UC San Diego
Cal Poly Softball Visits UC San Diego for Pivotal April 11-12 Series
4/8/2026 11:49:00 AM | Softball
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Sitting two games out of the final Big West Championship spot with four regular season series remaining, the Cal Poly softball program visits UC San Diego for a Saturday, April 11 doubleheader (4 p.m.) and Sunday, April 12 solo matchup (12 noon). Both the Mustangs (10-24, 4-11) and Tritons (14-22, 4-11) enter the series trailing sixth-place Cal State Bakersfield (8-30, 6-9) by two games in the conference standings with the top six programs qualifying for the May 6-9 Big West Championship. Seventh-place CSUN (9-23, 5-10), meanwhile, sits between the programs and just one game out of the final position.
CAL POLY VERSUS UC SAN DIEGO: Cal Poly and UC San Diego met on 18 occasions between 1987 and 1994 as Division II opponents and then not again until the Tritons joined the Big West ahead of the 2021 season. UC San Diego captured the first two Big West series against the Mustangs – prevailing twice in 2021 and 2022 – before Cal Poly won two of three home matchups in 2023 and swept the Tritons in La Jolla to end the 2024 season. UC San Diego, however, returned the sweep in San Luis Obispo last spring. The Mustangs lead the all-time series, 25-8.
FRESHMEN FUEL THE OFFENSE: Cal Poly’s top two hitters entering the April 11-12 series at UC San Diego remain freshmen with first baseman Myleigh Cooper (.380) topping the lineup while third baseman Leilani Allen (.352) is second. Cooper, the only Mustang to start all 34 games this spring, has batted .455 (15-for-33) during Cal Poly’s last 10 games and now ranks 10th among Big West performers with her .380 mark. Overall, Cooper leads Cal Poly with 38 hits, 15 RBI, 51 total bases and 13 multi-hit games. Allen, having hit safely in Cal Poly’s last nine matchups and .483 (14-for-29) since March 21, has also reached base in 19 straight. Allen remains second in the lineup with 31 hits while enjoying six multi-hit outings.
THE BYRD FLIES HIGH: A .188 career hitter entering her junior season, outfielder A’Niyla Byrd ranks third in Cal Poly’s lineup with a .343 mark after batting .522 (12-for-23) during the past seven games. Having produced half of her season hit total – and three, three-hit games – since March 22, Byrd is second in the lineup with eight multi-hit outings this spring.
VENEGAS LOCKED ON TARGET: Only five players in NCAA Division I softball have thrown out more runners than Cal Poly sophomore catcher Maya Venegas, who has taken out 12 would-be basestealers in 33 appearances. Cal Poly’s leader and ranked second among Big West players with 11 doubles, Venegas threw out a career best three Sacramento State baserunners during the program’s Feb. 19 home opener. Lafayette senior Maggie Klug and Buffalo sophomore Isabella Smithson co-lead the nation with 15 thrown-out runners. Two seasons ago, Cal Poly catcher Julia Barnett finished second nationally with 19 thrown-out runners.
BRENNAN IN THE CIRCLE: Securing just one victory in 19 appearances last season, sophomore righthander Bree Brennan enters the April 11-12 UC San Diego series having earned six of Cal Poly’s 10 victories to remain 10th among conference pitchers. Brennan also ranks 11th with 36 strikeouts after registering a career high seven versus Kansas City (Feb. 27) and leads Cal Poly’s staff with 19 appearances and 70.2 innings pitched.
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 four 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 496 total victories and 214 conference wins. A four-time Big West Coach of the Year honoree, Condon has accounted for 41 percent of the program’s 1,206 all-time victories.
LOOKING AHEAD (APRIL 18-19): Two of Cal Poly’s final three Big West series occur at home with the Mustangs first hosting Long Beach State for a Saturday, April 18 doubleheader and Sunday, April 19 solo matchup. First pitch each afternoon is 1 p.m. for Cal Poly, which, swept at Long Beach State to close the 2025 season, seeks its first series victory versus The Beach since 2022.
