Softball set to open 2020 season
ORANGE, Calif. – The first pitch of 2020 will be tossed out on Saturday when the Chapman University softball team takes the field at Vanguard. The Panthers bring back a solid core of returners in the lineup and in the circle.
The Panthers were picked to compete for a SCIAC Tournament spot in a poll of the conference coaches, tying with La Verne for fourth place with 35 points. Chapman is coming off its second SCIAC Tournament appearance in three years after going 18-10 last season to finish third in the standings.
Junior Mykala Tokunaga returns after an All-Region season a year ago. She hit .388 in her debut season with the Panthers while smashing a pair of homers and driving in 22 RBIs. She'll return to the middle of the lineup where she tore up the SCIAC last season, hitting .460 during the conference season while collecting all of her extra-hits and RBIs.
At the top of the lineup, Michaela Foisy returns for her senior season along with senior Christine LoVerde. Both are coming off junior seasons that ended with All-SCIAC honors. Foisy – a .404 career hitter – is a three-time All-SCIAC and two-time All-Region selection as the Panthers' designated player. With 85 stolen bases, she has already shattered the Chapman records for stolen bases in a season and a career, and enters the season with the third-most stolen bases among active Division III players. LoVerde is a three-year starter in the outfield with a .292 career average.
Two more seniors return in the infield with Kyra Gallego and Samantha Tong back for their fourth season with the Panthers. Gallego has started behind the plate all three years while Tong has made some starts in the outfield and, mostly, at shortstop. Tong brings a .291 career average into her senior season while Gallego has hit .284 over her career.
Both corner outfield spots as well as two spots in the infield are open to be claimed. Sophomore Tracie Okumura will look to take one of the open spots in the lineup after hitting .313 while appearing in 28 games last year, including several starts. Sophomore Allie Tajii took just 11 at-bats last year but came up with hits in five of them while also making several appearances as a pinch runner and will look for an expanded role in her second season.
All four pitchers on the roster return from last season, led by senior Sarah Hartmann. She has pitched at least 50 innings in all three years at Chapman, tossing 51.1 innings last year while going 5-2. She has made 29 starts in her career with 23 more appearances out of the bullpen and a career 4.05 ERA. Tokunaga made a pair of saves in the circle last year while going 2-2 over three starts and seven relief appearances.
Sophomores Jessica Kim and Kelly McCarty also return to the circle after making regular appearances as freshmen. Kim's 3.03 ERA led the Chapman staff over her 30 innings of work while McCarty went 4-2 with a 3.86 ERA over 32.2 innings. She made three starts but came out of the bullpen 14 times.
Five newcomers, including four freshmen and a transfer, join the roster this year as the Panthers search for their third SCIAC Tournament appearance in the last four seasons. Last season, the Panthers overcame a slow start to go 18-10 in the conference schedule to finish third in the SCIAC standings.
The SCIAC format changes this year to a three-game series format from the four-game format of years past with one team hosting a single game on Friday and the other hosting a doubleheader on Saturday. Chapman opens the season at Vanguard at noon and will take on Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Friday, Feb. 7 at 2 p.m. for its home- and SCIAC-opener.
By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director
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