Brenna Winslow '07 went 3-for-4 with a grand slam to lead Whittier College to a 8-1game one victory over SCIAC rival Pomona-Pitzer Colleges at Palmer Softball Stadium on April 14.  The Poets (19-13, 8-8) lost the second game of the doubleheader, 3-0.

Coming into the games, the Poets were represented in the top 50 in all of Division III in a number of offensive and defensive categories.  On offense, Whittier ranked 20th as a team in doubles per game (1.97/gm), 28th in slugging percentage (.504), 31st in Batting Average (.352) and 42nd in home runs per game (.67/gm).  On defense, the Poets ranked 24th in double plays per game (.40/gm). 

Three individuals entered the weekend ranked among the nation's best.  Mary Pacheco '10 ranked eighth in Division III in batting average (.523), 16th in doubles per game (.50/gm) and 44th in the "Toughest to Strike Out" category (107 AB/3 K).  Vicky Ovieda '09 ranked 16th among pitchers in wins (11).  Amanda Brown '09 ranked 30th in sacrifice hits per game (.33/gm).

In game one, Pacheco went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a pair of runs scored.  Beth Walczak '10 also went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.  Ovieda went 2-for-4 with a double.  Erica Ureno '08 drove in and scored a run and Brown stole her team-leading 12th base of the season and scored a run.  Deena Arenas '08 (8-7) allowed just one run on four hits and a walk and struck out four in seven innings pitched.

The Poets took the lead early with a Ureno RBI-single that scored Pacheco in the bottom of the first.  A pitching battle ensued; with neither team able to score again until the sixth inning.  The Sagehens had back-to-back hits in the sixth to tie the score at one.  In the bottom half of the inning, six hits, two walks and an error led to six runs for the Poets.  Pacheco drove in Walczak with a single to start the scoring and load the bases.  Winslow was the next batter and sent a bomb over the left field fence to clear the bases.  Walczak, who singled twice in the inning, drove in Ureno to give the Poets the 8-1 lead that would eventually become the final score.

The Poet offense was only able to muster three hits in the nightcap.  Pacheco had two of those hits, finishing 2-for-3 with a double.  Ovieda was the only other Poet to reach base with a single.  She also started on the mound, and was credited with her fifth loss of the season (11-5).  She allowed one run on six hits and two walks in four innings pitched. 

Pomona broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning with three singles and a run.  A two-run homer in the fifth gave the Sagehens the all the offense they would need as they cruised to the 3-0 victory.