Reigning Big West Player of the Year Anna Cahn hit a slight road bump this past weekend. In two starts, Cahn pitched just over two innings and allowed eight earned runs.
“(Cahn) just wasn’t making her pitches,” head coach Jenny Condon said at Monday’s press conference. “She probably just overthrew a little bit and she throws hard enough that when you do that, you leave it over the plate and they’re going to hit it.”
Cahn’s struggles highlight a rough patch she and her teammates have hit this season. Heading into last weekend’s series against UC Riverside, the Mustangs held a seven-game losing streak. Against UC Riverside, it was no different; Cahn struggled and so did the Mustangs. Cal Poly lost two of three to the Highlanders.
“I think at this point it is just a mental thing, where we are just over-analyzing and pressing, and we’re not having any success,” Condon said. “We’ve got to figure out how to really get them to relax and really get them to get to play to their capabilities because we’ve got some talent on this team — we just haven’t really shown it yet.”
Cahn has made up for her recent pitching outings behind the plate. She leads the team with a .352 batting average and has drawn 22 walks. The Mustangs will have a chance to reverse their fortunes this weekend when they travel to UC Santa Barbara (9-25) to take on the Gauchos in a three-game conference series.
Even with her performance this past weekend, Cahn (8-9) still leads the Big West in ERA (1.96). The senior may be in a cold streak, but her coach isn’t worried. She knows what Cahn can do when she plays to her potential.
“We know what she is capable of doing — she can shut down any team. She is just going to have to get back out there and trust her training and trust her skills,” Condon said.
Cahn and the rest of the pitching staff will take on a Gauchos lineup that is hitting .243 as a team and boasts two batters who are hitting above .300.
“I think we’re kind of in the same boat,” Condon said. “They’ve struggled lately.”
UC Santa Barbara is rolling off an eight-game losing steak. Most recently, the Gauchos were swept by Cal State Fullerton in a three-game series this past weekend.
On the mound, the Matadors hold a 5.60 staff ERA. They will most likely send pitchers Lindsey Correa (3-8, 4.67 ERA), MeLinda Matsumoto (4-9, 4.82) and Krista Cobb (2-8, 7.51) to the mound against the Mustangs.
“We’re excited to play a familiar opponent, but they’ve got a lot of new kids too,” Condon said. “It’s going to come down to pitching and defense. They swing their bats, they’re scrappy, they’re competitive, they’re fighters and they’ll come to play.”
The competition hasn’t been easy this season. In consecutive weeks this season, the Mustangs challenged teams such as N0. 10 Stanford, No. 5 UCLA and No. 8 Arizona State. But, whoever takes the rubber against the Mustangs doesn’t matter. No matter how good the opposition is, Condon said she thinks her team has the talent to play with anyone.
“We are capable of beating those teams — if we play cleanly and we execute,” Condon said. “We’ve just been self-destructive.”
It’s not over just yet. The conference season is still young and the Mustangs can still piece together a run to make post-season play.
“We have 18 games left, and we can definitely take care of business and still have an opportunity to win a championship,” Condon said. “That’s what we’re here for. Ultimately, we want to win the conference championship and put us in a situation where we can go to the post-season.”