WHITTIER, Calif. – If there was ever a "take over the game" performance,
Samantha Swerdloff delivered exactly that on Friday afternoon.
Trailing early and searching for a spark, Swerdloff flipped the entire game with one swing—launching her first career home run, a go-ahead grand slam—and later delivered the knockout blow with a bases-clearing double to power Cal Lutheran softball to an 11-5 comeback victory over Whittier in the series opener.
The Regals erased an early three-run deficit and finished with 11 runs on 11 hits, matching the Poets hit-for-hit while delivering in the biggest moments.
Whittier came out aggressive, putting Cal Lu on its heels with three runs in the opening inning on a flurry of hits to grab immediate control. After a quiet first few frames however, the Regals broke through in the fourth and did so in unforgettable fashion.
Taking advantage of a pair of errors to load the bases, Swerdloff stepped in and crushed a ball down the left field line for her first career home run, a grand slam that instantly swung the momentum and gave CLU a 4-3 lead.
Whittier answered to tie the game in the bottom half and later evened things again at 5-5 in the fifth, but this time, the Regals never let the moment slip.
Sofia Aviles helped Cal Lu briefly reclaim the lead in the fifth with an RBI single, part of a multi-hit day that kept the offense moving.
From there, it was all about the finish. Locked in a 5-5 game entering the seventh, Cal Lutheran delivered its most complete inning of the day. After loading the bases once again, Swerdloff came through for the second time, ripping a double into the gap to clear the bases and put the Regals firmly in front 8-5.
The inning didn't stop there, as
Kalli Strahm followed with an RBI single and
Reyna Perez added a two-run base hit to cap a six-run outburst that broke the game wide open.
Swerdloff finished at an impressive 3-for-4 with seven RBIs, accounting for more than half of Cal Lutheran's offense in a career day at the plate.
In the circle, Strahm settled in after a rocky first inning, going the distance and allowing four earned runs on 11 hits while inducing key outs down the stretch to secure her sixth win of the season.
Brooke Strahm added a multi-hit effort, while Aviles reached base three times and drove in a run as the Regals' offense continued its surge.
