tom sandersThe Cal Poly softball team faced its first Big West Conference series over the weekend. The Mustangs played the UC Riverside Highlanders in a double-header on Saturday and another game on Sunday.
The Mustangs lost the first game 2-1. In the second game, they made a comeback and won 7-1. Sunday’s game was a shutout with the Mustangs winning 4-0.
“We’ve been preparing for the beginning of conference all season long,” coach Jenny Condon said.
Going into the series the Highlanders had the best pre-conference record of 19-7. The Mustangs were 13-16.
On March 12, the Mustangs played Notre Dame in a double-header. The Mustangs lost both games.
In the first game, Robyn Kontra pitched for the Mustangs. She had one walk and allowed three runs and eight hits.
Cal Poly lead the game with one run in the third inning when Kelly Comstock hit a single to get on base and was brought home on a double by Lisa Modglin.
The Mustangs were able to hold on to the lead until the seventh inning when the Fighting Irish had a single from Erin Glasco. After several more hits, Carissa Jaquish, who pinch ran for Glasco, was able to score along with teammates Alexandra Kotcheff and Stephanie Brown.
The final score for the first game was 3-1.
The second game was a shutout with the Fighting Irish beating the Mustangs 1-0.
The only score was by the Fighting Irish in the fourth inning by Sarah Smith.
Jenna Maiden pitched for the Mustangs. She had four strikeouts, no walks and one run.
The next game was against Radford University on March 17 in a doubleheader.
In the first game the Mustangs won 4-1. The first score was in the first inning by Modglin. Radford was also able to get on the board in the first inning.
The Mustangs scored again in the second inning with Comstock and Stephanie Tam crossing the plate.
The last run of the game was a home run by Melissa Pura. The home run was her fourth of the season.
The second game proved to be not as easy. The game ended in extra innings to break the tie. Cal Poly won the game in the tenth inning 2-1.
It wasn’t until the ninth inning when the International Tiebreaker rule was imposed. The rule is used when there is no score after seven innings of play. Each team starts an inning with the player who batted last as a runner at second until a winner is determined, according to softball experts at about.com.
Radford started the inning with Danielle Tompkins on second base. She was able to score on a single by Ashley Carlson.
Tam started at second for the Mustangs and was able to score on a double by Pura.
The Mustangs scored again in the tenth inning with Jessica Rogers, who pinch ran for Teresa Miller, on a single by Comstock.
Kontra pitched for the Mustangs. She had five strikeouts, no walks and allowed one run.
Cal Poly was scheduled to play St. Mary’s on March 25 but it was cancelled.On March 26, the Mustangs had a doubleheader against the Santa Clara Broncos. The Mustangs won both games.
The Mustangs started the first game with a three-run lead in the first inning. The lead continued on into the second and third innings.
The Broncos were able to get on the board in third and fourth innings but it wasn’t enough. The Mustangs won 11-6.
Maiden and Kontra both pitched for the Mustangs. Maiden pitched for three innings and allowed no walks or runs. Kontra had two strikeouts, two walks and allowed six runs.
The Mustangs scored one in the fourth inning and the Broncos tied it up when Jessica Clee hit a home run.
The tie was ended in the eighth inning when the Mustangs scored three runs. Modglin and Tam both had singles and Pura hit another home run. The Mustangs won 4-1.
The Mustangs are now 15-17 overall and 2-1 in the Big West Conference.
“We just want to keep playing well and build up on the success we have had in the past few weeks,” she said.