Mustangs Look to Climb Big West Standings April 20-21 versus Long Beach State

Saturday, April 20

San Luis Obispo, CA

1 p.m.

Long Beach State

Tickets

Photo by: Owen Main

Mustangs Look to Climb Big West Standings April 20-21 versus Long Beach State

4/17/2024 4:14:00 PM | Softball

SAN LUIS OBISPO – The Cal Poly softball program's next two Big West series will go a considerable distance in helping decide the 2024 conference championship as the third-place Mustangs host second-place Long Beach State for a Saturday, April 20 doubleheader and Sunday, April 21 single matchup. First pitch each afternoon from Bob Janssen Field is 1 p.m. on ESPN+ for Cal Poly (21-12, 11-3), which enters the series trailing Long Beach State (17-24, 12-3) by just a half-game in the Big West standings. The Mustangs then visit Big West leader Cal State Fullerton (27-14, 13-2) for an April 27-28 series with Cal Poly just one-and-a-half games behind the Titans (Cal Poly still has a game in hand after their April 6 series finale at Hawai'i was cancelled due to weather). Second among Big West programs with a .302 team batting average, Cal Poly kept pace with Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State – who have won every conference title since 2016 – with an April 12-13 road sweep of Cal State Bakersfield. Long Beach State, which began Big West play with a 5-21 mark, enters this weekend's series having won six of its last seven.

FOLLOW CAL POLY VERSUS LONG BEACH STATE: ESPN+ coverage and live stats for each series game versus Long Beach State will be available via GoPoly.com HERE.

CAL POLY VERSUS LONG BEACH STATE: Cal Poly took two of three home games from Long Beach State in 2022 to secure its only series win against The Beach in the last five meetings (it also marked Cal Poly's lone home series win against The Beach since 2009). Cal Poly dropped two of three games at Long Beach State last spring and trails in the all-time series, 55-32, dating to the first meeting between the two programs on April 22, 1978.

THE WINNING EDGE: Fueling Cal Poly's third-place Big West start is an 8-2 record in conference games decided by one or two runs. Seven of Cal Poly's 11 Big West victories have been decided by a single run with the 11 conference wins occurring by 2.4 runs per triumph.

CLEMENTS REMAINS CAL POLY'S CATALYST: Cal Poly's leadoff batter in 104 of 123 career outings, junior center fielder Jessica Clements enters the Long Beach State series as the second leading hitter in Division I with a .483 (56-for-116) batting average while ranking 12th nationally with a .545 on-base percentage and 32nd with 56 hits. The Big West leader for total bases (82) and slugging percentage (.707) and ranked second for triples (three) and third for doubles (eight) and runs (29), Clements has hit safely in 29 of 33 matchups this season with 20 multi-hit efforts (including seven three-hit games). Averaging 1.7 hits per game, Clements ranks as the 29th toughest player to strike out in Division I, averaging just one per 29 at-bats (entering the Long Beach State series, she's struck out just once in her last 77 at-bats). Through 124 career games, Clements remains the top batter in program history with a .417 (179-for-429) career mark that doubles as the second best figure in Big West history. She also ranks 12th in Cal Poly history with 179 hits, remaining 57 shy of All-American Lisa Modglin's program record of 236 set from 2004-07.

RAMUNO ON THE RISE: Matching a career best with 10 strikeouts during Cal Poly's March 17 series finale against CSUN and equalizing it against UC Riverside (March 23), sophomore righthander Sophia Ramuno leads all Big West pitchers and ranks 50th among NCAA Division I players with 118 strikeouts. She also ranks third in the Big West with a .234 opposing batting average, fourth with a 2.44 ERA, sixth with eight complete games and seventh with 109.0 innings pitched. The March 18 Big West Pitcher of the Week honoree, Ramuno owns a 1.45 conference ERA with just 13 earned runs conceded in 62.2 Big West innings. Averaging 1.08 strikeouts per inning and 5.1 per appearance, Ramuno has also struck out eight against UC Riverside (March 24) and at CSUN (March 16) and seven on four additional occasions.

DIAZ'S SUPERB SENIOR SEASON: Batting 107 points higher than her .254 career average entering the season, senior shortstop Xiara Diaz heads into Cal Poly's April 20-21 series with Long Beach State ranked fourth among conference players with a .361 (35-for-97) mark. Having reached base in all but three appearances, Diaz also sits fifth among Big West players with a .440 on-base percentage and seventh with 23 runs. She remains one of only two Mustangs with a four-hit game this season after a 4-for-4 performance at CSUN (March 16). A starter in 119 of Cal Poly's last 120 games (she saw a streak of 119 straight starts snapped at Cal State Bakersfield April 13), Diaz remains third in program history with 35 steals.

GOOD JUJU: Helping to provide Cal Poly four of the Big West's top 18 hitters is senior right fielder Juju Sargent, who has reached base in 29 of 33 matchups and takes a .321 (36-for-112) batting average into the April 20-21 series versus Long Beach State. Having hit safely 24 times and with 10 multi-hit efforts, Sargent also sits sixth among Big West players with 24 runs scored and 11th with 36 hits.

BLANCHARD'S STELLAR SOPHOMORE EFFORT: Having hit safely in 12 of her last 15 games, sophomore left fielder Kiara Blanchard has improved her season batting average to .324 (35-for-108) to now rank 15th among Big West hitters. She's also hitting .354 (17-for-48) in Big West play after batting just .176 overall last spring. One of five Mustangs to start all 33 games, Blanchard – one of just two Cal Poly players with a four-RBI outing this season after reaching the mark against Saint Mary's (Feb. 10) – ranks fifth among conference players with a team leading 23 RBI.

PEREZ'S CAREER YEAR: Owner of just 10 career hits entering her senior season, designated player and second baseman Mia Perez has produced 24 this year alone – and a career best .282 (24-for-85) batting average. One of five Mustang starters batting above .280, Perez has hit safely 16 times.

CAL POLY SELECTED SEVENTH IN BIG WEST POLL: Despite returning starters at all 10 positions and welcoming back all three All-Big West selections from 2023, Cal Poly was selected seventh in the conference preseason coaches' poll. The Mustangs received 31 total points in the poll – 15 behind sixth place Hawai'i. Cal State Fullerton – second in the Big West standings a season ago – was selected to capture the 2024 title with 77 points and six first-place votes. Defending champion Long Beach State was second in the poll, right behind the Titans on 75 points and with the remaining four first-place votes.

LOOKING AHEAD (APRIL 27-28): Cal Poly visits Big West leader Cal State Fullerton for a Saturday, April 27 doubleheader and Sunday, April 28 single matchup with, potentially, the top spot in the Big West standings on the line. The Titans have swept the last four series with Cal Poly dating to 2019, won five successive series against the Mustangs and 14 of the previous 15 games since 2018.

ETC.: The Cal Poly program is in its 50th varsity season in 2024, 27th season as a Big West member and in its 20th year under head coach Jenny Condon … Cal Poly's 5-0 start to the year was its best since beginning the 2005 season 5-0 … Cal Poly's Big West-opening series sweep of CSUN (March 16-17) was its first to start conference play since 2013 … Cal Poly's scheduled April 6 series final at Hawai'i was cancelled due to rain. A determination as to when and if the game will be rescheduled has not yet been determined … the series at Hawai'i marked Cal Poly's only scheduled games outside of California and the Pacific Time Zone this season.