5 Ozerets split her first two sets both by a score of 6-3, and her final set went 1-0 (10-8) to close out the second team point for Cal Poly.
No. 4 sophomore Peyton Dunkle also went 1-0 (10-7) in her third set, which she narrowly lost.
Sunday vs. Santa Clara
Cal Poly picked up a road victory over winless Santa Clara, 4-2, to cap off the week.
The Mustangs took the first doubles match as the Dunkle sisters won 6-3 from the No. 1 spot.
After Santa Clara won the No. 2 match, the No. 3 Mustang pairing of LaMette and freshman Sarah MacCallum took the final match 7-5, winning the doubles point.
LaMette opened singles play from the No. 2 spot with a 6-1, 6-3 victory to give the Mustangs a 2-0 advantage before Peyton Dunkle won 6-0, 6-4 from the No. 4 slot.
Santa Clara fought back with victories over No. 3 redshirt junior Delanie Dunkle 6-4, 6-3 and No. 1 Bhunu 7-5, 6-3, making it 3-2 overall.
No. 5 Buntrock won in three sets, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 to clinch the victory for the Mustangs. No. 6 sophomore Eliza Bates was at 7-6 (4), 6-5 before they stopped play.
Cal Poly will travel to Stockton to face Pacific University on Friday, April 7 at 1 p.m.