Photo: Tony Leon/D3WestPhotography

WHITTIER, Calif. (Apr. 24, 2022) – The 21-15 Whittier College softball team kept its SCIAC Postseason Tournament hopes alive with a pair of big wins this weekend against fourth-place Chapman University.

Friday: Whittier 2, Chapman 1

The Purple & Gold got their weekend off on the right foot thanks to some stellar pitching from junior Katelyn Calvetti (Monterey, Calif. / Monterey). The junior struck out eight Panthers over seven innings and scattered seven hits over the course of the contest to keep the Poets engaged in a game they needed to win to give themselves a fighting chance at extending their season over the remainder of the weekend. Calvetti was especially good early, punching out four Panthers over the game's first three innings.

While the defense held up behind the Poets' junior pitcher, Whittier's bats came through in a big way in the third inning when they slapped four singles into the outfield in five at-bats and capitalized on a wild pitch to stake Calvetti to a two-run lead relatively early into the contest. Sophomore outfielder Marissa Flynn (Covina, Calif. / South Hills) started the run with a base-hit into left field, and ensuing hits from the likes of junior Sara Chiala (Los Gatos, Calif. / Los Gatos), junior Kelly Monroy (La Puente, Calif. / Rio Hondo College) and freshman Maya Palos (Montebello, Calif. / Schurr) overwhelmed the visitors to put Whittier on top, 2-0, through the first three innings at Palmer Field. Calvetti would go on to battle through adversity in the sixth inning before slamming the door on Chapman in the seventh before the Panthers were able to extend the game.

Saturday Game 1: Whittier 6, Chapman 4

Monroy, who accounted for one of the Poets' pair of RBI's in Friday's game, stayed hot on Saturday with two hits including an inside-the-park home run in the third inning that put Whittier on top 2-0. The round tripper was the first of its kind for the Poets this season, and came at a great time in another game the Poets needed to win in order to keep their SCIAC Postseason Tournament hopes on life support. However, most of Monroy's damage came on a two-run double in the seventh inning that provided Whittier with the go-ahead run after entering the frame trailing the Panthers by one run. Junior Jocelyn Signoretti (La Palma, Calif. / Kennedy) came home from third to tie the game, while senior outfielder Brianna MaGee (Torrance, Calif. / West Torrance) provided the go-ahead run when she scored from first base. Monroy would then advance to third on the throw, setting Whittier up for another insurance run later in the inning when Palos knocked her home on a single into center field.

The junior infielder was not the only Poet to flash the power on Saturday, however, as MaGee, along with sophomore first baseman Emily Adkison (Laguna Niguel, Calif. / Mater Dei) each tripled in different innings with Adkison's scoring MaGee in the opening frame. MaGee hit a collective 5-for-7 between Saturday's two games, and accounted for three of the Poets' scored runs in the first game of the doubleheader. Junior pitcher Jamie Garvey (Wilmington, Calif. / El Camino College) threw the entire game for the Poets, giving the visitors a chance to win with seven strong innings of no earned runs and three strikeouts. After receiving a two-run lead heading into the final frame, the junior worked around a base a hit to shut down the Panthers and clinch a series win for the Poets as well as the SCIAC tiebreaker with Chapman that could come into play at the conclusion of next weekend's games.

Saturday Game 2: Chapman 8, Whittier 6

Whittier would go on to score as many runs in Game 2 as they did in Game 1, but had to contend with a hungry Panthers team that needed a sweep to elude them for their own postseason aspirations. MaGee went 2-for-3 with a triple as Whittier's top offensive player in the losing effort, though the Poets were kept in the game by four errors from the Panthers that helped lead to the Poets scoring two runs in the sixth and seventh innings respectively. MaGee's triple in the final inning of Saturday's second game brought senior Sofia Paniagua (Glendora, Calif. / Glendora) home to cut the Panthers' lead to seven, and while MaGee would soon after cross home plate on a wild pitch, further efforts at a rally from the visiting team fell short.

Head Coach Trisha Senyo and the Poets will end the 2022 regular season with one more weekend SCIAC series, this time against California Lutheran University. The Poets, who are currently in a tie for fifth in the SCIAC standings, can still make the postseason tournament with multiple paths to the fourth seed depending on this weekend's results, but they will likely need to sweep the last-place Regals in order to stand a good chance at getting in. If they can, Chapman will need to win its series with second-place University of La Verne to keep the Poets out while Pomona-Pitzer Colleges would then need a sweep of third-place Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in order to ensure the fourth seed for themselves. The Poets can still make the field if they win just two of three next weekend, but will need some additional help in the form of the Panthers getting swept and the Sagehens losing two of three to the Athenas.

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