Cal Poly Visits Long Beach State for April 16-17 Series
4/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
COMPLETE SERIES PREVIEW (pdf)
SAN LUIS OBISPO – The Cal Poly softball team seeks its first Big West Conference victory of 2016 when visiting second-place Long Beach State for a three-game series that opens with a Saturday, April 16 doubleheader and closes with a Sunday, April 17 single matchup at 49ers Softball Complex. First pitch each day is 1 p.m. for Cal Poly (16-17, 0-6), which seeks to snap an 11-game slide after opening the year with a 16-6 mark. Meanwhile, no Big West staff has struck out more hitters (243) and no conference lineup has struck out less (98) than Long Beach State (24-13, 4-2).
FOLLOW THE MUSTANGS THIS WEEK: Live stats for each series game at Long Beach State will be available via GoPoly.com HERE.
CAL POLY VERSUS LONG BEACH STATE: Swept at home by the 49ers last season, Cal Poly produced a three-game sweep of Long Beach State during its last road visit to 49ers Softball Complex in 2014. The 49ers, however, lead the all-time series, 40-23.
CAL POLY'S SUPERIOR SOPHOMORE: Having hit safely in 17 of Cal Poly's last 19 games and reached base in 29 of the year's 33 games, sophomore designated player Stephanie Heyward enters the April 16-17 series at Long Beach State ranked fifth among Big West players with a .392 (40-for-102) batting average, sixth with a .466 on-base percentage and ninth with 40 hits and a .539 slugging percentage. Heyward also leads Cal Poly with 11 multi-hit games (including four three-hit games) and 18 runs. The leadoff batter in all 33 of Cal Poly's games this year, Heyward has started 86 of a possible 88 games since her arrival while her .348 (87-for-250) career batting average ranks second in program history.
HYLAND REMAINS CAL POLY'S CATALYST: The March 1 USA Softball National Player of the Week selection and a three-time Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week honoree, Cal Poly junior righthander Sierra Hyland (10-4) enters the April 16-17 series at Long Beach State ranked 19th among NCAA Division I pitchers with 154 strikeouts, fifth with 10.7 strikeouts per seven innings and 17th with 4.38 hits allowed per seven innings. Hyland also continues to lead the Big West in ERA (1.67) and opposing batting average (.175) while ranking fourth in victories and seventh in innings pitched (100.2). Having matched a career high with 15 strikeouts against Georgia State (Feb. 14) and during her third career no-hitter versus Saint Peter's (March 4), Hyland has produced eight double-digit strikeout games and is averaging 1.53 strikeouts per inning and a 4.3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. One of only two pitchers in program history with 600-plus career strikeouts, Hyland remains second all-time with 650 strikeouts and requires just 36 more to crack the Big West's all-time top 10. At the plate, Hyland ranks fourth among Big West hitters with a .415 (34-for-82) batting average while also leading Cal Poly with six multi-RBI games and ranking second with nine multi-hit games. She's also fifth among Big West hitters with a .610 slugging percentage. Having hit safely in 22 of 27 appearances this year, Hyland's .335 (132-for-394) career batting average is the fourth highest mark in program history.
WEST ENJOYING SUPERB SENIOR SEASON: A .232 career hitter coming into her final season, first baseman Breana West (above) enters the April 16-17 series at Long Beach State as Cal Poly's third leading hitter with a .333 (29-for-87) mark. West, who has struck out just twice in the last 10 games and whose eight total strikeouts are the fewest of any regular starter, has appeared in 181 of a possible 194 games during her career with 179 starts. She remains a .990 career fielder with just 12 errors committed in four years.
MUSTANG POWER PACK: With four players hitting .305 or higher – including sophomore center fielder Amanda Sandoval's .333 (29-for-87) mark – Cal Poly's .281 (233-for-828) team batting average is 30 points higher than last year's mark. Additionally, Cal Poly's 123 strikeouts this season are the second fewest of any Big West program.
5-FOR-30: Five Mustangs enter Saturday's doubleheader at Long Beach State having started all 33 games this season: Heyward, West, junior outfielder Courtney Tyler, junior second baseman Ashley Tornio and sophomore shortstop Chelsea Convissar. The five-player feat marks the fourth successive year that at least four Mustangs have started every game during a season.
MUSTANGS FACE NATION'S FINEST IN 2016: In what has become a hallmark of 12th-year head coach Jenny Condon's tenure, Cal Poly is again contesting one of the more competitive schedules in Division I during the 2016 season. In total, 11 of Cal Poly's opening 38 games will occur against programs ranked or receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 poll (ranking from date of game).
ETC.: With a career high 15 strikeouts against Georgia State (Feb. 12), Sierra Hyland became just the second player in program history to record 500-plus career strikeouts ... Cal Poly's 2-0 victory against No. 9 Arizona (Feb. 21) marked the program's first victory against a ranked opponent since topping then-No. 8 Oregon 6-4 on Feb. 7, 2014 ... Cal Poly's 9-1 victory against Saint Peter's helped head coach Jenny Condon become the 10th Big West Conference head coach to reach 300 career wins ... a 3-0 loss at UC Santa Barbara marked Cal Poly's 1,100th game at the Division I level.
