CMS Softball Wins Second Straight SCIAC Series after Doubleheader Split with Whittier

CLAREMONT, Calif. - First-year Heather Shipley threw a complete-game five-hitter to get the win in the opener, as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps softball team split a doubleheader with Whittier to take the series from the Poets two games to one on Saturday afternoon at Athena Field.

With the split, CMS now stands at 7-7 overall and 4-2 in the SCIAC, winning each of its first two league series over Chapman and Whittier, after also winning 11-3 at Whittier yesterday in the first game of the three-game set. The Poets, which salvaged the nightcap on Saturday with a 6-5 victory, move to 4-7 overall and 1-2 in the league.

Shipley was on the hook for a tough-luck loss in the opener, as the Athenas trailed 2-1 before rallying with three runs in the sixth. Junior designated player Megan Perron doubled to start the inning, and pinch runner Ari Livi moved to third on a foul out. Junior second baseman Jessica Fox then hit a single through the left side to tie the score, and junior center fielder Kawai Scanlan followed with a big RBI triple to right-center to break the tie. 

One out later, sophomore right fielder Natalie Dale added an insurance run when she slapped a single the other way to plate Scanlan and make the score 4-2.  Shipley then worked a 1-2-3 seventh to finish off the win and give the Athenas their second win of the series. 

Shipley also retired the first eight batters of the game, before the first runner reached base on an error with two outs in the third but advanced no further. The second time through the order, the Poets were able to string together three singles in the fourth inning to score two runs and take the lead, but sophomore shortstop Lauren Richards was able to get a forceout at the plate with the bases loaded to prevent a bigger inning. 

Fox and Perron were each 2-for-3 for CMS, which managed seven hits on the day. Shipley struck out one and did not walk a batter in picking up her third win of the season. 

In the nightcap, Whittier scored an unearned run with two outs in the top of the seventh to break a 5-5 tie and take the win. Sophomore first baseman Ananya Koneti was 3-for-4 at the plate for the Athenas, while Richards was 2-for-3. 

Perron broke a 2-2 tie with a two-run double in the third and came home on an RBI double from junior catcher Maddie Valdez to put the Athenas ahead 5-2, but the Poets came back with two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth to tie it. 

CMS will be back in action when it heads to the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Tucson next weekend, where it will play six games in three days from Friday-Sunday.