Mistakes and missed opportunities prove costly as Chapman drops two

ORANGE, Calif. – Errors and missed opportunities proved costly for the Chapman University softball team as it gave up 17 hits and 14 runs in a pair of losses on Friday afternoon against Pomona-Pitzer Colleges at El Camino Real Park. Behind the pitching of sophomore Katie Terry, the Panthers lost 4-1 in a close first game and then mistakes cost Chapman in the second game as they lost 10-6. The Panthers have now dropped four in a row at home.

Game 1: Pomona-Pitzer 4, Chapman 1
Chapman (9-29) could not get the bats going in the first game. Pomona grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning off of a double to centerfield by senior Alyssa Corley scoring freshman Caitlyn Hynes. Corley went 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI in the game.

After the second inning, the Panthers were held hitless for three-consecutive innings by Sagehens' sophomore pitcher Carolyn Cross who frustrated the Chapman hitters while pitching a complete game and allowing six hits and no earned runs.

Trailing 4-0, Chapman's bats came alive in the seventh inning with back-to-back singles from sophomore Kerry Peterson and freshman Raquel Rinauro. Rinuaro would eventually come around to score on a throwing error after Peterson was forced out at home. Cross then retired junior C Michelle Pitts to end the game.

Game 2: Pomona-Pitzer 10, Chapman 6
It was Chapman who got out to the early lead in the second game of the doubleheader. In the bottom of the first, Pitts hit a double to the left-centerfield fence to knock in the first fun of the game. Pitts would come around to score on a single from sophomore Brittany Furlong extending Chapman's lead to 2-0. Pitts went 4-for-4 with three runs and two RBI.

The Panthers lead was short lived as the Sagehens responded by scoring four runs in the second. Chapman would regain the lead producing three runs in the bottom of the second highlighted by a triple from Pitts who would later score on a RBI single from Terry giving Chapman a 5-4 lead. Terry finished the game going 3-for-4 with two RBI.

The lead only lasted one inning as Pomona-Pitzer (14-19) took back the lead in the fourth off of a two-RBI single from junior Brianna Marcantoni that changed the score to 6-5. In the bottom of the fourth, Terry hit a double to left-centerfield that brought Pitts around the bases to even the score at 6-6. Pomona once again responded, this time in the fifth inning with a pair of runs giving them an 8-6 lead as they held on for the win. The Sagehens closed out the Panthers by scoring two runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, respectively.

by Robert Flicker
Sports Information Intern

Boxscores
Game 1:  http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/sball/2010-11/boxscores/20110415_rj6k.xml
Game 2: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/sball/2010-11/boxscores/20110415_12ji.xml