Cal Poly Closes 2022 Season at UC San Diego May 13-14

Friday, May 13

La Jolla, CA

3 p.m.

UC San Diego

Photo by: Eyasu Betwos

Cal Poly Closes 2022 Season at UC San Diego May 13-14

5/11/2022 12:09:00 PM | Softball

SAN LUIS OBISPO – The Cal Poly softball program completes a 48-game regular season schedule and visits UC San Diego for the first time since 1994 when facing the Tritons for three-game, May 13-14 series. Action at Triton Softball Field gets underway with a 3 p.m. doubleheader on Friday, May 13 before the season concludes with a 1 p.m. matchup on Saturday, May 14. Both Cal Poly (18-27, 13-11) and UC San Diego (25-25, 13-11) enter the series tied with UC Riverside (22-24, 13-11) for fourth place in the Big West Conference standings. All three programs trail third place Hawai'i (22-17, 16-8) by three games. The Mustangs feature the Big West's second highest team batting average (.280) while UC San Diego owns the second lowest team ERA (2.79). Cal Poly requires just one victory against UC San Diego to match the program's highest conference win total and secure the first winning Big West season in eight years.

FOLLOW CAL POLY THIS WEEK: ESPN+ coverage and live stats from each series game at UC San Diego will be available via GoPoly.com HERE.

CAL POLY VERSUS UC SAN DIEGO: Cal Poly and UC San Diego squared off 18 times between 1987 and 1994 as Division II opponents, but have faced each other just three times since with the Tritons taking two of three matchups from the Mustangs in 2021. UC San Diego's 3-2, eight-inning victory to open last year's series (May 14) was its first against Cal Poly with the Mustangs leading the all-time series, 19-2.

BIG WEST BATTING RACE DOWN TO FINAL WEEK: With Cal Poly featuring the Big West's top hitter, freshman left fielder Jessica Clements ranks 52nd among NCAA Division I hitters with a .405 (60-for-148) mark and leads Cal State Fullerton catcher Jessi Alcala (.395) by just 12 points. Mustang senior shortstop Maddie Amos, meanwhile, ranks sixth in the Big West with a .362 (51-for-141) average. Clements currently features the fifth highest single season average in program history and has the opportunity to become just the fifth Mustang ever to bat .400 or better.

AMOS ROUNDING OFF STANDOUT CAREER: The Big West's sixth leading hitter with a .362 (51-for-141) mark, senior shortstop Maddie Amos enters the May 13-14 series at UC San Diego also ranked second among conference players with 40 RBI, third with 84 total bases and a .596 slugging percentage, fourth with seven homers and fifth with 10 doubles. Owner of 14 multi-hit games (including a four-hit performance at Hawai'i on April 8 and three further three-hit efforts) and a team leading eight multi-RBI games (including a program record eight after matching an NCAA single game record with two grand slams at CSU Bakersfield on April 16), Amos is a three-time Big West Field Player of the Week honoree this year. Ranked 12th in program history with a .317 (124-for-391) career batting average, Amos has started 135 of a possible 152 games during her career and all 80 since the start of the 2021 season.

CAREER DAY: With two grand slams and eight RBI during Cal Poly's 14-2, five-inning victory at CSU Bakersfield (April 16), senior shortstop Maddie Amos …
– Tied an NCAA single game record with two grand slams;
– Set a new program single game record with eight RBI;
– Tied a Big West Conference record eight RBI;
– Became the sixth Division I player during the 2022 season with eight RBI.

CLEMENTS DEBUT A HIT: Having hit safely 34 times and Cal Poly's leader with 17 multi-hit games – including career best four-hit outings against San Diego State (Feb. 13), San Jose State (Feb. 25), at Hawai'i (April 9) and at CSU Bakersfield (April 16) – freshman left fielder Jessica Clements ranks 51st among NCAA Division I batters with a .405 (60-for-148) batting average. Still the Big West's leading hitter, Clements also ranks second with 60 hits and fourth with 35 runs. The Feb. 14 and April 11 Big West Freshman Player of the Week honoree, Clements is one of four Mustangs to start all 45 games this season alongside senior shortstop Maddie Amos, senior designated player Lily Amos and junior second baseman Xiara Diaz.

TOUGH OUT: Cal Poly's third leading hitter with a .306 (34-for-111) batting average, sophomore right fielder Juju Sargent ranks as the 12th toughest NCAA Division I player to strike out, averaging just one every 27.8 at-bats. With just four total strikeouts in 111 at-bats and 123 plate appearances, Sargent has appeared in 43 of 45 matchups this season.

SIBLINGS IN THE FOLD: Among the 293 Division I programs for the 2022 season, Cal Poly – alongside Indiana State and IUPUI – is one of three teams to feature two pairs of siblings on the roster. Only UNC-Wilmington, with three pairs, features more. With seniors Maddie and Lily Amos each starting all 45 games, freshman third baseman Caroline Allman – a starter in 11 of 25 appearances – has entered the lineup alongside senior lefthander Krystyna Allman.

CLOSE, BUT …: Fourteen of Cal Poly's 45 games – 31 percent – have been decided by a single run with the Mustangs holding just a 4-10 mark in such matchups. Cal Poly's three one-run victories include a 2-1 home triumph against Nevada (March 12), a 7-6 home win versus UC Santa Barbara (April 2), an 8-7 decision at Hawai'i (April 9) and a 1-0 home victory versus UC Davis (May 6).