Cal Poly Softball closed out the regular season on a high note, capping off a six-game win streak with a road sweep of UC San Diego at Triton Softball Stadium.
The sweep solidified a third-place finish in the Big West Conference – their best conference finish since 2014.
The Mustangs (28-17, 18-8 Big West) put together a much improved campaign to match their program record for conference wins, set in 2009. Additionally, their 28 total wins are their most since 2017, when Cal Poly won 38.
After dropping back-to-back conference series against the top two teams in the Big West, the team took back third place with consecutive conference sweeps against UC Davis and then the Tritons (16-35, 9-17 Big West).
It was a barrage of offense for the Mustangs, as they scored 21 runs over the three-game road series to cap off the careers of their five seniors: shortstop Xiara Diaz, right fielder Juju Sargent, catcher Kai Barrett, designated player Mia Perez and outfielder Claire Early.
Starting off the sweep with an offensive explosion
Reigning Big West Pitcher of the Week, sophomore Sophia Ramuno pitched her 12th complete game of the season leading Cal Poly to a 7-1 win over the UC San Diego Tritons.
The Mustangs have now secured a third-place finish in the Big West, an improvement from their seventh-place finish last season.
Ramuno allowed just one run via an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning.
The single was one of only five hits allowed by Ramuno on the afternoon paired with 11 strikeouts, the last of which closed the door on the Tritons.
Three straight Mustangs reached base after Jessica Clements flew out to start the third.
Sophomore outfielder Kiara Blanchard then came up and hit a routine groundball to short but when the Triton’s shortstop came up firing to home, the catcher was ruled off the plate to make it 1-0 Mustangs.
Cal Poly would continue to capitalize on sloppy defense from UC San Diego, adding two more runs on yet another throw home that got away.
The fourth run of the inning came on a sacrifice fly from sophomore third baseman Mylina Garza, and that would be the end of the damage in the third.
After another scoreless frame tossed by Ramuno, the Mustangs added another in the fourth on an RBI single from Sargent who took advantage of a leadoff double from Clements.
Clements continued her impressive season reaching base three times on the day, picking up two hits and a walk.
Despite coach Jenny Condon stating in the pre-season that Clements may move around in the batting order, she has primarily stuck in the leadoff spot and has undeniably been effective.
A two-RBI single from Barrett in the top of the fifth inning put the finishing touches on an outstanding overall performance from the Mustangs, both at the plate and in the circle.
Offense stays hot as Mustangs take game one of doubleheader
After taking game No. 1 of the series, the Mustangs secured the series victory with a downpour of offense in the first game on Saturday.
The team jumped out early in the first inning, tacking on four runs to give Ramuno a comfortable lead.
Highlighting the first-inning rally was a leadoff double from Clements, who was brought home on an RBI single from Diaz.
Clements finishes her outstanding junior season with the fifth-highest batting average in all of Division-I softball, sitting at .453. She also led the Big West conference in slugging percentage (.686) and on-base percentage (.526).
Diaz added another single in the seventh, this time scoring two runs to give her 3 RBIs on the day. She finished the season with a top-15 average in the conference at .338.
In the circle, Ramuno struck out five and only conceded four hits through four innings. One game removed from a complete game where she notched a career-high in strikeouts, Ramuno finishes the season with the third-lowest earned run average in the conference (2.31).
With 16 strikeouts in two games, Ramuno’s 160-strikeout total is good for the most in the Big West.
Mustangs close out the season with a sweep
With two outs and runners on first and second, Sargent stepped into the box looking to deliver the go-ahead run in her final game as a Mustang.
Sargent would get to play hero ball, delivering her third hit of the day with a single to left field to plate Clements and put the Mustangs up 5-4.
Sargent’s RBI single would eventually be the game-winning run, as junior pitcher Paige Maier closed the door on the Tritons to secure the series sweep.
Sargent, in her final game for Cal Poly, had a huge day at the plate going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. She finished the year inside the top 20 highest averages in the conference with a .333 average.
Clements also went 3-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored. Barrett, in her final game as well, continued her solid second half of the season as she added a pair of hits to the Mustangs team totaling 11 hits.
The Mustang offense has excelled in close games due to timely hitting and pitching. A huge part of the reason they matched their program-best 18 conference wins was due to how many close games they won, as they had 12 conference wins by one or two runs.
Junior pitcher Kate Judy, who got the start in game No. 3, and Maier, both ended the season inside the top 20 lowest ERA in the conference. Maier finished with a 3.46 ERA and Judy was right behind her at 3.93.
The Mustangs will be losing some key pieces as four of their starters will be graduating, but they’ll look to build upon the success they found this year in the 2025 season.