Nick Larson
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The Cal Poly women’s softball team began its season this past weekend at the Kajikawa Classic hosted by Arizona State.
Heading into this year, a lot remained uncertain for the Mustangs after losing multiple starters to graduation. But after the first weekend of play, it looks as though they’ll be a contender.
The Mustangs went 3-2 in their five games over the weekend.
On Friday, sophomore pitcher and reigning Big West Conference Pitcher of the Year Sierra Hyland dominated Creighton in her first start of the season. Hyland held Creighton scoreless while striking out 14 batters. Freshman center fielder Amanda Sandoval took matters into her own hands on the offensive side, notching the game-winning solo home run in the fifth inning — her first ever collegiate hit.
In the second game of the Friday double-header, the Mustangs were unable to hold down Oregon without Hyland on the mound. The Ducks went off for eight runs while holding the Mustangs offense scoreless. Hyland and sophomore second baseman Ashley Tornio were both able to muster two hits, but with no further results.
Saturday would play out similarly for the Mustangs.
They opened the day with a 3-1 win against BYU with Hyland on the mound once again. She struck out 11 batters while giving up six hits and her first and only earned run of the season. Senior outfielder Emily Ceccacci — Cal Poly’s other preseason Big West first-team All-Conference player — knocked in her first run of the season in the game as well. The leadoff hitter will look to follow up her breakout junior campaign with a strong finish to her collegiate career.
As brightly as the day started, it would once again fade in the afternoon matchup. The Mustangs dropped the late game 8-4 against another Pac-12 opponent, California. The Golden Bears exploded for 14 hits against Cal Poly’s freshman pitchers Lindsey Chalmers and Stephanie Heyward, who picked up the loss after giving up four runs in 2.2 innings of work.
The Mustangs final game on Sunday would be another daunting task against Pac-12 side Oregon State. Hyland threw yet another gem, going 8 innings while striking out 10 and giving up just one hit in the Mustangs’ extra-innings 1-0 win.
The hero of the game, however, was Ceccacci. The outfielder was up in the bottom of the eighth with runners on the corners. Ceccacci belted the second pitch she saw to the outfield, scoring the runner on third for a walk-off victory.
The stars came up big for the Mustangs over the first weekend of play. Cal Poly will get a few days off before returning to action at the Feb. 13-15 Stanford Nike Invitational. Cal Poly begins play Friday at 10 a.m. against Pacific, then later in the day against the host, Stanford.