One day after tossing a four-hit shutout, Long Beach State pitcher Taylor Petty gave up two home runs against Cal Poly that proved to be costly.
The 49ers dropped a 6-2 decision to the Mustangs on Sunday at the 49er Softball Complex, in front of a crowd of 445 spectators.
Petty (9-12) gave up five runs on four hits and struck out three batters during 2 2/3 innings in the circle.
“Coming in from yesterday, they definitely adjusted and capitalized on my mistakes,” the sophomore right-hander said.
Kendal Hennings drew a leadoff walk for Cal Poly to open the top of the second inning, and advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt. Rebecca Patton then followed with a two-run home run over the left field fence, giving the Mustangs an early 2-0 lead.
The Beach (21-22, 5-7 Big West Conference) had an opportunity to score in the bottom half of the frame.
Senior catcher Kristen Pocock got things started with a standup double and advanced to third on a single by Ashley Levine. Levine stole second before Bree Stephan drew a walk to load the bases.
The ‘Niners came up empty as Mustangs pitcher Anna Cahn was able to get senior Ashley Weber to ground out to end the inning.
Cal Poly (20-18, 9-3 Big West) added three more runs in the third when Hennings sent a three-run shot out of the complex, increasing the Mustang lead to 5-0.
The 49ers battled back with three consecutive singles by Christina Schallig, Nalani St. Germain and Liz Javier. Pocock then ripped her second double of the contest, driving in two runs to make it a 5-2 ball game.
Cal Poly tacked on its final run in the top of the seventh after Cahn doubled to plate Krysten Cary.
LBSU loaded the bases once again in its final at-bat, but failed to push any runs across the plate.
“It all comes down to timing and key hits,” Beach head coach Kim Sowder said. “They out-hit us, out-pitched us and out-played us. There’s no excuses here, they got the big hits and we didn’t.”
The Beach collected 11 hits to Cal Poly’s seven, but stranded 12 runners on base.
Pocock sparked the ‘Niner offense, going 3-for-4 on the day with two RBIs. Javier contributed a pair of hits, while Stephan, Weber, Levine and Caitrin DeBaun finished with a hit apiece.
The 49ers continue Big West play when they travel to UC Santa Barbara for a three-game series, starting Saturday at noon.
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