Graig MantleIt’s that time of year again. The time of year when we find out whether the Cal Poly softball team is in or out of the NCAA Tournament.
After being controversially left out of the tournament field in 1997, 2005 and 2006, the Mustangs feel like this is the year that the program will reach – either automatically or as an at-large selection – the postseason for the first time since moving to the Division I level in 1995.
“I feel that we should,” Cal Poly junior designated player Sarah Iwata said Tuesday when asked if Cal Poly should get in no matter what happens this weekend.
Iwata, though, made clear what the Mustangs’ goal was since before the season even began.
“We’re going to get it done and win conference,” she said. “There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind.”
To do that, Cal Poly must take two of three games from visiting Pacific this weekend. Doing so would mark the first outright Big West title in program history. The two teams begin the series with a noon doubleheader Friday before wrapping things up with a noon finale Saturday.
“It’s a big deal,” Iwata said. “It’s come down to this last series. It all pretty much ends on this.”
That same sense of urgency is felt by Cal Poly sophomore shortstop Melissa Pura.
“For us, we have to win it,” Pura said Monday. “We’re going to win it.”
Pura feels it works to the Mustangs’ advantage that their final series of the regular season is not meaningless and that the team still has something to play for.
“If we had (already) won the conference outright,” she said, “there could be a letdown.”
The series is unlikely to be a letdown for fans, who will watch two teams in the top half of the Big West standings duke it out for playoff implications.
Cal Poly (36-15) currently stands in first at 11-4 and Pacific (34-19) is tied for third at 9-6. Though neither team is ranked in either of the two Division I polls, both are in the top 44 of the latest unofficial Ratings Percentage Index figures posted at FullySports.com, which simulates the NCAA’s secret RPI formula used to determine which teams are bound for postseason play.
But the RPI figures supposedly favored the Mustangs for postseason play in 1997 and 2005, and that didn’t pan out.
So if Cal Poly is to finally get the respect it feels it deserves, the school of thought is that winning the conference outright is the best route.
Perhaps the only route.
And that means winning two of three this weekend.
“To finish strong in conference and have good momentum going into the postseason is always a big deal,” Iwata said. “We can’t get our hopes up because of what’s happened in the past, (but) we feel like we’ve been consistent throughout the whole year. We’ve taken care of business against teams.”
It was hardly easy, though.
In fact, the Mustangs had things harder than most. They embarked on a 25-game road trip spanning 31 days beginning in February and went 19-6 on the tour.
“That did a lot for us,” Iwata said. “We were together for (four) days at a time. We were gone from Thursday through Sunday. We didn’t have too much time in between each weekend. We’ve bonded together and come together really well.”
Cal Poly also has three wins against ranked teams – Northwestern, Washington and Stanford.
Iwata belted two home runs – including the game-winner – in a crucial 3-2 win at second-place Cal State Fullerton (31-20, 10-5) last Saturday. On the season, the Torrance native is batting .322 with seven homers and 34 RBI.
“I was hitting the ball really well,” Iwata said of last weekend. “It’s just a confidence builder knowing that even if I don’t get it done, everybody else has the ability to get it done.”
In addition to Iwata, three other regulars in the Mustangs’ lineup are batting above .300 – senior center fielder Lisa Modglin (.481), senior catcher Jackie Gehrke-Jones (.377) and Pura (.351).
“I feel a lot more comfortable,” Pura said of the difference between her freshman and sophomore seasons. “In the offseason, I knew how to train better. It’s really helped a lot.”
Modglin leads Cal Poly with 16 bombs this season, but Pura – second with nine homers – is the team leader in RBI (46).
Iwata said the depth possessed by the Mustangs – Krysten Cary is at .290 and Cristen Lee at .276 – is something her team has over many opponents.
“It kind of takes them out of it a bit,” Iwata said. “With Lisa, people watch her all the time, but we still get it done behind her.”
Cal Poly has outhit opponents 425-348 on the season.
But none of that would matter if not for the Mustangs’ strength in the circle.
Junior right-hander Robyn Kontra (11-6, 2.31 ERA), sophomore right-hander Jenna Maiden (12-3, 2.30), senior right-hander Emily Hively (8-2, 2.02) and freshman southpaw Helen Pe¤a (5-4, 1.75) have combined for nine shutouts among 28 complete games.
“It’s a really strong combination between all of them because they all can go the distance,” Iwata said. “They can all be the closer, (or) the starter.”
The Mustangs feel locked and loaded for an eventful weekend.
Because otherwise, it wouldn’t have been as fun a Senior Day weekend, right?
“Previous two years, we’ve been really close” to the tournament, Pura said. “We’re coming down to the last weekend, which is good.”