THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - After a lengthy three week break in between games, the Cal Lutheran softball team returned to Hutton Field on Friday afternoon where they defeated Pomona-Pitzer 4-1 in game one and 7-4 in game two to complete the sweep.
In game one, the Sagehens jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after the first inning, but the bats fell silent from both teams for the next three frames.
Still trailing by one run entering the bottom of the fifth inning, Ryanna Morua brought the Regals alive with a leadoff single through the right side. Scooter Rapisardi came up and laid down a sacrifice bunt, but an error from the Sagehens pitcher allowed her to reach base and both runners advanced into scoring position. Pomona-Pitzer proceeded to get two outs, but could not get the third until after Blake Lewis came through with a game-winning three-run homerun to deep left-center for the 4-1 lead.
Courtney Sooy improved to 10-9 in the circle after pitching seven strong innings, allowing just one earned run on four hits while striking out two.
In the second game of the day, the Violet and Gold turned in another come-from-behind effort to clinch the series sweep and move into second place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) standings.
The Sagehens put two across in the first inning, but the Regals responded with three in the bottom of the third to take the lead.
Morua came up with yet another single to leadoff an inning and Mikaela Mayhew came through with a pinch-hit RBI single to centerfield to bring her home. A walk to Olivia Leyva brought up B. Lewis, who singled to right field to score Mayhew, and an error from the right fielder allowed Leyva to score to give CLU a 3-2 lead.
Susanne Boden tied the game for Pomona-Pitzer with an RBI double in the fifth inning, but the Regals answered back with four runs off five straight hits in the sixth to put the game out of reach.
After two quick outs, Shonna Christianson and Christina Hunter sparked the rally with back-to-back base hits. Leyva and B. Lewis followed with RBI singles to drive in Christianson and Hunter, respectively, and Amanda Lewis broke things open with a two-run double down the left field line.
Christianson earned the win for the Regals and improved to 6-4 this season after scattering 10 hits and allowing just one earned run.
At the plate, B. Lewis went a combined 4-for-6 with five RBIs and Morua added three hits and scored twice while A. Lewis went 3-for-6 with two RBIs and two doubles on the day.
Cal Lutheran (16-13, 12-7 SCIAC) turns right around tomorrow for a crucial doubleheader with third place Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on the road starting at 12:00 p.m.
Box Score: CLU 4, PP 1
Box Score: CLU 7, PP 4
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