Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
ORANGE, Calif. – The Whittier College softball team put themselves into a tough situation in order to make the SCIAC Post Season tournament after they were swept by the panthers of Chapman University Friday afternoon.
Whittier came into the contest in 4th place in the SCIAC standings with eight games left to play in the regular season but the Poets needed a split on the afternoon to make their lives simpler down the stretch.
They sit with a two game advantage over La Verne who sits in 5th currently but a big doubleheader matchup looms tomorrow afternoon between the Poets and Leopards at Palmer Field in a Strike Out Cancer Event with all proceeds going to the Zoe foundation.
Game 1 (L, 3-1)
Chapman opened up game one with a series of hits that plated one giving the Panthers an early lead in the 1st. Whittier however responded the ensuing inning bringing around the tying run thanks to a Courtney Grana single that brought in Mickala Gonzales.
But the game didn't remain tied for long as Chapman would plate the go ahead run in the bottom half of the 2nd before adding an insurance run in the 4th which was good enough for the victory.
Courtney DeLano got the start on the mound and went the distance giving up one earned run on seven hits to go with six strikeouts. She now drops to 10-4 on the season.
Offensively Whittier was led by Gonzales who finished 2-2 with a run scored with Grana finishing 2-3 with an RBI.
Game 2 (L, 9-1)
In game two the Poet bats remained quiet despite tallying the first run of the game thanks to an error by the Chapman catcher. When Chapman came to bat in the bottom half of the 1st they plated six runs themselves chasing starting pitcher Jessica Rosnack dropping her record to 7-5.
This would be enough for CU to complete the doubleheader sweep even though they brought around another three runs in the 2nd for insurance. Whittier collected three hits in the loss coming from Alexandra Flores, Samantha Mellano and Cindy Loza.
Whittier looks to bounce back when they host La Verne, tomorrow, Saturday, April 13 with game times set for 12:00pm and 2:00pm and playoff implications on the line.
