Cal Poly softball team struggling to find its rhythm without Hyland

An unforgiving stretch continued for the Cal Poly softball team on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Bob Janssen Field.

A 13-4 start to the season now seems like a distant memory two weeks into the Big West Conference slate. After dropping both games of a doubleheader against first-place Cal State Fullerton — losing the first, 8-3, and the second, 5-1 — the Mustangs’ losing streak grew to 10 consecutive games.

Cal Poly sits last in the Big West standings at 16-16 overall and 0-5 against conference opponents heading into the series finale at 1 p.m. Sunday.

“It seems like we started really strong and then we had an injury or two,” head coach Jenny Condon said. “We haven’t really figured out how to recover from that yet.”

The most significant hurdle the Mustangs are trying to overcome is the absence of sophomore standout Sierra Hyland.

The three-time Big West Pitcher of the Week fractured a bone in her throwing hand covering home plate during a 7-2 loss against Ohio State back on March 20. She returned to Cal Poly’s lineup Saturday for the first time in seven games and went a combined 3-for-7 at the designated player position.

Condon said Hyland “swings the bat well with one hand or two” and provided an offensive spark. The coaching staff is being particularly cautious with Hyland’s return to the circle, and Condon sounded optimistic about her being able to pitch again this spring.

“It’s a long-term thing,” Condon said. “Coming back too soon and reinjuring it is the last thing that any of us want.”

Despite missing the past seven games, Hyland remains the Big West leader in strikeouts with 154 — 30 more than the next-closest pitcher — and is fourth with 10 victories.

Sophomores Lindsey Chalmers and Stephanie Heyward have helped fill the pitching void in Hyland’s absence. Chalmers pitched a complete game in the opener and allowed eight runs on 11 hits, dropping her record to 6-9 on the year.

The versatile Heyward, who leads Cal Poly’s offense in hits and runs, made her second start of the season in the nightcap. She scattered eight hits and walked four in a complete-game effort.

“Both Lindsey and Steph have pitched well the last few times out and defensively we’ve been making mistakes,” Condon said. “We’ve got to do a better job of getting that leadoff runner out.”

Heyward has been one of the main bright spots for a Mustang offense that ranks eighth in the Big West in scoring. She’s hit safely in six straight contests and has 10 multi-hit games to her credit this spring.

In the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, the Titans (30-10, 5-0 Big West) erased an early 1-0 deficit with an eight-run third inning. The highest scoring team in the Big West pushed across six runs with two outs, a surge highlighted by Delynn Rippy’s two-run triple and Melissa Sechrest’s two-run home run to left center.

“We’ve got to clean some things up,” Condon said. “We don’t have to be perfect but we have to do a better job with the leadoff runner and then figuring out how to shut down a big inning.

“Hopefully we come out tomorrow and have a better result.”

This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 6:37 PM with the headline "Cal Poly softball team struggling to find its rhythm without Hyland."