Moreno Walk-Off Hit Helps Cal Poly Split Tuesday Doubleheader

Tuesday, April 22

3 pm

25-17

Bakersfield

14-35-1

CSU Bakersfield

Cal Poly

Moreno Walk-Off Hit Helps Cal Poly Split Tuesday Doubleheader

4/22/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Senior center fielder Lauren Moreno (right) singled through the left side of the infield with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to score senior catcher Mariah Cochiolo as the Cal Poly softball program split a Tuesday doubleheader against Bakersfield by outlasting the Roadrunners at Bob Janssen Field, 1-0. Bakersfield, through a five-run fifth, captured the opening contest in eight innings, 7-5.

During Tuesday's 1-0 victory, Cal Poly (26-17) – held to two hits through the opening eight innings by Bakersfield starting righthander Kelsie Monroe (9-18) – saw Cochiolo kickstart the ninth-inning rally with a two-out single up the middle. Monroe hit senior first baseman Shea Williams with the next pitch before Moreno – 0-for-7 in the doubleheader coming into the final at-bat – drove Monroe's second offering off the glove of third baseman Madison Bundy. The liner carried into left field and, racing from second base, Cochiolo slid under the attempted tag of Roadrunner catcher Ashley Carter.

Out of the other dugout, Mustang freshman righthander Sierra Hyland struck out seven Roadrunners and allowed just one hit in seven innings before giving way to junior lefthander Chloe Wurst in the eighth. Wurst allowed a pair of two-out hits, but chalked up a scoreless eighth inning to improve to 5-9.

During Tuesday's opening contest, Cal Poly – through two Bakersfield errors – loaded the bases with one down in the third before Roadrunners starting righthander Lyndsay Klimenko (3-8) hit Cal Poly junior left fielder Emily Ceccacci to force home senior pinch runner Cami Brown for the game's opening run. Two batters later, Hyland reached on a fielding error by Bundy at third base and the miscue – Bakersfield's third of the inning – allowed senior second baseman Ashley Romano to score for a 2-0 Mustang lead.

The Mustangs returned in the fourth to pad their advantage as senior shortstop Kim Westlund tripled with two down to score Brown.

Hyland, who yielded just two Bakersfield hits during the first four innings, opened the fifth by allowing a double to shortstop Karsyn Guzman and a base hit to left fielder Karissa Veiga. Hyland then unleashed a wild pitch that scored Guzman before walking second baseman Shay Fryer and hitting first baseman Amy Ricciardi to load the bases. Designated player Jessica Castaneda and Bundy each followed with run-scoring singles to tie the game before pinch hitter Briana Pontecorvo placed the Roadrunners up 5-3 with a two-out, two-run single.

Retired in order in the sixth, Cal Poly forced extra innings in the seventh as Hyland improved her team-leading RBI total to 30 by driving in Ceccacci and Romano with two outs.

Bakersfield, however, scratched out the eventual winning run in the top of the eighth as Pontecorvo singled up the middle with two outs to score center fielder Sydney Raeber. A fielding error by Williams at first later led to Bakersfield's seventh run.

In the bottom of the eighth, Cal Poly loaded the bases with one out, but Klimenko struck out Mustang senior third baseman Jillian Andersen before forcing a Ceccacci groundout to end the game.

Sitting third in the Big West standings alongside Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly returns to the conference championship race when hosting the Titans for a three-game, April 26-27 series at Bob Janssen Field. With nine games remaining in the regular season, both the Mustangs and Titans trail first-place Long Beach State (33-13, 10-2) by three games in the standings and second-place UC Santa Barbara (28-17, 8-4) by one.