Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Whittier softball team's season officially came to an end Friday afternoon as it lost back-to-back games on the first day of the SCIAC Postseason Tournament to round out the 2011 campaign with a 23-19 record.

The Poets were pitted against the tournament's top seed in the first game and faced a 7-0 hole before getting on the board with a pair of runs in the sixth.

Cindy Loza started the frame with a double and scored two batters later on an RBI-single from Molly Yriarte. A single from Janae Townsend and a walk to Jennifer Luders loaded the bases for Ashley Perez who plated Yriarte with a single.

However, the Poets left the bases load after Emma Friedenberg induced a groundout to end the inning.

Whittier collected three more hits than Claremont-M-S, 10-7, but three errors by the purple and gold prolonged all three scoring innings by CMS.

Loza, Yriarte and Townsend all had three hits in the loss.

In the first elimination game of the tournament, the Poets faced third-seeded La Verne. The Leopards scored two runs in its opening at bat and led 4-0 after four and a half innings.

Whittier mounted its comeback with a three spot in the fifth highlighted by an RBI-double from Denisse Martinez.

Brenda Thompson drove in the first run of the fifth frame with a single, an error allowed Perez to reach base and resulted in Taylor Pilkenton scoring and Martinez's double scored Perez.

The Poets had an opportunity to do more damage in their half of the fifth but left the bases load.

La Verne added what proved to be a very important insurance run in the top of the seventh because a double from Gonzalez scored Ariana Assenmacher to trim the Whittier deficit to 5-4.

The Poets had runners on first and second with two outs but left both runners on base when the game ended.

Whittier had seven hits as a team but once again had a trio of errors.

Gonzalez was the lone Poet to have a multi-hit afternoon.