Cal Poly Hosts Big West Leader Cal State Fullerton April 28-29

Friday, April 28

San Luis Obispo, CA

4 p.m.

Cal State Fullerton

Tickets

Team Celebration CSU Bakersfield (Betwos)

Photo by: Eyasu Betwos

Cal Poly Hosts Big West Leader Cal State Fullerton April 28-29

4/26/2023 11:27:00 AM | Softball

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Two of the Cal Poly softball program's final three Big West series occur at home with the Mustangs hosting conference leading Cal State Fullerton for a Friday, April 28 doubleheader at 4 p.m. and Saturday, April 29 single matchup at 1 p.m. Winners of five of its last seven matchups, Cal Poly (15-18, 8-10) remained seventh in the Big West standings after handing Long Beach State a 2-0, series-finale setback (April 23) – a decision that relegated The Beach (23-20, 13-5) to second place and handed Cal State Fullerton (27-16, 14-4) a one-game lead atop the table with nine to play. Cal Poly itself trails third-place Hawai'i (28-16, 11-7) and UC Davis (25-15, 11-7) by just three games. After dropping its opening two Big West matchups at home to UC Davis (March 17), Cal State Fullerton has prevailed in 14 of its last 16 conference outings and takes an eight-game winning streak into Friday's doubleheader. Attempting to retain the Big West title and secure its sixth conference championship since 2016, Cal State Fullerton ranks 10th among 295 NCAA Division I programs with a 1.67 ERA.

FOLLOW CAL POLY THIS WEEK: Max Milander returns to provide play-by-play for ESPN+ of each series game HERE … live stats will also be available via GoPoly.com HERE.

CAL POLY VERSUS CAL STATE FULLERTON: Looking to snap a nine-game slide against Cal State Fullerton after being swept in 2022, 2021 and 2019, Cal Poly's last victory against the Titans was a 3-0 home win on May 6, 2018. Cal Poly, which trails in the all-time series, 56-31, since the first meeting on March 4, 1980, has won just one of the last seven series against Cal State Fullerton having prevailed in two of three road matchups in 2017. Cal Poly's last home series win against the Titans came in 2013.

CONDON MAKES HISTORY: Ranked seventh in Big West Conference history with 445 career victories, 19th-year head coach Jenny Condon became the program's all-time victories leader with Cal Poly's 7-0 home win against CSU Bakersfield (April 16). Surpassing Lisa Boyer (who won 443 games from 1989-2004), Condon has accounted for 38.6 (445 of 1,154) percent of the total victories in Cal Poly softball history. In Cal Poly Athletics Department history, only current baseball head coach Larry Lee (2003-) has overseen more victories (628) than Condon.

LEADOFF BY EXAMPLE: Cal Poly's leadoff batter in all 81 games since the start of her career last spring, sophomore center fielder Jessica Clements enters the program's April 28-29 series with Cal State Fullerton ranked seventh in the Big West with a .367 (40-for-109) batting average. Having reached base in 21 of the last 23 games, Clements also leads Cal Poly with nine multi-hit games while ranking sixth among Big West players with a .461 on-base percentage, eighth with seven doubles and 23 runs and ninth with 40 hits. Having reached base in all but three games this season, Clements is averaging 1.2 hits per game and has batted safely in 26 of 33 appearances – including a 5-for-5 effort against Hawai'i (April 8) that matched an all-time Big West record for single game hits. The leading hitter in Cal Poly's 49-year program history with a .384 (103-for-268) mark, Clements has produced 27 collegiate multi-hit outings.

RAMUNO RISES IN THE CIRCLE: With 109 strikeouts – the fourth highest total among Big West pitchers and 12th best in program single season history – Cal Poly freshman righthander Sophia Ramuno ranks fifth among conference pitchers in victories (10), eighth in innings pitched (109.0) and ninth in starts (16). Featuring a 2.4-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, Ramuno is averaging 1.00 strikeouts per inning. She produced a career best 10 strikeouts during a March 25 victory at UC Riverside while enjoying eight-strikeout performances against Nevada (Feb. 12), Fresno State (March 3) and CSUN (March 19).

ALLMAN JOY: Still second in Cal Poly's lineup with a .305 (29-for-95) batting average, sophomore designated player Caroline Allman enters the April 28-29 series versus Cal State Fullerton having hit safely in 11 of the last 13 games and batting .325 (13-for-40) since March 26. Cal Poly's leader with 21 RBI and six multi-RBI games, Allman has enjoyed seven multi-hit games in 2023 – including three-hit efforts versus California (March 25) and Fresno State (April 3).

SARGENT ON THE RISE: Junior right fielder Juju Sargent has batted .340 (16-for-47) during Cal Poly's last 13 games, bringing her season average to a .290 (31-for-107) mark that ranks third in the lineup. One of six Mustangs to start all 33 games – but one of only three to do so at the same position alongside center fielder Jessica Clements and shortstop Xiara Diaz – Sargent ranks seventh among Big West players with a team leading 11 steals and remains second in Cal Poly's lineup for hits (31), multi-hit games (eight) and multi-RBI games (six).

CAL POLY SELECTED SIXTH IN BIG WEST PRESEASON POLL: With sophomore center fielder Jessica Clements earning a position on the preseason coaches' team, the Cal Poly softball program was selected for a sixth-place finish in the 2023 Big West Preseason Poll. Cal Poly collected 40 total points in the poll and one first-place vote to finish just one point behind CSUN. Defending Big West champion Cal State Fullerton was selected to retain its title with 80 points and eight of 10 first-place votes. Last year's runner-up, Long Beach State, finished second with 68 points and the remaining first-place vote. Hawai'i (59 points) and UC San Diego (56) finished third and fourth in the poll, respectively.

ETC.: Now in its 49th year of varsity competition, Cal Poly played the program's 2,200th game during a 6-5, eight-inning home win against Idaho State (Feb. 21) … Cal Poly has lost six scheduled games to rain: a Feb. 24 matchup with Iowa State (Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic) and five games at the program's March 10-12 Mustang Classic (two each versus Loyola University Chicago and South Dakota State and one against Saint Mary's).