8-25, 0
Long Beach State
16-20, 0
Mustang Softball Edged in Series Finale at Long Beach State, 2-1
4/7/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Freshman righthander Jordan Yates (above) scattered five hits during a complete-game effort on Saturday afternoon, but the Cal Poly softball program dropped its second-straight one-run decision against Long Beach State, falling at 49er Softball Complex in the series finale, 2-1.
The 49ers (16-20, 4-2) squandered a one-out triple from second baseman Cya Neal during the top of the first, but capitalized upon Megan Denio's leadoff three-bagger in the third as Long Beach State's left fielder scored on a wild pitch from Yates (1-7). With two out, Mustang senior left fielder Nora Sobczak kept Long Beach State's lead at 1-0 by throwing out Neal at home plate to close the inning.
The Mustangs themselves were held without a hit until junior third baseman Shea Williams singled with one out during the top of the third. Overall, Long Beach State senior righthander Taylor Petty (3-1) faced just two Cal Poly batters over the minimum through four innings.
Long Beach State doubled its lead during the bottom of the fourth with right fielder Nalani St. Germain scoring on a fielding error by Mustang sophomore shortstop Kim Westlund, but Cal Poly returned during the top of the fifth to cut that advantage to 2-1 following a miscue by the 49ers. With one down, Mustang senior designated player Nicole Lund was thrown out at home on a grounder struck by sophomore second baseman Jillian Andersen. Williams, however, advanced to third on the sequence before scoring five pitches later on a throwing error by 49er third baseman Hannah De Gaetano.
The Mustangs, however, threatened just once more with Westlund reaching second base with one out during the sixth. The Mustangs were then retired in order during the seventh.
Cal Poly (8-25, 1-5) completes a four-game road trip on Monday, April 9 with a 5 p.m. matchup at Fresno State. The Mustangs have prevailed just once at Bulldog Diamond in 13 games – a doubleheader split on May 7, 1995 – and have dropped their previous 12 road contests at Fresno State. The Bulldogs own a 16-3 all-time series advantage against the Mustangs with Cal Poly's last victory against Fresno State coming via a 9-4 triumph on Feb. 26, 2006.
Dave Grant will provide play-by-play commentary of Monday's matchup at Fresno State HERE with live stats available HERE.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Petty, Taylor (3-1)
L: Yates, Jordan (1-7)
S: Jones-Wesley, Erin (1)
Batting:
SH: Vogelsang, Madi 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Williams, Shea 1
Batting:
3B: Neal, Cya 1 ; Denio, Megan 1
RBI: Kimbrough, Shayna 1
Base Running:
RUNS: St. Germain, Nalani 1 ; Denio, Megan 1
SB: Rosen, Alisha 1 ; Kimbrough, Shayna 1
