Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Whittier College Softball team picked up their biggest win on the season Saturday as they came away with a split on the road with Claremont-M-S opening up Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play.

Whittier moves to 4-3-1, 1-1 SCIAC and after the opening weekend sit in a tie for 4^th in the SCIAC Standings.   

Game 1 (L, 9-0 – 5 Innings)

It was a tough first game for the Purple & Gold as they surrendered nine runs on nine hits with three runs coming in the 1^st and another six in the 4^th, that ended the game early.

A double and triple from Amarilla and Scanlan got the Athenas going in the bottom half of the 1^st.  Then in the 6^th they capitalized on a Poet miscue, while collecting six hits, which included a triple from Roleder that put the game out of reach.

Whittier finished with four hits coming from Sierra Rodriguez (Whittier, Calif.), Jannelle Ha (Arcadia, Calif.), Brittany Attaway (Claremont, Calif.), and Megan Heal (San Jose, Calif.). 

Alexis Vargas (Pomona, Calif.) picked up the loss dropping to 1-2 on the season giving up four earned runs on nine hits.  The Poets defensive unit also had three errors, which proved costly.        

Game 2 (W, 2-1 – 8 Innings)

The Poets picked it up in the second game of the doubleheader and did a complete 360.  They held a late 1-0 lead but saw CMS rally in the 5^th to tie things up.  But they were able to go into extras and add the game-winning run in the 8^th.

Ha got the scoring started in the 2^nd, drawing a walk before stealing second.  Attaway then singled to right center that drove in Ha putting WC on top early.

In the 5^th, the Athenas rallied and added the equalizer with a double steal that sent the game into extras. In the top half of the 8^th Danica Cooley (Paia, HI) led off the inning with a single through the right side and then stole second to get into scoring position.  Kacey Whitney (Cypress, Calif.) then stepped in clutch with a single up the middle that drove in Cooley, which proved to be the winning run.

Freshman Amanda Melodia (Placentia, Calif.) threw her biggest game of the season limiting CMS to just one run on five hits.  She held them scoreless over the first four innings and was able to go the 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th not giving up a run en route to her first win on the season.  

Whittier collected 11 hits in game two with Ha and Attaway going 2-3, while Whitney was 2-4 with an RBI.