CLAREMONT, Calif. - Cal Lutheran took an early 2-0 lead against the defending SCIAC Champion Athenas softball squad, but CMS completed a game one come-back effort and went on to steal a pair from CLU by 6-2 and 3-1 margins although CLU played flawless defense in both games.
Box Score (Game 1): CMS 6, CLU 2 - F
Box Score (Game 2): CMS 3, CLU 1 - F
CLU took an early 2-0 lead in the fourth inning of the first game of the afternoon. A one-out walk drawn by Sarah Lichtsinn followed by Debben Hoffer being hit by a pitch got the momentum going for the Regals. Ryanna Moura put down a great sacrifice bunt to move the runners up. Leadoff batter, Kathleen Watson-Otani then reached on a throwing error by CMS, which allowed both runners to score.
Unfortunately, the second time around the order was not as smooth for Katelyn Downing as the opening three frames were. After retiring the first 10 batters in order, three singles and one run in the fourth cut the CLU lead in half.
A five run fifth opened things up for CMS who shifted that early swing in favor of the Regals to the home dugout. Downing handed the ball over to centerfielder Kayla Sakamoto after getting in trouble in the inning. Sakamoto allowed just two hits and no runs in 2.0 innings of work. Appearing in the circle for the first time this spring, she forced a ground ball for a double-play to end the fifth.
At the plate Sakamoto was responsible for two of the six CLU hits. Watson-Otani, Shannon Tinsley, Brittany Labbe and Danika Green each connected for one.
Defensively, the Regals played flawless softball. Green had six putouts at first base and Morua was responsible for two putouts and three assists at shortstop. Liz Mertle and Lichtsinn each recorded a putout with two assists. Sakamoto caught a fly ball in center and tracked down a pop up when she was on the mound.
In the second game of the day each team collected six hits and CLU again played solid defense while CMS committed three errors.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps put up a crooked number early, with a run in the bottom of the first. They scored the ultimate game winner in the fourth on a sacrifice fly and added an insurance run in the fifth.
The lone Cal Lutheran run came in the seventh with two down. Mertel singled and advanced to third on an error that extended the inning for Kendra Varney who connected for an RBI hit.
Sakamoto had two more hits in game two, with a bunt single in the sixth and another hit in the seventh. Morua was responsible for the only CLU extra base hit of the afternoon with a double to left center in the third.
Labbe manned first base where she had seven putouts and a pair of assists. Lichtsinn had three more put outs and another assist in game two.
Cal Lutheran (3-15, 1-9 SCIAC) returns to Hutton Field on Tuesday, March 13 for a pair of non-conference games against Webster. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
