Softball loses in second round of tournament despite two home runs
Softball loses in second round of tournament despite two home runs
ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University softball team lost their second game of the SCIAC Tournament 10-8 this morning to No. 3 Whittier despite heavy hitting. Senior Amber Perez went yard in her final game as a Panther and was joined by freshman Samantha Tong who slammed a three-run homer to cap off her rookie season.
Tong's second career home run came in the second inning and gave the Panthers a 4-0 lead early in the game. Perez decided to add to the lead, hitting a two-run dinger in the third inning to extend Chapman's lead to 6-0. The senior's home run is the second of the 2017 season and the 10th of her career.
Whittier came out strong in the bottom of the third, scoring nine runs to take a 9-6 lead. The Panthers went through three pitchers in the third after sophomores Emily Claudy and Samantha Whalen allowed eight runs, five of them earned. Freshman Sarah Hartmann finished the game, allowing one more run in the third and another in the sixth.
Sophomore Elizabeth Runge went 3-for-4 against the Poet's pitching, recording an RBI single in the fourth inning to bring the score to 9-7.
After Whittier scored a run in the sixth, Chapman headed into the top of the seventh inning down 10-7 and rallied to score one thanks to an RBI from sophomore Sydney Engelhardt, bringing the Panthers within two. The Panthers had runners on second and third with two outs left but could not find their groove for the two-out rally.
Freshman Michaela Foisy added to her record-breaking rookie season, stealing third base in the top of the fourth inning to bring her total to 30 stolen bases on the season.
Chapman recorded 12 hits but failed to outscore the Poets in the final game of their season. The Panthers finish their 2017 run 20-20 overall and 14-15 in conference play.
by Katie Bell
Sports Information Assistant
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