Cal Poly softball’s Sierra Hyland throws no-hitter on her 21st birthday

Sierra Hyland celebrated her 21st birthday in style Thursday night.

Cal Poly’s junior pitcher threw the third no-hitter of her career and struck out 15 batters in leading the Mustangs to a 1-0 victory over St. Peter’s in the opening game of the ShareSLO Mustang Classic at Bob Janssen Field.

The right-hander from Visalia also went 2-for-3 at the plate in the opener of a doubleheader, helping Cal Poly win its seventh and eighth consecutive games. The 15 strikeouts were a career-high for Hyland, who leads the country with 119 strikeouts in 13 appearances this season.

What made Hyland so effective against St. Peter’s?

“Just really keeping the ball breaking on the corners of the plate,” Hyland said. “They were really pulling out and just kind of swinging and not really watching where the ball was going.”

In the second game of Thursday’s doubleheader, Cal Poly (13-4) used a five-run fourth inning to hand St. Peter’s a 9-1 defeat in five innings. It was the seventh time in eight games this season that the Peacocks (0-8) have been beaten via the eight-run rule.

Four Mustangs tallied multiple hits in the nightcap, including a 4-for-4 performance from Hyland, who drove two runs and scored another. Sophomore Amanda Sandoval went 3-for-4 and scored twice, finishing a home run short of the cycle.

Seniors Breana West and Betsy Colburn added two hits and two RBI for Cal Poly, which recorded 12 hits off three St. Peter’s pitchers.

“One through nine in our lineup has come up big with a hit at some point,” said head coach Jenny Condon, who won her 300th game Thursday night. “It was great to see everybody in that second game really hit the ball well.”

Hyland, the 2014 Big West Pitcher of the Year, was nearly unhittable last week during the Libby Matson Tournament in Stockton.

Over that four-game stretch, she struck out 37 hitters and posted a 0.60 earned run average. For her strong performance, Hyland was chosen as the USA Softball Collegiate National Player of the Week on Tuesday — the first such honor in program history.

Through the first month of the season, Hyland has been among the best players in the Big West Conference. She leads the Big West in wins (eight), earned run average (1.57), strikeouts (119) and is fourth in batting average (.417).

Hyland (8-2) also threw a no-hitter and a perfect game during her freshman season two years ago, when she was selected as one of 10 finalists for the NFCA National Freshman of the Year award.

Condon said Hyland and sophomore Lindsey Chalmers (5-2), who scattered four hits and struck out four in the nightcap, have taken the pressure off the Mustangs’ offense with their consistently strong performance in the circle.

“I’ve always expected this team to be a winning team,” Hyland said. “We keep building as we’re going.”

It will be a busy Friday at Bob Janssen Field as the ShareSLO Mustang Classic continues, weather permitting.

Weber State and Saint Peter’s play at 10 a.m., followed by Saint Peter’s and Toledo at 12:30 p.m.

Cal Poly is scheduled to play Weber State at 3 p.m., and the Mustangs will take on Toledo in the final game of the day at 5:30 p.m.

This story was originally published March 3, 2016 at 9:30 PM with the headline "Cal Poly softball’s Sierra Hyland throws no-hitter on her 21st birthday."