WHITTIER, Calif. (Apr. 26, 2024) – Led by standout performances from starting pitcher
Bella Peinado (Ventura, Calif. / Ventura) and senior first baseman
Emily Adkison (Laguna Niguel, Calif. / Mater Dei) among others, the Whittier College softball team picked up a huge win to kick off its SCIAC series with Occidental College on Friday afternoon.
The game was also notable for being the Poets' annual Strike Out Cancer game, in which the team wore special edition black and teal uniforms and raised money for the Ovarian Cancer Research Association (OCRA) during the game.
The Poets beat the Tigers, 7-0, behind Peinado's complete game shut out in which she worked around eight base runners and struck out one, making key plays in the field along the way to keep Oxy at bay. However, the Poets offense also came to life in a way in which they hadn't in recent times on home confines.
Collectively, the Purple & Gold worked the Tigers' pitchers into extended counts, before either firing on a base hit or taking a walk. Adkison did this effectively as any hitter on Friday, homering in first at bat on a moon shot into left center field, before reaching base on a single later in the game and finishing her day with a walk. She scored runs every time she reached base, but was not the only Poet to homer on Friday. Junior
Maya Palos (Monterey Park, Calif. / Schurr) also went yard with a two-run shot that scored Adkison in the fifth inning. Adkison and Palos' dingers sandwiched a third long ball from freshman middle infielder
Madison Gasca-Reyes (Whittier, Calif. / St. Paul), who flashed the power with a home run into left center in the fourth inning.
From start to finish, the Poets had the bigger moments in the field, on the mound, and in the batter's box, and rode the momentum to their third SCIAC victory of the season. If the Poets can keep the pressure on the Tigers this weekend, they could reverse their fortunes in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament race.
The game is also notable for playing host to the return of senior outfielder
Sara Chiala (Los Gatos, Calif. / Los Gatos). Chiala made her 2024 home debut, pinch-hitting for freshman outfielder
Daniella Contreras in the fifth inning to a raucous ovation from the Poet faithful.
Head Coach
Trisha Senyo and the Poets will resume their season on Saturday, Apr. 27 when they head to Occidental College to finish the weekend doubleheader. They will then head to California Lutheran University to finish another doubleheader started earlier this month.
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