Rafael Salinas
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With the Cal Poly softball team donning pink uniforms in honor of the annual Strikeout Cancer game, the Mustangs swept a crucial doubleheader at home against Big West Conference foe Cal State Fullerton on Saturday.
Freshman pitcher Sierra Hyland stifled the Titan offense in the first game, throwing a complete-game two-hit shutout as the Mustangs won 6-0.
The second game featured an equally impressive performance by junior lefty Chloe Wurst who threw seven innings and surrendered one run on four hits to help Cal Poly (28-17, 9-5 Big West) win 2-1 in the nightcap.
Wurst kept the Titans at bay and preserved a 1-0 lead for a majority of the game.
“It was important for us to win; we’re taking each game as it comes,” Wurst said. “I was just trying to go out there and attack because Cal State Fullerton has some great hitters.”
The Mustangs would need every run in that tightly knit second game. It started early in the bottom of the second as Cal Poly senior infielder Ashley Romano walked and advanced to second on senior infielder Jillian Andersen’s single to right field. Senior shortstop Kim Westlund, who had five hits in the two games combined, then singled to plate the first Cal Poly run.
Westlund faced adversity in recent months with her mother, who has been battling cancer. She referenced her wrist at various times where the words “strike out cancer” were written in pink ink on her athletic tape.
“She’s out there fighting every day with my whole family, it feels good to be able to give back to her like this,” Westlund.
The pivotal insurance run came in the bottom of the fifth. Freshman right fielder Courtney Tyler led the inning off with a hard-hit double into the gap in right-center. Hyland was intentionally walked in order to face senior catcher Mariah Cochiolo who answered with a sharp single up the middle to bring in the game winning run.
The Titans got one back in the bottom half of the seventh when catcher Ariel Tsuchiyama connected for her 15th home run of the season.
“We did a lot of things well today, Sierra and Chloe pitched well, and the offense, we got key hits in important situations and that helped us a lot,” head coach Jenny Condon said.
After Saturday’s two wins, the Cal Poly softball team will have their first winning home record since 2009, a year in which the Mustangs went 18-1 at home. The Mustangs also moved into a three-way tie for second place in the Big West after UC Santa Barbara lost to Hawaii earlier in the day.
The Mustangs have seven games left in the regular season, all in conference.