UC Santa Barbara
Mustangs Host UC Santa Barbara for March 14-15 Series
3/12/2026 10:48:00 AM | Softball
SAN LUIS OBISPO – The Cal Poly softball program plays the first of its four conference home series when welcoming defending Big West Championship winner UC Santa Barbara for a Saturday, March 14 doubleheader and Sunday, March 15 single matchup at Bob Janssen Field. First pitch on ESPN+ each afternoon is 1 p.m. for Cal Poly (6-16, 0-3), which was swept at Cal State Fullerton (March 7-8) to open Big West play. The Gauchos (12-15, 0-3), who captured last year’s inaugural Big West Championship as the No. 3 seed, began their conference slate by sweeping UC San Diego at home last weekend. UC Santa Barbara leads the Big West a .323 team batting average.
CAL POLY VERSUS UC SANTA BARBARA: With UC Santa Barbara the first and most frequent opponent in Cal Poly’s 52-year history, the Gauchos took a 79-77 series lead after sweeping the Mustangs last March. Cal Poly has won its last two home series against UC Santa Barbara, taking two of three matchups from the Gauchos in 2024 and 2022.
VENEGAS LOCKED ON TARGET: Only one player in NCAA Division I softball has thrown out more runners than Cal Poly sophomore catcher Maya Venegas (above), who has taken out 11 would-be basestealers in 21 appearances. Cal Poly’s co-leader with four doubles, Venegas threw out a career best three Sacramento State baserunners during the program’s Feb. 19 home opener. Drexel sophomore Macie Bergmann leads the nation with 12 thrown-out runners. Two seasons ago, Cal Poly catcher Julia Barnett finished second nationally with 19 thrown-out runners.
FRESHMEN FUEL THE OFFENSE: Three of Cal Poly’s top four hitters entering the March 14-15 home series with UC Santa Barbara are freshmen with first baseman Myleigh Cooper (.339) ranked second in the lineup and followed by third baseman Leilani Allen (.288) and shortstop Madi Bohannon (.279). Cooper, one of three Mustangs to start all 22 games alongside second baseman Sienna Erskine and right fielder Maddy Bermudez, leads Cal Poly with 21 hits, six multi-hit games, eight RBI and four doubles. Allen, meanwhile, is second in the lineup with 15 hits. Junior center fielder A’Niyla Byrd continues to pace Cal Poly with a .344 mark.
Cal Poly back home to host UC Santa Barbara this week in its Big West home-opening series!
— Cal Poly Softball (@CalPolySoftball) March 9, 2026
3?/1?4? Doubleheader @ 1 & 3:30 p.m.
3?/1?5? Singe game @ 1 p.m. #RideHigh pic.twitter.com/sHFGaRMhDz
BRENNAN IN THE CIRCLE: Securing just one victory in 19 appearances last season, sophomore righthander Bree Brennan enters the UC Santa Barbara having earned three of Cal Poly’s six victories to rank 10th among conference pitchers. Brennan also sits eighth with 25 strikeouts after registering a career high seven versus Kansas City (Feb. 27) and co-leads Cal Poly with 12 appearances.
CONDON ON THE VERGE OF MORE HISTORY: The first and only female head coach in Big West history to coach 1,000 games at a member program in any sport, 22nd-year Cal Poly head coach Jenny Condon requires just eight more victories to become the sixth coach in conference history to reach 500 career wins. The winningest female head coach in university history, Condon ranks sixth in Big West history with both 492 total victories and 210 conference wins. A four-time Big West Coach of the Year honoree, Condon has accounted for 41 percent of the program’s 1,202 all-time victories.
LOOKING AHEAD (MARCH 21-22): Cal Poly heads back on the road to visit CSUN for a Saturday, March 21 doubleheader and Sunday March 22 single matchup. First pitch is 1 p.m. each afternoon for Cal Poly, which swept the Matadors during its last visit to Northridge in 2024.
