Softball drops SCIAC Tournament opener to Pomona-Pitzer

CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Chapman University softball team fell 6-2 to second-seeded Pomona-Pitzer in the opening game of the SCIAC Tournament. The Panthers will face top-seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

The Sagehens were the first to get on the scoreboard in the third but the broke the game open in the fourth. In the top half, the Panthers threatened when they loaded the bases with one out on singles from senior Samantha Whalen and junior Sarah Sumida as well as a walk to senior Elizabeth Runge.

An infield pop up and a sharp ground out ended the threat. With momentum heading into the bottom half, the Sagehens started the inning with back-to-back singles, followed by a two-run double.

The Panthers went to the bullpen but the Sagehens kept going with an RBI-triple from Megan Otsuka and a double from Isabella Deatherage to make it 5-1.

Whalen put the Panthers on the board when she split the left center gap for a two-run double in the fifth but that was all the Panthers could move across the plate.

Whalen was 2-for-4 in the game and senior Hope Ballard was 2-for-3. Runge reached twice on a walk.

The Panthers fall into the loser's bracket of the double elimination tournament and will play at 11 a.m. against top-seeded CMS. The Athenas lost to Whittier to open the tournament.