Break-even March comes to an end at Sun West

ORANGE, Calif. – In what has become characteristic of the Chapman University softball team in 2010, the Panthers split their Sun West Tournament-ending doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon at Hart Park, defeating St. Olaf College (Minn.) 13-3 and losing to the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) 3-2 in eight innings. Chapman (14-12) finished the month of March with a 9-9 record, including a 7-7 mark in the tournament.

Game 1: Chapman 13, St. Olaf 3
The Panthers broke open a 2-2 tie in the third inning with a two-run home run from senior IF Dani Brown followed by a solo homer from sophomore DP Jayme Jarvis giving Chapman a 5-2 lead. The back-to-back dingers by Brown (her fourth of the season) and Jarvis (her third) are the second time this season they’ve accomplished that feat.

Leading 7-2, Chapman then exploded for six runs in the seventh inning to win going away. Sophomore IF Courtney James led off the inning with her first home run of the season. The Panthers then loaded the bases and received consecutive RBI from sophomore OF Kerry Peterson, senior IF Melanie Villarroel and sophomore C Michelle Pitts.

The Panthers recorded a season-high 16 hits in the game, including three from leadoff batter, sophomore OF Jojo Wakabayashi. Villarroel went 2-for-4 with four runs and a pair of stolen bases. Freshman IF Kyla Javier also had two hits and two steals.

Senior RHP Ally Waffle improved to 6-2 this season, allowing just two earned runs and striking out six for her third complete game of the season.

Game 2: St. Thomas 3, Chapman 2 (8 inn.)
In a rematch of Monday’s 7-2 St. Thomas victory, the Tommies got the best of the Panthers once again, this time scoring the game-winning run in the top of the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly. Chapman was unable to respond when an attempted suicide squeeze resulted in a double play to end the game.

Chapman trailed 2-0 and was without a hit entering the bottom of the fifth. However, one-out singles by Brown and James were cashed in on a two-run double by Jarvis to knot the game at 2-2.

Freshman RHP Sarah Solis was the hard-luck loser, allowing just six hits and two earned runs in eight innings of work. The rookie struck out nine Tommies’ batters but her record fell to 5-7 overall.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Boxscores:
Game 1: http://chapmanathletics.com/sports/sball/2009-10/stats/cu-sto.htm
Game 2: http://chapmanathletics.com/sports/sball/2009-10/stats/stt-cu.htm