THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - On the road in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action today, the Cal Lutheran softball team fought hard in both games against Whittier this afternoon, yet came up short dropping two to the Poets, each by one run, 5-4 and 7-6.
The Regals were able to get on the board first in game one when Liz Mertel hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring pinch runner Hannah Brown in the second inning.
WC would respond in the bottom of the inning when Ashlyn Canchola scored on a Sarah Miller single to right field. Marialena Ahern then advanced on an errant CLU throw and scored giving Whittier the 2-1 lead.
Cal Lutheran battled back the third with Scooter Rapisardi showing discipline at the plate and leading off with a walk. Courtney Sooy then laid down a bunt, reaching on an error by the third baseman. Christina Hunter kept the Regals alive laying down another sacrifice bunt to advance runners into scoring position. Blake Lewis then reached on an error by the pitcher which ricocheted to right field allowing Sooy and Rapisardi to score, giving the Regals their first lead of the day at 3-2.
In the sixth, with a 1-1 count, Amanda Lewis led off with a solo homerun to deep left center to push the Regals lead to 4-2.
Not to be outdone, the Poets answered with a lead-off and then walk-off homerun in the seventh which gave the Poets the 5-4 win.
Cal Lutheran collected just four hits, which came from four different players. B. Lewis drove in two of the four runs. Makenna Pellerin stole a base in the loss. Sooy (9-9) worked the complete game, 6.1 innings, and struck out four.
Game two would unfortunately finish in a similar manner.
Two Poets singles to the left side gave Whittier the early 1-0 lead. Yet the Regals were quick to answer back.
Brown led off the third with a single to center and Rapisardi then laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Brown to second. After a walk by Shonna Christianson and sacrifice bunt from Hunter, A. Lewis hit a single to center that drove in two and put the Regals ahead 2-1.
In the bottom of the frame, a wild pitch and a double to right would tie the game 3-3.
The Regals reclaimed the lead in the fourth when Brown, who reached on an error, would score on a Christianson single to right.
Whittier plated a pair in the fifth and another in the sixth to take a 6-3 lead going into the final inning. Still fighting, the Regals put up a three spot in the top of the inning. Hunter led off with a single through the left side and A. Lewis followed suit with a single over the first baseman. B. Lewis came up clutch for Cal Lutheran with a homerun to right center tying the game up.
Unfortunately, the Poets produced the winning run to take game two and complete the sweep.
Overall, Brown led the Regals with three hits at the plate and scored twice, while A. Lewis, B. Lewis and Hunter each had two hits and a run scored. Christianson (5-4) was tagged with the loss after working 6.1 innings, striking out one and allowing six earned runs.
Cal Lutheran (14-13, 10-7 SCIAC) will take on Pomona-Pitzer Friday, April 10 at Hutton Field.
Box Score: WC 7, CLU 6
Box Score: WC 5, CLU 4
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