Megan Perron - Softball

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Megan Perron came up with clutch hits twice to lead the CMS softball team to a 10-inning 3-2 win over Pomona-Pitzer in the opening game of a pivotal doubleheader on Friday between two teams tied for first in the SCIAC standings.

Facing a Sagehen team that came in undefeated (7-0-1) and ranked No. 11 in the nation, the Athenas were locked in a scoreless deadlock in the opener until yielding a run in the top of the sixth. CMS was on the cusp of a 1-0 defeat, when Perron delivered with a clutch RBI double in the bottom of the seventh to knot the score and send the game into extra innings. 

The game was still tied 2-2 after nine innings, when the game went to the international tiebreaker rule with a runner placed on second to start the tenth. CMS got out of the top half without the runner scoring, but Pomona-Pitzer was one out away from matching the zero and sending the game to the 11th. However, Perron came through again, driving a ball to the wall in right-center to plate the game-winning run for an RBI single (a hit which would have been a double, but the game officially ended once the run safely scored).

The clutch hitting helped Perron continue her torrid start to the season, leading the Athenas with a .440 batting average and nine RBI through the first nine games. She had limited plate appearances in an injury-filled freshman year (one hit in eight at-bats) but has emerged early this season as one of the top offensive weapons for the Athenas.