Pitt
Cal Poly Caps Big West Prep at Louisville Slugger Invitational
2/25/2025 4:09:00 PM | Softball
Cal Poly Softball
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SAN LUIS OBISPO – Just one weekend remains ahead of the Cal Poly softball program’s Big West opening series as the Mustangs complete conference preparations at Long Beach State’s Feb. 28-March 2 Louisville Slugger Invitational. Action for Cal Poly (3-10) begins Friday, Feb. 28 against Pitt (8-7) at 9 a.m. before the Mustangs face a pair of first-time foes on Saturday, March 1 in Omaha (11-2) at 9 a.m. and Utah Tech (6-10) at 2 p.m. Cal Poly concludes play at LBSU Softball Complex on Sunday, March 2 against Loyola Marymount (6-10) at 11:30 a.m. Cal Poly has never previously appeared at Long Beach State’s Louisville Slugger Invitational.
FOLLOW CAL POLY THIS WEEKEND: Live stats for all four matchups at the Louisville Slugger Invitational will be available via GoPoly.com HERE.
CAL POLY VERSUS LOUISVILLE LSUGGER INVITATIONAL OPPONENTS: Cal Poly has faced Pitt just once prior, edging the Panthers, 9-8, to open the 2020 season at UCLA … the Mustangs have never previously faced either Omaha or Utah Tech … Loyola Marymount holds a 12-6 series advantage versus Cal Poly, having won the last seven decisions and most recently topping the Mustangs, 7-3, on March 3, 2022.
BARNETT ADDS OFFENSE TO THE RESUME: The reigning Big West Defensive Player of the Year honoree, senior catch Julia Barnett remains Cal Poly’s top hitter after the opening three weekends, leading the Mustangs with a .395 (17-for-43) batting average and, among conference players, ranking third with five doubles, seventh with 17 hits, eighth with 25 total bases and 11th with 10 RBI. Having hit safely in seven straight games and 11 of 13 this season – including swatting her second career home run during a Feb. 8 home matchup with Oregon State – Barnett also leads Cal Poly with five multi-hit games and three multi-RBI games A starter in all 100 games since the start of the 2023 season, Barnett is a .988 career fielder with just eight errors in 644 total chances.
BERMUDEZ BREAKS OUT: Hitting safely in nine of her first 13 collegiate games, freshman left fielder Maddy Bermudez enters the Louisville Slugger Invitational as the program’s second leading hitter with a .289 (11-for-38) batting average. Also Cal Poly’s leader with seven runs, Bermudez is one of four Mustangs to start all 13 games and the only freshman to do so.
CONDON ON THE VERGE OF MORE HISTORY: The winningest female head coach in university history, Jenny Condon requires just 20 more Mustang victories to become only the fifth head coach in Big West history to reach 500 career wins. Cal Poly’s April 12 doubleheader opening matchup at UC Riverside will also mark Condon’s 1,000th career game – a figure reached by just two previous Big West head coaches. A four-time Big West Coach of the Year honoree, Condon ranks sixth in conference history with both 480 total victories and 206 Big West wins.
CAL POLY SELECTED FIFTH IN BIG WEST PRESEASON POLL: A year after finishing third in the Big West standings with an 18-8 mark, Cal Poly was selected for a fifth-place finish during the 2025 season following the Jan. 30 release of the conference preseason coaches’ poll. The Mustangs earned 45 points to finish seven votes shy of Hawai’i. Long Beach State, last season’s Big West runner-up, took top spot in the poll with 81 total points and nine of 10 first-place votes. Defending champion Cal State Fullerton earned 63 points and the remaining first-place vote. UC Santa Barbara was third on 59 points.
LOOKING AHEAD (MARCH 8-9): Cal Poly opens its 28th year of Big West action when welcoming CSUN for a three-game, March 8-9 series. First pitch each afternoon is 1 p.m. for Cal Poly, which begins Big West play against CSUN for the fifth successive year. The Mustangs have won just two of their previous six conference-opening series, taking two of three from CSUN in 2021 before sweeping the Matadors on the road last spring.
Mustangs complete Big West preparations at Long Beach State's Feb. 28-March 2 Louisville Slugger Invitational. Action gets underway Friday, Feb. 28 against Pitt at 9 a.m.#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/u8vLuFNbn7
— Cal Poly Softball (@CalPolySoftball) February 24, 2025
