Serna walk-off caps off wild double header split
ORANGE, Calif — In the wildest afternoon of the season, folks at El Camino Real Park on Wednesday, Mar. 30 got to watch two polar opposite games in No. 19 Chapman's double header against the No. 12 DePauw Tigers. Game one featured a pitchers duel for the ages, while game two was a slugfest ending with a Chill Serna walk-off single.
Game 1 — L, 3-0
Jillian Kelly earned an unfortunate first loss of the season. The score was notched at 0-0 through six full innings, and no runner had made it beyond second base the whole game.
In the top of the seventh inning, the Tigers were able to break through. A single, and a few Panther miscues brought the score to 3-0 entering the final half of the inning.
Cami Henry, the outstanding senior pitcher for the Tigers, retired the Panthers 1, 2, 3 to end the game.
Chapman only collected two hits on the game, and it was the first time the Panthers have been shut out all season. Henry fanned 12 batters as well.
Kelly's masterclass in the circle is not to be overshadowed as she struck out eight and allowed only seven hits on the day.
Game 2 — W, 13-12 (12)
Everything that was to be said about game one being a shut down pitchers duel, throw that out of the window.
Game two was a back-and-forth blood bath with runs being scored left and right. It was only fitting for the game to be won on a Serna walk-off. The Panthers at one point were down to their final strike, but Miranda Murphy, a freshman like Serna, drove an RBI single into center field to give Chapman yet another chance in the 11th.
That wasn't the only time the Panthers were on the ropes. Serna earlier in extras came up in a high pressure situation, driving an RBI double off the wall in left field, just a foot short of ending the game, to keep Chapman's hopes alive.
Rewinding to the first inning, however, the Panthers had a commanding 5-0 lead. They scored their first run of the day after Allie Tajii reached first on an error, scoring Murphy, who led the game off with a walk. A pair of singles, and a double later, the Panthers were up by five.
The same was to be said for the next few innings as Chapman took a 9-1 lead into the fourth. That was to be erased, as a monstrous home run, and some more defensive woes shrunk Chapman's lead to 10-7 heading into the seventh inning.
The move of the day for DePauw came in the sixth inning, however, as head coach Erica Hanrahan elected to bring Henry back into the game down three.
That decision paid off as the Tigers loaded the bases, and brought them all home on a double in the left-center field gap that brought the game to a 10-10 tie in the seventh inning.
In extra innings runners are placed at second in hopes to speed the games up. That didn't work.
The Panthers and Tigers traded innings with either one run or a scoreless frame. Simi Lauwers toughed it out for head coach Janet Lloyd and her squad, pitching all 12 innings, and making key plays — like a throw home to tag out a runner on a squeeze play in the 10th — to keep the game notched at 10.
Serna's at bat in the 12th was a battle with foul balls and tough takes, but like earlier in extras she fought a tough pitch into the outfield, this time down the right field line, falling and sealing the deal.
With the split on the day, the Panthers' record moved to 18-3. DePauw now sits at 12-7 on the season.
Chapman's next matchup is this weekend as SCIAC play ramps back up. The Panthers will travel to Redlands on Friday, Apr. 1 at 3 p.m. Then will host the Bulldogs on double header Saturday at 12 and 2 p.m.
By Joe Perrino
Assistant SID / Recreation Sports Manager
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